The Greatest Olympian Ever?

The_One said:
id say its harder as he has to be the best in numerous events.

in track or rowing etc you tend to focus on just one event, he has to master different disciplines
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There's a certain amount of crossover though since you've got 11 events at under 200m including the team relays. It's certainly impressive to win so many medals and be able to compete and win at so many different events but I suspect that the attributes that make you good at one stroke will have a fair proportion of benefit to other strokes. That's not to suggest it's easy in any way but actually in track you've got one of the relatively few opportunities to get multiple medals with potentially 100m/200m/4x100m and long jump if you're Carl Lewis - most of the other events are too specialised to offer a realistic chance of competing. There's a few people who will do the double in track events but anything more than that is quite rare.

I'm not sure that you can really achieve equivalence in the comparison - Michael Phelps has achieved an astonishing amount but it's a different type of achievement to being an endurance athlete at the top of your sport for almost two decades. Both are absolutely worthy of respect but I don't think I could fairly compare them.
 
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Couldn't have dont him any harm :)
 
anticonscience said:
Why is Redgrave better than Phelps? He did it over 5 years, Phelps got 8 bloody gold medals for gods sake.

That is mighty impresive.
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1) The perception that swimming is swimming regardless of stroke.
2) The fact that Redgrave remained in gold medal winning shape for 16 years of his life, while Phelps will have done all his good swimming over just 8.
 
what bolt has done is greater than what Phelps as done. Bolt has redefined his sport in one Olympics Phelps has not. also Redgrave's achievement is far greater than phelps and not because he is britsih.
 
NuclearWinter said:
Aladár Gerevich won gold at 6 consecutive Olympics in fencing. So I guess he is actually the ultimate :p

.
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Birgit Fischer won 8, over six Olympic Games and missed the LA games because of the boycott, so he's even more ultimate :D

Didn't Daley Thompson recently say Redgrave was never ever the best rower in the boat let alone best Olympian we have had.

I kind of agree with him, there was a lot of talk of friction in the last couple of his olympics over how much others where carrying him iirc?

Didn't Lewis use banned substances? Can't really make him a greatest.
 
If Redgrave is so much better than Phelps, why did he only compete in one entry each Olympics (apart from '88)? Rowing has almost as many separate, but essentially identical formats as swimming does. So why didn't he do pair, four, eight, scull and lightweight entries all at once?

awaybreaktoday said:
what bolt has done is greater than what Phelps as done. Bolt has redefined his sport in one Olympics Phelps has not.
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Explain to me exactly how Bolt "redefined" the 100m. Because I'm pretty sure it was always about running fast from start to finish.
 
dannyjo22 said:
Didn't Daley Thompson recently say Redgrave was never ever the best rower in the boat let alone best Olympian we have had.

I kind of agree with him, there was a lot of talk of friction in the last couple of his olympics over how much others where carrying him iirc?
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Even if he was only the 4th best rower in the boat he was still in the team and in the boat and winning.
 
dannyjo22 said:
Didn't Daley Thompson recently say Redgrave was never ever the best rower in the boat let alone best Olympian we have had.

I kind of agree with him, there was a lot of talk of friction in the last couple of his olympics over how much others where carrying him iirc?
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That sounds a bit like "Ringo Starr isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles" but then again Daley Thompson has always been rather fond of the headlines in regard to athletics. It wouldn't surprise me if he thought of himself as Britain's greatest ever Olympian and he's got a reasonable shout at it, he's also got an eye for a great line.

Sir Steve may not have been technically the greatest rower in the boat and at times less fit or able than others but you don't get to the position of winning five golds if you're not a bit decent and I've got to say that Jurgen Grobler doesn't strike me as the sort to allow sentiment to rule the decision - if someone wasn't good enough they'd be cut.

dannyjo22 said:
Didn't Lewis use banned substances? Can't really make him a greatest.
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He's never served any sanctions for doping offences although he did test positive for banned substances in Olympic trials for the 1988 Olympics - his argument was that it was due to an over the counter herbal remedy.

Weebull said:
If Redgrave is so much better than Phelps, why did he only compete in one entry each Olympics (apart from '88)? Rowing has almost as many separate, but essentially identical formats as swimming does. So why didn't he do pair, four, eight, scull and lightweight entries all at once?
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I'd have said different rather than better. Eight golds in one games is a phenomenal achievement and one likely never to be bettered (maybe matched but even then...) but to say that it's better or worse than being at the top of your sport for the span of five Olympics is entirely subjective - if pressed I might say I was impressed more by longevity than someone who was exceptional for a few Games but it's a value judgement.
 
oli collett said:
How has nobody mentioned Jesse Owens yet???
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Good call, particularly given his timing.

Interesting reading his Wikipedia page, and how we look back on him now as being a big blot on Hitler's Olympic showcase of all things Aryan, forgetting that he went home and had to ride the freight elevator in the hotel to the reception celebrating his success.
 
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