Two Great Champions

 

The 2008 Olympics were great. With my daughter being an avid swimmer, we paid close attention to all of the swimming. I would like to acknowledge Peter Vanderkaay who is a local product from Rochester, Michigan. He won a gold medal in the 4×200 free relay (He won gold in the same event in 2004). He also won a bronze medal in the 200-meter freestyle. I have had the opportunity to meet Peter on a couple of occasions and he is a first-class individual.

My biggest pet peeve in all the media coverage was the singular focus on Michael Phelps and the Michael Phelps v. Mark Spitz comparisons. I saw the interview that Bob Costas held with Phelps and Spitz after Phelps won his 7th gold medal. When asked about a hypothetical race, Mark Spitz graciously stated:

“So I think if Michael and I were to have that chance, hypothetically, I certainly would know what made him tick and how to beat him, and he would know the same about me. So I would have to say now, we’d probably tie. But after tomorrow when he wins his eighth gold medal, I will take my hat off and be happy and glad to take second to Michael any day.”

The next day, I read on a headline linked on the Drudge Report that Mark Spitz stated “Michael Phelps couldn’t have beaten me.” They used this interview as the basis for that headline. Talk about some hack journalism.

What should Mark Spitz to say? Should he say that he can’t wear the same Speedo as Michael Phelps? That is simply not true. Let’s also not forget that neither one could have accomplished their feat if they swam for another country as they each won three relays with the help of nine world-class swimming teammates. Michael Phelps would not have won eight gold medals if it were not for 32-year-old Jason Lezak swimming the fastest 100m split in history.

Mark Spitz won seven gold medals (with seven world records) which is an incredible feat. He gave Michael Phelps a target. Spitz was every bit as dominating in 1972 as Phelps was in 2008. The 50m free was not an event in 1972 (it was added in 1988), Spitz could of won that event easily.

You cannot even compare times across eras as training methods, suits, technique, and technology have decreased times. My 13-year-old daughter, whose best 100m freestyle time is 1:10.70, would have been a world record holder until January of 1926. In 2008, that time isn’t good enough to make a 12-year-old Michigan State cut (1:09.89).

If history repeats itself, in 2044 someone will win nine gold medals in the Olympics, and no matter what 59-year-old Michael Phelps says, the media will make him out to be an ungracious petulant old man. In 2008, Mark Spitz deserves better.