Greatest of All time

[tecumseh]

It is hard to compare athletes from different eras, Ruth vs Bonds and different sports well kind of silly but interesting barroom activity. But Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all time and as dominating an athlete in his sport than any I can think of. He is at the top of his game and the Olympic Trials start tomorrow. The US Olympic Trial in the mens side is often a faster meet than the Olympics. Currently he is the world's best backstroker, butterflyer, freestyler and IMer. Not necessarily the best in all distances but overall the best in those three stokes and IM.

Spitz was the best freestyler (maybe) and certainly the best butterflyer. His seven gold were one hundred and two hundred in butterfly and freestyle and three relay golds. BUT if the Olympics were a month long meet and Phelps could compete in every event he could qualify in who knows. If you gave him a season to compete in the sprint events I would not bet against him.

[YmoBeThere]

GOAT = Muhammed Ali

Just ask him!

[tecumseh]

Granted it is a somewhat obscure sport but what Eric Heiden did at Lake Placid is pretty unbelievable he won every distance from the sprint to the distance and the in between distances. Even at that time speed skating was specialized into the sprinters and distance guys. In the last Olympics there were five different gold medalists in the mens speed skating events.

[rthomas]

Dana Torres, aged 41 and mother of a 2 year old daughter, may make the olympics again this year. If she does, she’ll be the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympics (despite sitting out 1996 and 2004). She’ll also be oldest female swimmer in the history of the Olympic games.

She won the first of her nine Olympic medals in 1984, a year before Michael Phelps was born.

She broke her first of three world records in 1982, at 14.

Last November in Germany, Torres clocked 23.82 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle short course, breaking the American record and making her one of only five women to swim the event in less than 24 seconds.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/ma...9torres-t.html

[bhd28]

My vote goes to this guy.

[YmoBeThere]

Why is the ribbon from the Cheviot Sheep Society?

[tecumseh]

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/new...v=ap&type=lgns

One of the amazing things about Phelps for which he deserves a lot of credit is after Athens he was clearly the best swimmer in the world and was searching for ways to get better. He trained very hard for two years and developed into the best underwater swimmer in the world. You are allowed to swim 15 meters underwater and it is here now where Phelps just blows everyone away. If he was allowed to swim 50 meters underwater he just might win that freestyle race.

[dukemomLA]

Swimmer - Michael Phelps
Track & Field - Carl Lewis
Ice Skating - Torvill & Dean
Skiing - Jan Claude Killey
Track & Field to come - Tyson Gay
Gymnastics - Nadia Comeniche

...and Bob Beamon, Bruce Jenner, Janet Evans, Ian Thorpe, Ali, etc. etc.

...ah, so many more. It's late & this thread will spin in my mind as I try to sleep. YES, 8/8/08!!! Can't wait!

[killerleft]

Babe Didrikson Zaharias may be the premier American athlete of all time.

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

Just an amazingly talented person, she also recorded music, played the harmonica, and was even a champion seamstress.

[Verga3]

Swimmer - Michael Phelps
Track & Field - Carl Lewis
Ice Skating - Torvill & Dean
Skiing - Jan Claude Killey
Track & Field to come - Tyson Gay
Gymnastics - Nadia Comeniche

...and Bob Beamon, Bruce Jenner, Janet Evans, Ian Thorpe, Ali, etc. etc.

...ah, so many more. It's late & this thread will spin in my mind as I try to sleep. YES, 8/8/08!!! Can't wait!

Fun to think about this, dukemomLA!

Here's my incomplete and debatable first effort at the Greatest of All Time (Men & Women). Need some help with adding sports and filling in the blanks with more or different candidates. It's getting late, so I'm done for tonight.

Swimming: Michael Phelps, Tracy Caulkins
Track & Field: Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Figure Skating: Brian Boitano, Sonja Henie
Speed Skating: Eric Heiden, Bonnie Blair
Skiing: Jean-Claude Killy,
Gymnastics: Sawao Kato, Nadia Comaneci
Soccer: Pele', Mia Hamm
Tennis: Roger Federer, Martina Navratilova
Boxing: Muhammed Ali
Basketball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Cheryl Miller
Hockey: Wayne Gretzsky, Haley Wickenheiser
Volleyball: Karch Kiraly, Mireya Luis
Wrestling: Dan Gable
Baseball: Babe Ruth
Softball: Lisa Fernandez
Football: Brett Favre
Golf: Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam
Diving: Greg Louganis, Fu Mingxia
Cycling: Lance Armstrong, Jeannie Longo

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

It is hard to compare athletes from different eras, Ruth vs Bonds and different sports well kind of silly but interesting barroom activity. But Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all time and as dominating an athlete in his sport than any I can think of. He is at the top of his game and the Olympic Trials start tomorrow. The US Olympic Trial in the mens side is often a faster meet than the Olympics. Currently he is the world's best backstroker, butterflyer, freestyler and IMer. Not necessarily the best in all distances but overall the best in those three stokes and IM.

Spitz was the best freestyler (maybe) and certainly the best butterflyer. His seven gold were one hundred and two hundred in butterfly and freestyle and three relay golds. BUT if the Olympics were a month long meet and Phelps could compete in every event he could qualify in who knows. If you gave him a season to compete in the sprint events I would not bet against him.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/new...=afp&type=lgns

For a motivational speaker, Spitz sure does seem bitter. Maybe this is why he didn't get invited to Beijing. Go Phelps!