One Centisecond

Comment: When one person can win so many events, that means that those events are too similar.

Notice how it is always swimmers that win a zillion medals? We should do away with about half or two-thirds of all swimming events.

"Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience. "
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Sure the events are different strokes, but the evidence is pretty clear that skills translate very well across strokes. Why not add doggie-paddle and side-stroke while we are at it?

These events make sense in a swim-only meet (kind of, at least), but in a multi-sport event it is just way overkill.

And track is in many ways similar, but with some stark differences that illustrate my point. While some of the same guys can compete in the 100m and 200m, those guys are usually weak in 400m and useless in 800m and longer runs. Winning two running events is spectacular, winning three is astonishing. Winning seven is outright impossible.

Then look at the jumping events. Hardly anybody can win more than one of those, because they are all so different.

If we applied swimming theory to track and field, here are some of the events we would have:

50m run

150m run

250m run

100m run with your hands behind your back

150m run with your hands behind your back

1.5 mile run

2.5 mile run

3 mile run

standing long jump

1-legged standing long jump (left foot)

1-legged standing long jump (right foot)

high-jump (flop only)

high-jump (scissors only)

high-jump (dive only)

high-jump (freestyle)

Edited by Akhmed - 15 August 2008 at 10:45pm

"Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience. "
Most awesome site EVAR!

Frozen Balls wrote:

Decathlon?

edit: I don't know where I'm going with this.

edit again: ^^^ hahaha standing long jump

Decathlon is an excellent example. Notice how no decathlete in modern times has been even marginally competitive against the specialists in any single event.

And you laugh at standing long jump - that was an actual event at many track events back in the day, not so long ago. It was ditched mostly because it was deemed too similar to running long jump. Swimming should take some lessons.

"Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience. "
Most awesome site EVAR!

Robo Did you hear that The other coach sent in a challenge? It stayed the same, the watched through the slow-mo cams. msnbc kept me in touch on that.. i was suprised they can challenge

Edited by lilsully4 - 15 August 2008 at 11:37pm

lilsully4 wrote:

Robo Did you hear that The other coach sent in a challenge? It got turned after they went through the slow-mo cams. msnbc kept me in touch on that.. i was suprised..

so phelps didn't win that event? that's craziness....i think it's awesome that the competition was that close though...

I do it fast, slow, hard, and easy. I sometimes even do it in the woods. Yeah, I'm a runner.