Olympic swimming has too many events

SpeedFreak

SpeedFreak

SpeedFreak

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Other than freestyle none of the other strokes makes sense to me. They are varying ways of swimming a distance in a less than optimum time. (speedwalking also falls into this category)

I actually believe a fair analogy would be running the 100m backwards. It can be done, would require unique skill and would also be utterly pointless.

Does anybody else share my confusion?
 
Not really. There is only one way of running forwards, is there not?

There are equal arguments for saying there are too many cycling events, too many track'n'field events (deca/heptathlon? Who cares about people average in 10/7 sports?), too many team events involving balls (handball? Hockey? Football? All have the same objective... ball in the back of a net.), too many of pretty much anything, depending on your perspective.

Just because you don't like swimming doesn't make it irrelevant, in the same way that me not liking football doesn't make it irrelevant. Golf, on the otherhand, is utterly pointless. ;)
 
I sort of agree with this... Running backwards is pretty much the same as doing the back-stroke anyway. Why not for the track events have the 100m hop? Or the 4x400m mince...How about walking/running on your hands as an event too?

For swimming, just have freestyle over different distances, various team relays and be done with it.
 
I agree with you. No other event is the equivalent of another event but just needlessly more difficult, apart from the exception of hurdles maybe.

The issue is though is that all have the same principles. You wouldn't get a 100m sprinter doing the hurdles often whereas people like Phelps can wipe the floor with swimming. There's no other sport you could win (or even compete in) 8 golds in one Olympics.

Even cycling is very different. Hoy is only in two races this year and his events principles are completely different to that of the road race or individual pursuit for example.
 
King Damager said:
So what about Hammer, Shotput and Javelin?

Cycling again is an example of many different events across the board...

Your mistake is believing that the different strokes don't require different skill sets...

kd
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You forgot discus. I see these events as evolutions of weapons and historic Olympic events.

Cycling I can't agree with as many of the events are tactical and have completely different approches, points race, sprint and road race are all very different in approach and goal.

Please don't make me quote myself, I did not say there was no skill involved so please take the time to re-read my opening post. I just don't see why you would do a task in a sub optimal way.
 
King Damager said:
So what about Hammer, Shotput and Javelin?
Click to expand...

What about them? They're all completely different?

King Damager said:
Cycling again is an example of many different events across the board...
Click to expand...

Except not because they're all very different. Hoy would get left for dust in the road race, as would Wiggins in the keirin.

King Damager said:
Your mistake is believing that the different strokes don't require different skill sets...
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Orly? Could have fooled me...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps#2008_Summer_Olympics

Strange that the record he broke was also set by another swimmer 36 years ago. And nobody will ever break it in another sport.
 
Russinating said:
What about them? They're all completely different?
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Get in a pool, and try and do front crawl, then do fly. Tell me they're not different.

Russinating said:
Except not because they're all very different. Hoy would get left for dust in the road race, as would Wiggins in the keirin.
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Phelps would get demolished in anything above about 800m, and in any of the true sprints. He'd also struggle in Back or Breast...

Russinating said:
Orly? Could have fooled me...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps#2008_Summer_Olympics

Strange that the record he broke was also set by another swimmer 36 years ago. And nobody will ever break it in another sport.
Click to expand...

Phelps didn't achieve what he did because the sport allowed it. He achieved it because he was amazing at what he did.

You want to play Wiki...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multiple_Olympic_gold_medalists_at_a_single_Games

There's more gymnasts who have won more than 6 medals in a single games than swimmers.

kd
 
King Damager said:
Get in a pool, and try and do front crawl, then do fly. Tell me they're not different.

There's more gymnasts who have won more than 6 medals in a single games than swimmers.

kd
Click to expand...

The Olympics is about being the best- whether that is the been fastest, strongest, having the most endurance, most skill or a mixture of some or all of the above. The fast fastest way to get from A-B on land unaided is by running, in water it's freestyle so for me those events will always take preference. I can still remember Hoogenband going up against Thorpe and Popov in 2000 as well as MJ destroying the field to set the seemingly unbreakable target of 19.32. Walking/Backstroke are all just bridesmaid prizes IMO.

Gymnastics is a totally different type of sport that isn't really comparable with either.
 
The strokes are all very different. Its quite rare for someone to excel at all of them.

It also allows people with different strengths in different strokes to compete. When I used to swim I started out as a backstroke swimmer and then progressed into a breaststroke swimmer when I got older and started to compete. I was ok at freestyle, but never fast enough to compete at the top. However I twice made it to county finals in breaststroke. If competition was only ever for freestyle then it would severely restrict the number of people who could compete.

Also, if you only had 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500m freestyle, the entire competition would be over in 1 day.
 
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