Does Michael Phelps swim Freestyle? (1 Viewer)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mike375
  • Start date Start date
dkinley said:
Err ... 2nd Place is 1st Place Loser =]

But we don't teach coping skills anymore ... coping is now defined as get a gun and whack whoever 1-up'd you.

-dK
Click to expand...

There was an ethos here not so very long ago that banned races etc. in schools because if poor Jonny didn't win he'd be physicologically damaged for the rest of his life:rolleyes:
 
dkinley said:
I am going to slightly disagree on last point .. emphasis on slightly because not all the athletes fall into this category but I am willing to stake that at least 85% do.

If you look at almost any event, many of the athletes went to a college in the US (can we say emphasis on college recruiting) or another country with those facilities. Many are fresh from the NCAA where they took home alot of ribbons for the college. Further more they are allowed extended stays to train on our soil but yet represent a foreign country.

It miff's many people off in non-athletic programs that part of our collegiate fees go to the athletic program and we didn't and COULDN'T use any of their facilities, etc. Not to mention to pay for the scholarships for foriegn nationals so the college could have a higher standing in their athletics division. The other classmen (and women) had a piece of crap gym that took about $500.00 to stock with equipment.

-dK
Click to expand...

A good place to start would be to cut the budget for American footaball in US Colleges...like we'll ever live to see that.
If an American college recruits a runner from another country and that runner performs well for that college, then the contract has been fufilled. If that runner then returns home and wins a gold medal for their native country, thanks US but I won it for Jamaica.
 
Rich said:
There was an ethos here not so very long ago that banned races etc. in schools because if poor Jonny didn't win he'd be physicologically damaged for the rest of his life:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Jonny, isn't he the guy who would have been eaten by a lion if he had lived 10,000 years ago?
 
I'm interested in some the negative comments about sport / olympics.
Yes, watching Phelps endlessly (and apparently effortlessly) winning can be a bit boring (it would be considerably less so if was Australian!)

For all the 'negatives' of sport (drugs, excess commercialism) would you rather your kids ignored sports and stuck to their street gangs instead?

I think not
 
David - good point - but i think if the emphis is purely on winning and winning by any means then the spirt of the olympics is tarnished ,

its great to have your country win , but its also good to have your country finish better than they expected , and to have the spirt of a sportsman (woman) - these games seem to have a lot of this - whcih is a credit to the contestants - as far as i am concerned they are all winners , they represent their countries with dignity and pride ( a medal would be nice as well )

the friendly banter between say the UK and Oz over the medals tables is excatly that friendly banter , and the various jokes point at either country are taken in the spirt they are given "Good humored fun" again to a me a principle of the games itself (mind you at the moment we are better than ozzies ..lol)
 
The biggest thrill I get from these things is when a complete underdog gets up and knocks off a certainty - not too many examples so far, but I am hoping.

I think it was one one of the butterfly finals that Phelps won that had a New Guinean and Kenyan in the finals - wouldn't it have been great if one of those got up!
 
I just think that the overboard capitalism in so called amateur sports is beyond excessive and all the stops are being taken out to win for the sake of money and not for the sake of sport or the atheletes.
I have never found that life is a choice between sports OR drugs. Going by the oversized people that are populating the so called developed world I would suggest that most persons are going for neither.

I think I will have to stop posting on this thread as so many people seem to be okay with the doped up atheletes who stay clean for the 21 days preceeding the games so they test clean and earn big sponsorship dollars. I am very not okay with that idea as an icon of sports or mentors for youth.
 
Lets face it. There are no amateurs nowadays in top level sport. They all get paid for it so by definition are professionals.

Doping is cheating - no ifs, no buts doping is cheating.

Unfortunately the benefits of taking steroids lasts a lot longer than the steroids remain in the body so supposedly clean competitors can still have an unfair advantage.
 
>> ... and to have the spirt of a sportsman (women) <<

I was watching Men's beach volleyball the other night ... and I came into it late, but I took note of the US team member because he was arguing an issue passionately ... after the issue was resolved, the arguments contents were revealed ... He argued FOR THE OTHER TEAM on a point he felt the US did not earn!!! ... WOW!! ... The US pair ended up winning the match, but after the match high fives and accolades was given by both teams to their respective competitors ... I was impressed! ...

One more sports(wo)men story ... Dara Torres ... a competitor was having swim suit issues before her event (i think it was qualifications for the 50 free) ... She walked away from her starting block, told the other swimmers, and a referee that the missing competitor will return shortly and encouraged a bit of a delay in the event in order to give the gal some time to return to compete.... again ... WOW!! ...

Both, to me, are excellent examples that go beyond all the hype and commercializm.
 
David Eagar said:
The biggest thrill I get from these things is when a complete underdog gets up and knocks off a certainty - not too many examples so far, but I am hoping.

I think it was one one of the butterfly finals that Phelps won that had a New Guinean and Kenyan in the finals - wouldn't it have been great if one of those got up!
Click to expand...

Well I have to wonder what's going on here, we're at 3rd in the medals table at the minute, above the Aussies:confused::p
 
Rich said:
Well I have to wonder what's going on here, we're at 3rd in the medals table at the minute, above the Aussies:confused::p
Click to expand...
Great news:) but it probably means they will beat us in 2012:(.
 
Rich said:
Well I have to wonder what's going on here, we're at 3rd in the medals table at the minute, above the Aussies:confused::p
Click to expand...
I was puzzled to hear that, earlier on today. :eek:

I guess if I was back home I'd be hearing people suddenly developing a short-lived passion for rowing, cycling, etc. in the same way so many people here in Toronto suddenly seem to be trampoline enthusiasts.:D
 
Alc said:
I was puzzled to hear that, earlier on today. :eek:

I guess if I was back home I'd be hearing people suddenly developing a short-lived passion for rowing, cycling, etc. in the same way so many people here in Toronto suddenly seem to be trampoline enthusiasts.:D
Click to expand...

Yes and over the next four years the amount of money spent on promoting those events will be reduced and channelled into track events, so we'll go back to the normal average ;)
 
You've got to admit, there are some pretty obscure sports in the Summer Olympics.

In my part of the planet, about every 4 years is how often we hear of trampoline, rhythmic gymnastics, team handball and about a third of the total Olympic disciplines.

I much prefer the winter games. If you can't do it on ice or snow, its not allowed.
 
Rich said:
But apart from Jamaica nobody else in warmer climates with no snow get to compete
Click to expand...
That's why it's so popular here.
Less competition means more medals. :D
 
Rich said:
But apart from Jamaica nobody else in warmer climates with no snow get to compete
Click to expand...

What about Eddie the Eagle? :D

I should have added to my original post on the subject that there was no intention to downgrade a sport or it's competitors just because I haven't heard of it.

BTW, now would be a good time for our UK friends to start lobbying to make darts a demonstration sport in 2012. Cricket would also be a good choice, there are certainly enough people playing it around the world. Rugby football was an Olympic sport once, may be time for a repeat.
 
Sport is about first past the post or its equivalent, anything that relies on judges is an art, though I admit boxing is a bit of a borderline, but dressage, synch swimming, all gymnastics, diving to name a few are not sport, I don't care how hard they are, they rely on somebody's opinion.
Mind you the daftest is ski jumping, surely the winner is the one who goes furthest, what's this style mark??? just imagine Paula Radcliff being relegated down the field because she nods her head as she runs!

Brian
 
Brianwarnock said:
Sport is about first past the post or its equivalent, anything that relies on judges is an art, though I admit boxing is a bit of a borderline, but dressage, synch swimming, all gymnastics, diving to name a few are not sport, I don't care how hard they are, they rely on somebody's opinion.
Mind you the daftest is ski jumping, surely the winner is the one who goes furthest, what's this style mark??? just imagine Paula Radcliff being relegated down the field because she nods her head as she runs!

Brian
Click to expand...

Could not agree more Brian. A sport which depends on "judges" opens itself up to controversy (you give my participant a good score and I'll do the same for yours). Figure skating for example has been guilty of this for years. Watched a bit of the boxing final this AM. I forget the weight class but it was a Chinese vs. an Irishman for the gold medal. The Chinese scored points for missed punches. The Irishman didn't score even when the Chinese boxer's legs buckled. At least in boxing you have the knockout option. This is probably one of the reasons that baseball is being dropped after this Olympics. It's not because of the quality of the sport, but rather due to the quality of the umpiring.

The "style points" for ski jumping are minor compared to the distance. They are there to ensure that a jumper who lands on his head finishes lower than one who jumps a metre less but made a good landing.

A sport should not be allowed in the Olympics unless you are competing head to head, or against the clock or against the measure tape. Please feel free to have a world championship in your sport if you wish.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

The_Doc_Man
How do I know if I have bad performance?
Replies
14
Views
4,209
The_Doc_Man
The_Doc_Man
D
Sporting Favourites
2
Replies
29
Views
2,986
Adam Caramon
A
VilaRestal
The Story So Far
Replies
16
Views
6,909
scott-atkinson
scott-atkinson

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top Bottom