Your favourite Olympian

[belboid]

As it is clearly impossible to say who was 'the greatest' (what a ridiculous idea! who would even consider starting such a thread?), lets ignore that and just say who your favourite was, for whatever reason, be it cos they were just ace, just crap, fell over amusingly, or was fit - in the way that wouldn't particularly help them win medals.

There are three options for me - in chronological(ish) order:

Steve Ovett - fucking ace, and scruffy, unlike those Tory bores Coe and Cram

Daley Thompson - say no fucking more

Hassiba Boulmerka - Algerian 1500 woman, caused a right furore in Algeria by 'showing too much of her body' when running. Fundies demanded she cover up more, she demanded they fuck off. They threatened her life, she carried on. I've never seen anyone run with such style and determination, quite inspirational.

Whose yours?

 

[cesare]

Olga Korbut
Mark Spitz
Lillian Board

 

[belboid]

who's Lillian Board?

 

[CharlieAddict]

kurt angle

 

[The Groke]

Zeus.

 

[cesare]

who's Lillian Board?

Lillian Board

Her early death upset me as a kid

 

[internetstalker]

 

[CharlieAddict]

daley was a talker and do-er.

liked him lots...

(liked what seb coe achieved but he has a shitty personality - about as witty/entertaining as lewis hamilton).

 

[JTG]

Steve Cram was no Tory surely?!

 

[Melinda]

Special mention to Alexei Nemov *swoon* the 1996 All-Around mens gymnastics champion in Atlanta.

He was handsome, charming and prodigiously talented. My Russian wasnt great, but I knew he loved me very much.



I have his autograph somewhere.

 

[Part 2]

Probably the ones from when I was a kid.

So Daley Thomson, great video game.

And this cool bastard.

Ed Moses.

 

[Melinda]

Oh nice ones Part 2!

 

[belboid]

Steve Cram was no Tory surely?!

mmm, probably not - tho he did look kinda like one. And he called one of his kids 'Marcus'

Still holding the mile & 1500 record after 23 years is quite impressive tho

 

[QueenOfGoths]

daley was a talker and do-er.

liked him lots...

(liked what seb coe achieved but he has a shitty personality - about as witty/entertaining as lewis hamilton).

Same here - always prefered Cow to Ovett and Cram but that was before i knew his political affiliation

Apart from Daley Thompson here is my favourite. And he's a pretty good pundit as well!

 

[Matt S]

Carolina Kluft is absolutely astonishing - especially as, if you judged just by the look of 'athleticism', she should really get beaten by Denise Lewis, Kelly Sotherton etc. To be that good at seven events in a row is just so impressive.

Matt

 

[CharlieAddict]

Apart from Daley Thompson here is my favourite. And he's a pretty good pundit as well!

me too...he's such a humble guy too, really down to earth.
really like him in interviews.

i also like yao ming for bringing to light on chinese racism in america.

 

[kyser_soze]

Pheidippides...

Nah, seriously...for patriotism Daley Thompson cos he was a dude; the UK weightlifter who competed this year with an injury who said 'Forget the pain, this is the Olympics' simply because that is what I think this is what the 'Olympic spirit' is about.

Jesse Owens, Kluft, Carl Lewis

 

[skyscraper101]

Another vote for Daley Thompson

Close behind, Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis, & Jesse Owens

Then Linford Christie, Kris Akabusi, Steve Redgrave, David Hemery, Kelly Holmes, Dalton Grant and Sally Gunnell and most of the womens beach volleyball teams

 

[quimcunx]

Me too.

 

[twistedAM]

Jeannie Longo - just missed out on a bronze this morning by one second, in this her seventh Olympics

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Nadia Comaneci and Olga Korbut, Comaneci because I remember her, but Korbut because I've seen her stuff repeatedly but was too young to actually watch

British would have to be Daley Thompson purely because he's so easily remembered, being a decathlete etc.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Lillian Board

Her early death upset me as a kid

blimey

Was reading about a gymnast yesterday who fell during training and ended up a quadriplegic. (Think it was in the 70s)

 

[huxley71]

Muhammad Ali
Daley Thompson
Denise Lewis
'The great' Ed Moses
Sergey Bubka
Haile Gebrselassie
Frankie Fredericks - largely because I saw a documentary of him once where they said something like "Frankie also enjoys playing football" before they showed a brief clip of him skinning about five defenders, before firing a shot into the top corner.

 

[cesare]

blimey

Was reading about a gymnast yesterday who fell during training and ended up a quadriplegic. (Think it was in the 70s)

I know, 22

Gymnastics is high risk, I think that's one of the reasons I've always enjoyed that part of the Olympics most (not that I've watched any yet this year )

 

[Melinda]

Same here - always prefered Cow to Ovett and Cram but that was before i knew his political affiliation

Apart from Daley Thompson here is my favourite. And he's a pretty good pundit as well!

Every so often there is an athlete who is sooo far ahead of their peers that they redefine the events they are in. Michael Johnson is one of those - just AWESOME.

I remember him on the sofa with Sue Barker speaking encouragingly to a young British 400m runner who had ran out of her skin and narrowly missed out on a medal.
Micahael was taking to her and giving her pointers and she was slack jawed, finally she shook her head and said:
"Sorry, Im not taking any of this in! I cant believe Michael Johnson is talking to me!! You're a hero!"

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Every so often there is an athlete who is sooo far ahead of their peers that they redefine the events they are in. Michael Johnson is one of those - just AWESOME.

I was looking up the Korbut flip, salto and flic flac last night and all I could find were comments that they were so complicated, they've never been successfully duplicated - that's AWESOME after all these years (and I hate that word)

 

[belboid]

Muhammad Ali

was Ali (or rather Clay ) really a great Olympian tho? Brilliant of course, but only one Games, and plenty of other boxers (notably Cubans such as Savon - 3 times Olympic heavyweight gold) have also been pretty awesome, more so in strictly Olympic terms

 

[Melinda]

I was looking up the Korbut flip, salto and flic flac last night and all I could find were comments that they were so complicated, they've never been successfully duplicated - that's AWESOME after all these years (and I hate that word)

I think this is just about the only context where 'awesome' is ok

Ive been watching the gymnastics clips from the 70s you are posting and I have to say they are wonderful.

How would they score nowadays though? They were ground breaking at the time, and absolutely influential, but I think girls have moved on (athletically anyway, if not in charm and aesthetics). LMHF and others?

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I think this is just about the only context where 'awesome' is ok

Ive been watching the gymnastics clips from the 70s you are posting and I have to say they are wonderful.

How would they score nowadays though? They were ground breaking at the time, and absolutely influential, but I think girls have moved on (athletically anyway, if not in charm and aesthetics). LMHF and others?

Not at all. That Korbut one? Is it the really grainy one with the crackly commentary?

I found a much better one and quite frankly, there's moves she performs that I've not seen anyway else do to this day

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

LMHF and others?