Worlds greatest athlete

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albubba

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There was a post awhile back about Tiger Woods being the greatest athlete of our time.
Well I think he was just surpassed by Michael Phelps.
His performance at the Olympics is something we probably won't see again. 8 gold metals, 7 world records. 14 gold metals overall.
To achieve that status, Tiger would have to win all four majors two straight years and set course records each time.
That isn't going to happen.
 
Just me but I am a little bit confused. I dont mean to take anything away from either Phelps or Woods or Armstrong, but for me an Athlete is someone that can pick any sport and excell in it.

I would agree that Phelps is the greatest swimmer ever, Tiger most likely will be the greatest golfer ever (by the time he is finished if not already) and Armstrong the greatest biker ever.

But can Phelps be the best football player of all time or tiger the best soccer player or Armstrong the best basketball player ever. I dont know.

To me that is what Athlete is, someone that can pick up any sport and excel in it. Just my two cents, like I said I do think that these fellers are the greatest at what they do.


Jeff
 
Knockem,

I don't disagree with you about that.
I am comparing achievements in their respective sports.
Each sport requires different althletic skills that are unique to that sport.
I guess thats why they consider the winner of the decathalon the worlds greatest athelete. 10 different events to train for and excel at.
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-19-08 AT 09:18AM (MST)[p]Good point Knockem, but no matter your sports skill level you have to totally emerse yourself into something to be great at it. If I wanted to play swim, cycle or golf on the level they are at I would have to devote every single second of everyday into it just like they do. Being naturally proficient at something is totally different. For instance shooting 2 over and not playing golf for a year, shooting 10 3pt shots in a basketball game etc. I believe alot of someones skill is due to their competitiveness and adaptability. It would be very hard to compare all these individuals to each other in my opinion. Tigers ball striking ability cannot be compared to Phelps' lung capacity and on into Armstrongs endurance in my opinion. Great topic though!
 
You guys say what you want to, i think Barry Bonds is the greatest athlete of my time. Few if any were as good at so many facets of the game as Bonds has been these last 15 years or so. Stole 500 bases, what?, 7 gold gloves, hand eye coordination, bunch of MVP's, some homers... Great all around game!

Dope? Most all or very many, were on dope of one kind or another. I still see no canceled check, blood test, or eye witness that has saw Bonds use, other than what his trainer gave him which can be debated for days. The guy was the real deal!

Joey
 
No question....in the world of swimming, Phelps has no equal. Right now. His performance has been astounding, to say the least.

I think there are a lot more things to consider than just his ability to swim , before you can call him the worlds greatist athelete.

I want to see some longevity. Where will he be in 2012? Can he train, dedicate and be competitive in four years? If yes, then he goes into the class with Woods, Armstrong, Oerter and others, who consistantly dominated their respective programs.

He his, without doubt, the worlds greatest Olympic medalist. But even so, look how long it took to eclipse Mark Spitz's records.....I still have to give Spitz the nod in swimming accomplishment, assuming that 1 Olympics showing is the "standard".

But that was then, this is now.

Things change. Johnny Weismueller (sp), the swimmer who won gold in '38, couldn't qualify for the fifth spot on our Olympic womens second team....and he set the world record at that time!

I have to agree that the decathalon determines the best athelete at the Olympic level.

Place Phelps in that venue and I doubt you will find him very high on the winners list. He probably couldn't touch the score posted by the girl who won the womens discus, much less the girl who took silver in the pole vault.

If nothing else, he will be the richest Olympic athelete up to this point. He had millions in endorsements BEFORE this Olympics.......let's see how he holds up.
 
They said this morning that his yearly income should be near or exceed $33 million after this!!

Not bad for Aquaman!! ;-)








48288e6577d023b6.jpg
 
I think MM users overall could represent some high marks,
Especially in the "special Olympians" since this place's got plenty retards.
 
Barry Bonds ?????
You can't say Bonds was better than Jose Consinco, Lyle Alzado,Micheal Johnson, Marian Jones.....
My pick would have to be Lance Armstrong. No football or baseball player could ever win the Tour DeFrance 7 times, but I bet Lance could play ball and Lance was tested regularly..
 
Neon Deon and Bo Jackson should be mentioned in here, or maybe michael Jordan.
 
>Neon Deon and Bo Jackson should
>be mentioned in here, or
>maybe michael Jordan.

MJ was a one sport guy, couldn't hack it in the minor leagues of baseball. Bo on the other hand, straight up STUD!

Rut
 
THE GREATEST ATHLETE IS GOING TO BE A PERSON THAT CAN.....RUN,JUMP,HIT,SHOOT,CUT,MAKE HARD CONTACT, ENDURE,HAS GREAT STRENGTH, HAS A GREAT BODY,SWEATS & IS IN INCREDIBLE SHAPE.

A RACE CAR DRIVER, GOLFER, SOMEONE IN THE SHOOTING SPORTS, OR A BADMINTIN PLAYER ARE NOT ATHLETES EVEN THOUGH THEY PLAY A GAME, PASTIME, OR SPORT.

THE MOST TALENTED ATHLETE OF ALL TIME TO ME IS...BO JACKSON, BO ALSO RAN TRACK....TUFF TO COMPETE WITH BO ON THIS ONE.
 
Dan O'Brien is the best athlete I have ever seen.

Bo Jackson would be second in my book.
 
I think some of you are underestimating just what Michael Phelps did. Swimming is a world unto itself and to be honest with you most of the great athletes mentioned for other sports would fail miserably in a swimming pool because you actually have to recondition the body to breath differently. The fact that Spitzs records stood so long is a testimonial to how difficult it was to break the record. 8 golds and 8 world records in one olympics is a feat that most likely won't be duplicated again for quite some time even by Michael himself.

Lightening Bolt did something they thought impossible too but only in two events and his was also a great achievement. We have a lot of great athletes to be thankful for but they all still are much more centered on 1 sport. The swimming venues he won in required different skill sets and that's why you don't see individuals doing that very often especially against the best in the world. He did and that's why I have a lot of respect for him and the guys that compete in the decathalon but remember this they are competing against their best and the world record for the event ie high jump, pole vault, running etc. They didn't set the world record in most of the events they are competing in and that sets them apart Michael did. But he would never excell on a baseball field or a football field or most likely on a basketball court but those guys would look just as foolish in the pool. My$.02
 
Golf is a sport.....Tiger who!

How about the gold metal marathon runners. It's one thing to pull off the fastest time in 100 meter but quite a different feat to run 26 miles in under 2 1/2 hours. Frig, thats insane!

Lance armstrong recently ran a marathon and said it was the hardest thing he's ever done and he didn't finish out as well as many thought he would. Still a great athelete though.Maybe one of the greatest!

Mike
 
BOSKEE.....TO BE A GREAT ATHLETE (NOT A GREAT SWIMMER, AND PHELPS IS THAT) YOU HAVE TO DO MANY THINGS (AS I MENTIONED ABOVE). A TOTAL PACKAGE.....A GUY THAT JUST PLAYS GOLF, JUST SWIMS, OR JUST DRIVES A RACE CAR WONT BE A CANIDATE AS A GREAT ATHLETE....YD.
 
For Phelps to excel at all 4 strokes in swimming, at the level
he does it at, is remarkable. He not only swam the 8 races for gold, but had to do qualifying heats in seveal events before he got to the finals. Spitz didn't have to do that. Still probably not the greatest athlete. How about Jim Thorpe (from the early 1900's) for that title. Football, baseball and I believe track.
 
I think all of these guys deserve mention! Lance Armstrong is amazing as is Phelps! There are a lot of these guys that are "specialists" in one thing and that's okay. Anyone keep tabs on Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears last year?

48ae330d508097cd.jpg
 
YD that's why I said he would never excell in those other sports and would look foolish doing them. I wasn't saying he was the greatest athlete ever I just thought some were downplaying his achievements and not giving credit to how truly remarkable they were. In todays world of highly specialized sports there aren't too many cross over athletes out there any more. Thorpe was such an example as stated above. That was my point and in todays world most contracts would prohibit the athlete from competeing in other venues for the money these guys are making so we'll never see who really has the right stuff to be like a Jim Thorpe.
 
I think that I would have to go with Jim Thorpe and Bow Jackson as will. All the others are great (the best) in their sports but these two guys actually played other sports professionaly and achived great things in them.

I also have to agree that because of Contracts and such, our days of knowing who is the worlds greatest athlete is go. Everyone has to be so careful anymore as to not hurt themselfs or break their contract by doing something else that no one even trys any more.


Jeff
 
I have a quarter in my pocket that says Bo can't not swim. I'd bet he would make a big splash doing the butterfly.
 
>For Phelps to excel at all
>4 strokes in swimming, at
>the level
>he does it at, is remarkable.
>He not only swam the
>8 races for gold, but
>had to do qualifying heats
>in seveal events before he
>got to the finals. Spitz
>didn't have to do that.
>Still probably not the greatest
>athlete. How about Jim Thorpe
>(from the early 1900's) for
>that title. Football, baseball and
>I believe track.


I agree with most of the above, but in the end I think Phelps is the best. Flat out amazing. He holds most of the world records in his events, and I think hee even beat some of his own in these Olympics. That dude just loves to win.
 
baseball, basketball, football, soccer, even golf take one ball. racing takes two. best athlete ricky carmichel motocrosser aka goat greatest of all time.anyone can throw, kick, hit a ball, let's see anyone else jump about 80' a couple times a lap. the line gets pretty short. ce61 IMO racing IS a sport, the rest are just games. LOL have a good day
 
>baseball, basketball, football, soccer, even golf
>take one ball. racing takes
>two. best athlete ricky carmichel
>motocrosser aka goat greatest of
>all time.anyone can throw, kick,
>hit a ball, let's see
>anyone else jump about 80'
> a couple times a
>lap. the line gets pretty
>short. ce61 IMO
>racing IS a sport, the
>rest are just games. LOL
>have a good day


Oh come on now...

I want to see anybody hit a major league curveball that travels 75-80mph, starts at your chin, and breaks down to your knees a foot off the plate.
 
ce61.....THATS FUNNY STUFF YOU PUT UP THERE. IF YOU HAVE TO DEPEND ON A MOTORCYCLE OR A RACECAR YOUR NOT EVEN A CANIDATE FOR THE GREATEST ATHLETE. LMAO.......YD.
 
Ricky Carmichael? That's funny.

I'd like to see Ricky strap on a helmet and go across the middle. Only to have John Lynch or Ronnie Lott waiting for him. Then maybe we can see who plays with 2 balls.....
 
i always thought a sport was supposed to have a little danger in it. i seen michael jordan listed as a great basketball player and would have to agree, but now he sponsors a motorcycle roadrace team, if it was easy, you'd think he would hop on that bike and open a can of whoopa--. but back to ricky c. most motocross races are 30-40 minutes straight, no timeouts, no substitutes. watch an outdoor motocross or a supercross, if thats easy , i got a bridge to sell you.
i thought i could get you ball game guys goin' with adding a sport thats not a game LOL ce61
 

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