Greatest American Male Olympian?

[OatesStache]

He was on the verge of not even making the long jump final, ended up with a record. He won both sprints, plus the relay. He ran under intense social pressure.

Other than that, you're probably right.

What was the social pressure?

 

[1hawkeye1]

Phelps is most decorated. Not greatest.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

What was the social pressure?

Yeah. None. being black in the 1930s was a breeze.

 

[hawktransplant]

Phelps is most decorated. Not greatest.

not according to the scientific HawkeyeNation Survey.

 

[olivecourt]

While it's true there's no "fastest at running backwards", etc. for track athletes, the track equivalent of Phelps' accomplishments would be for a guy to win gold in the 100-400 meters and the hurdle events, plus relays (and in multiple Olympics) Nobody will ever do that.

Phelps has more opportunities for medals, but his dominance in so many different events is what sets him apart from a performance standpoint. And while the 22 medals are impressive, the truly astounding stat is that EIGHTEEN of them were gold. 18 for 22 is just un-freaking-real.

I disagree. Every Olympics there is a swimmer who is able to dominate a wide range of distances and strokes-- Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi, Janet Evans, etc. Look at Missy Franklin this year. It's just not rare to see a swimmer with a huge range of events. What is rare is to see them extend that over three Olympics.

That's why I argue for Carl Lewis. The 100 meter/long jump double just isn't done in modern track and field. It's basically two different sports-- much closer to being a great swimmer and a great diver than being good at the crawl and the butterfly. Lewis won gold in both twice, added a 200 meter gold in 1984, was on a couple of winning relay teams, and won four straight Olympic long jumps. I honestly could see another Phelps emerging someday only because it seems there is always a dominant swimmer in each Olympics. We'll never see another Carl Lewis.

 

[OatesStache]

Yeah. None. being black in the 1930s was a breeze.

Like I said before, blacks were dominating Olympic sprinting in the 1930's. Eddie "Midnight Express" Tolan was the first black american sprinter to win gold in the 100 and 200 in the 1932 Olympics.

You want to hear about over coming obstacles? Tolan had such poor vision that he had to run with glasses taped to his face.

 

[ThunderHawk]

Jesse Owens kicked Adolph Hitler in the nuts, and then stomped on them as he disproved white supremacy even as his own nation promulgated it albeit to a lesser extent than the Nazis. Owens was treated as a second class citizen in his own country but put America and the rest of the free world on his shoulders anyway and dominated the haters.

It's Owens, and it's not close. Phelps is the most dominant in a sport but Owens rises above athletic greatness and is figure of singular historical significance.

It must also be noted that Owens was unable to participate in subsequent Olympics for obvious reasons.

 

[tm3308]

I disagree. Every Olympics there is a swimmer who is able to dominate a wide range of distances and strokes-- Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi, Janet Evans, etc. Look at Missy Franklin this year. It's just not rare to see a swimmer with a huge range of events. What is rare is to see them extend that over three Olympics.

That's why I argue for Carl Lewis. The 100 meter/long jump double just isn't done in modern track and field. It's basically two different sports-- much closer to being a great swimmer and a great diver than being good at the crawl and the butterfly. Lewis won gold in both twice, added a 200 meter gold in 1984, was on a couple of winning relay teams, and won four straight Olympic long jumps. I honestly could see another Phelps emerging someday only because it seems there is always a dominant swimmer in each Olympics. We'll never see another Carl Lewis.

It's rare for a swimmer to extend that dominance over three Olympics, and that's why you choose Lewis over Phelps?

 

[OatesStache]

Jesse Owens kicked Adolph Hitler in the nuts, and then stomped on them as he disproved white supremacy even as his own nation promulgated it albeit to a lesser extent than the Nazis. Owens was treated as a second class citizen in his own country but put America and the rest of the free world on his shoulders anyway and dominated the haters.

It's Owens, and it's not close. Phelps is the most dominant in a sport but Owens rises above athletic greatness and is figure of singular historical significance.

It must also be noted that Owens was unable to participate in subsequent Olympics for obvious reasons.

So did Eddie Tolan. WHAR EDDIE TOLAN LOVE!

 

[olivecourt]

It's rare for a swimmer to extend that dominance over three Olympics, and that's why you choose Lewis over Phelps?

No, I'm just countering a point made earlier in the thread that Phelps is amazing because he does so many different events and strokes. In swimming, it's not that unique. Lewis's success in both the sprints and the long jump is far rarer, and he won the LJ in four straight Olympics (and couldn't compete in 1980, when he wasn't necessarily in his prime, but would have been a medal threat).