Given that we've had 2 consecutive ridiculous gold medal hauls by Mr. Phelps and 1 in the past by Mr. Spitz, when will we see a similar feat by a female swimmer? Why haven't we in the past? Is there somehow more parity in women's swimming?
I would submit that we might have seen 6 or more golds in one Olympics from Tracy Caulkins in 1980 if not for the boycott. And, we might have seen it from Shirley Babashoff in 1976 if not for the East German women.
The only current contender I could see is Libby Trickett. She won 5 golds at the 2007 Worlds. She had a great Olympics by most standards, but didn't approach her Worlds gold medal haul. There are other multi-talented women out there (Coughlin, Hoff, Coventry, Rice), but none have attacked that kind of schedule successfully so far.
Me personally...I think Hoff is one of the best all around female swimmers... just don't think she was quite ready for the type of schedule she swam
I don't think the schedule was the problem, she just didn't have a good meet. She was beaten convincingly by Rice and Coventry on the very first day of finals, after all.
Me personally...I think Hoff is one of the best all around female swimmers... just don't think she was quite ready for the type of schedule she swam
I don't think the schedule was the problem, she just didn't have a good meet. She was beaten convincingly by Rice and Coventry on the very first day of finals, after all.
