Who is the flukiest Olympic Gold medal winner of all-time?

close reader wrote:

Armstronglivs wrote:

These are the blue riband events of track.

Do you mean "the blue ribald events of track"?

He’s not wrong, you know:

I'd say the Men's 4 miles team race in 1904. They only had to beat one team which was another made up USA team Chicago AA. They had to include a Frenchman to make up the team. Even then they won by one point and if Chicago had avoided finishing in the last two places they would have lost.

yoo hoo wrote:

Who is the flukiest Olympic Gold medal winner of all-time?

Centro.

birdbeard wrote:

you all are showing your young age. you don't remember something flukier than Centrowitz, who was also World 1500m Indoors champ that year and had a silver and bronze already on the world stage? kiprop ran like an idiot, and mahkloufi almost go there but just couldn't quite make it, but Centro was a decent bet for a medal and ended up winning. big deal. that happens in some event every single olympics and world championships.

you wanna see a fluke? let's talk NILS MF'IN SCHUMANN over Wilson Kipketer.

Schumann only qualified for 3 WCs/Olympics in his entire career. He never ran under 1:44 in his career. In 2000, the year he won the Olympics, he didn't win a single major international race except the Olympics. That's a fluke. Centrowitz is not a fluke.

agree-how Kipketer did not win was a shock...a flash in the pan beating a guy that dominated the 800m in the 90s--too bad he didn't get a chance for gold in '96 due to citizenship snafus...

I too think Peter Rono a solid choice. I was on the campus of Mt St Mary's a few years back, a tidy little place in the mountains on the Maryland/Pennsylvania state line, a place which gives off vibes that you are almost in the north of the United States with a rural northern feel. I mentioned to students jogging on the track that the school had an Olympic Gold medal winner in the 1500m, and they did not believe me. I don't want to give a negative impression, as the story is a good one.

correctamundo wrote:

Not track, but this guy takes the cake

Steven John Bradbury OAM (born 14 October 1973) is an Australian former short track speed skater and four-time Olympian. He won the 1,000 m event at the 2002 Winter Olympics after all of his opponents were involved in a last corner pile-up. He was the first athlete from the Southern Hemisphere and Australia to win a Winter Olympic gold medal and was also part of the short track relay team that won Australia's first Winter Olympic medal, a bronze in 1994.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Bradbury

The whole lead up to Bradbury's medal is nuts.

1.) Originally didn't qualify for the quarter finals, but got through after someone got DQed

2.) Only advanced out of the semis after all the other competitors crashed out

3.) Won the gold after INTENTIONALLY skating back behind the pack in case someone fell (like the previous round) so he could snag a medal, pushing his luck hoping for a repeat of the semis. Low and behold, that's exactly what happened and on the last turn to boot!!

Steven Bradbury is the correct answer to this thread.

Concupiscurd wrote:

Some great posts in this thread. I realize that most people have the summer games in mind but as a very young Canadian at the time, I have an indelible memory of this event. Wonder how many of you watched it live? Miracle on Ice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYscemhnf88

It was shown on tape delay in the U.S., so only those who were there saw it live. Not sure if it was shown live in Canada, Europe or elsewhere.

Maybe not the flukiest, but up there as a fluke or not very interesting is Million Wolde in the 5k at Sydney in 2000.

It was a pretty uninteresting field, in a slow time, and he did not do much else in his career. A 12:59 personal best is not that impressive for an Olympic champion in 2000.

I will forever believe that it may be the most forgettable 5000m final in recent Olympic history.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

oldschoollrc wrote:

Depending on how the remainder of his career goes, Matthew Centrowitz.

What he did prior to the win and what he does in the future, is meaningless. He won the MF 1500 Gold Medal against a very strong field.

Absolutely. It was not Centro's fault the entire field decided to go slow, he just used it to his advantage as any smart runner would. The jealous crowd here is pathetic.

I wouldn't say Intentionally skating at the back....He was a different level of skater and couldn't keep up to their paces.

doctorj wrote:

SDSU Aztec wrote:

What he did prior to the win and what he does in the future, is meaningless. He won the MF 1500 Gold Medal against a very strong field.

Absolutely. It was not Centro's fault the entire field decided to go slow, he just used it to his advantage as any smart runner would. The jealous crowd here is pathetic.

Correct and some of the crowd is just as jealous of Peter Rono. When you line up in the Olympic Final and you have made it through the rounds, and then you finish in 1st place with an Olympic Gold at stake, you have won a foot race, and although it is only a foot race, there can be immense pressure and you have damn well earned the right to laugh in the faces of ignorant tools who label your victory a fluke!

Centro isn't flukey. He has had an outstanding career and has done very well on the global stage prior to winning Gold. However, it's fair to say the race played out almost unbelievably- in his favor, and he didn't just win gold, but others in the race lost the gold. But that's not unlike Emma Coburn at 2017 worlds (she was seeded sixth if anyone recalls).

It's always crazy to think about Centro's career when you think about how he started. He was a high school phenom, but had no where near the level of hype that Alan Webb, Ritz or Ryan Hall had. Even in his own graduating year there was so many guys his age who got way more clout than he did. Sure he got attention from his lineage and his accomplishments but if you had to guess from that graduating class, who would win Olympic Gold nine years later, I don't think many would guess Centro. I think that's why people think his gold is a fluke.

It just goes to show you can never tell who will have a great career and when someone's day will come. That's why it's silly to center a high school athlete's career around their future but just celebrate their accomplishments when they happen and whatever comes will come.

Yusuf Saad Kamel, gold in 1500m in Berlin 2009.

Very short career, came out of nowhere and also faded away just as quickly.

Well, it was more like "OMG, Schumann did it again!"

Many people forget that he also won the European Championships in 1998 against Kipketer (& Büchel).

Double Fluke ;-).

Artojas wrote:

Yusuf Saad Kamel, gold in 1500m in Berlin 2009.

Very short career, came out of nowhere and also faded away just as quickly.

It is amazing how little some of you know about the sport. Kamel, who was born Gregory Konchellah, ran under 1:44 for 5 consecutive years. He did NOT come out of nowhere and he did NOT have a very short career. He ran 1:42 and 3:31. His career would have been longer but for injuries.

Steven Bradbury - no question

underdog - GOAT

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Bradbury

Track Historian wrote:

Maybe not the flukiest, but up there as a fluke or not very interesting is Million Wolde in the 5k at Sydney in 2000.

It was a pretty uninteresting field, in a slow time, and he did not do much else in his career. A 12:59 personal best is not that impressive for an Olympic champion in 2000.

I will forever believe that it may be the most forgettable 5000m final in recent Olympic history.

Yes. Very forgettable.

Think of the years leading up to it.

Geb breaks Aouita’s 5000m record.

Moses Kiptanui breaks Geb’s record.

Geb then shatters the record and breaks it again.

Then Daniel Komen breaks the record.

Then Geb breaks it again.

Who wins the Olympics?

Wolde over a very weak field.

Gebrselassi wouldn’t double because of two rounds of the 10 plus three rounds of the 5 at the time.

5 distance races in a week is a bit much.

He indeed ran under 1:44 for 5 consecutive years, you're right.

Nonetheless, that 1500m gold was indeed lucky, because he "only" got bronze in his main event - 800m.

Also Andre Bucher comes to mind, as well as Ramil Guliyev, Konstantinos Kenteris and Kim Collins

These were all great runners, but without a huge legacy or an impressive medal count. Just did the right thing at the right time and nobody else happen to do it better on that particular day.

Artojas wrote:

He indeed ran under 1:44 for 5 consecutive years, you're right.

Nonetheless, that 1500m gold was indeed lucky, because he "only" got bronze in his main event - 800m.

No Kamel won gold in the 1500m and the fact that he got bronze in the 800m did not make his 1500m gold lucky.

Kamel ran 1500m on Aug.15, 17 and 19. Then he ran 800m on Aug. 20, 21 and 23. He did well to nab the bronze after that schedule.