As far as I can remember, we the French have had a trust issue with
the Brits. Perhaps centuries of national
conflicts, armed or diplomatic, explain that.
This gap extends to the sports arena.
I remember in particular a famous Irish rugby referee in the 60s who was
renowned for applying the advantage rule so as to improve the flow of the game,
except that to us French it seemed to flow only one way, against us. But now, as an American citizen, I have the feeling that perfid
Albion may reach over the Atlantic Ocean.
I am talking about the debate as to whether Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian
ever. Please note that the term of
reference is Olympian, not athlete. It is
very difficult to compare athletic achievements across the ages and across
disciplines. But it seems to me that Phelps
may well be the One, and if he is not, is as likely to be as anyone else.
I was therefore surprised by the reaction of two famous British athletes
who perhaps thought they should be considered as candidates for the title. Sebastian Coe, one of the great middle
distance runners of the 1980s with two Olympic gold medals in the 1500m and two
silver in the 800m, declared that, in his view, Phelps probably was not the
greatest. He mentioned sprinter Jesse
Owens, rower Steve Redgrave, decathlete Daley Thompson and gymnast Nadia
Comaneci as candidates for such title, and, tongue in cheek (?) stopped short
of perhaps nominating himself. Lord Coe
is the Chairman of the London Olympics Organizing Committee. There is no question that each one his nominees had extraordinary Olympic achievements, but why they should be
considered and Phelps shouldn’t is a mystery to me.
Steve Redgrave realized the "massive" feat of winning a gold
medal in rowing in five consecutive Olympics.
This has to rank right up there among the greatest Olympic achievements. As one who did varsity crew in college and
rowed for the Bataillon de Joinville, I have particular respect for the fact
that three of these gold medals were won in coxless pair, the most technically
challenging boat of all. But when Sir Steve muses, with typical British slyness
(Frenchly speaking) that Phelps’ feat would have been more impressive if he
achieved it over six or seven Games, one is not sure how to react. Yes, rowing is brutal. Having done both sports, there is no doubt in
my mind that a 2000m rowing race is more draining than even a 400m medley or a 1500m
free swim. You can’t therefore row multiple
events.
But training to swim middle distances, not to mention different
strokes, is far harder mentally, and perhaps physically, than training in crew. While Olympic level rowers can take some time
off and remain competitive, swimmers can’t, witness Phelps’ difficulties in
2010 and 2012. This is why no swimmer
can remain at the top over a twenty year period. Physiologically, it is also impossible for a
40 year old middle distance swimmer to beat 20 year olds, unlike in
rowing. Witness Janet Evans’ attempt to
qualify in the 400m and 800m free this year.
Dara Torres’ swimming career did span 24 years and at 41 she came within
1/100 of a second of winning gold, an extraordinary feat. But that was in the 50m free. Dawn Fraser, the all-time great Australian
sprinter, could have won gold in four consecutive Olympics had the Australian
Swimming Union not banned her for 10 years for pulling a prank at the 1964 Games. Even then, I doubt she could done it again in
’72.
As Lord Coe noted, who is the greatest will be debated in pubs for
a long time. As this argument is
starting, it is striking, although perhaps not so surprising, that great
athletes, such as Sebastian Coe and Steve Redgrave, have big egos; after all,
you have to believe in yourself to succeed.
I think that Michael Phelps has a very good chance to be the best Olympian
(so far), as he combines durability with domination, eclectism with the sheer
number of medals won (mostly gold). But
he also has a quality which is necessary in order to be considered an all time great
Olympian, and that is class.
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