PDX Track wrote:
I never said he did...Wejo did.
Yes, it's laughable.
Jesse Owens meant MUCH more....Spitz meant much more....
She's not an icon, nor a legend...well, I guess a "tragic" legend...never winning the gold and all.
Millions would agree that there are other people who meant much more to the USOC than Kwan. Even in her own sport. Fleming or Hammill come to mind. Other women? How about Retton? Or Benoit?
um, nine time US champion, 5 time world champion, olympic silver and bronze medalist? that IS legendary--she's won more championships than any other US skater in history, and there are few other athletes in other sports who can match her record.
in the end, it's not going to matter what the public thinks--b/c you and i are uninformed about the sport of skating and only pay attention every four years. if you listen to her peers (people like scott hamilton, brian boitano, etc), they have said year after year, not just now that she's down and out, that she has elevated the sport--and how can you deny that when you look at her wins over the past decade? i saw an interview with scott hamilton today--when asked who the greatest female skater ever is, he said some woman named janet lynn, who NEVER won olympic gold. i'll take his word over any of us.
paula radcliffe probably means more to british marathoning than any other athlete. she hasnt won gold.
as for benoit, mary lou, fleming, hamill, theyre definitely among the greatest olympic athletes of all time. but that's not the same as "meaning the most to the USOC." you have 300 winter american olymians and close to a thousand summer olympians each time they roll around--99% are not going to win gold. so why do they even bother showing up when theyre all gonna lose and fall flat on their faces and make fools of themselves? why is the USOC wasting all that money on these eventual losers?
who can the USOC point to as the best example of someone who embodies the very reason theyre at the olympics, even though most of them will not win gold?