Missy Franklin Wins Olympic Gold 13 Minutes After Her Previous Race - Could This Ever Happen In Running?

I think swimmers like Missy just train harder, and they don't bitch about what is and isn't possible.

I think athletes like Missy just train hard, and don't b1tch about what is and isn't possible, like most runners on this site.

"Coach, my foot feels kinda funny today. Can I sit out."

"Sure, kid."

Swimmers have the unfair advantage that they can pee in the pool. Think about how much harder runners could train if they could just pee right on the track.

What? You've never peed on the track while running on a rainy day?

Mr. Obvious wrote:

Track has 2 relays. Swimming has 3. Swimming has a total of 17 events for men and 17 for women (counting relays and one open water swim) Track and field has a total of 24 events for men and 23 events for women.

You really make yourself look ignorant when you lack all basic knowledge of a sport you are criticizing.

You make yourself look like you haven't thought about things. It's not about the event numbers:

Let's ignore relays because 2 vs. 3 isn't significant.

Tack has 19 events, of which 4 are throws, 4 are jumps, and 11 are running (100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 5000, 10000, marathon, sprint hurdles, 400m hurdles, 3000m steeplechase). Within those events, there are 9 different distances (not counting 100m/100mH/110mH as different).

Swimming has 13 swimming events, of which all 13 are swimming. There are 5 different distances, but let's look closer at them, because they aren't evenly distributed.

50m: 1 event (free)

100m: 4 events (free, back, breast, fly)

200m: 5 events (free, back, breast, fly, IM)

400m: 2 events (free, IM)

1500m: 1 event (free)

So if a swimmer is good over the 100-200 distances, there are NINE events for them to contest, not counting the 3 relays.

The thing that bothers me about swimming is that it is NOT A RACE.

You are not RACING against your competitors, there are no tactics, WRs are set during the olympics!! That almost never happens in track events (except all out 100m 200m for example).

The 100 and 200m are definitely more like swimming, and thats ok for the short events, but for the longer swimming events there are still no tactics.

I like to watch a RACE, something exciting where any of the people toeing the line can win. In swimming that just isnt the case.

Forgot to include racewalk, which I think should be discontinued as it's a bit of an embarrassment.

I've thought about it. There are just a lot of insecure runners who are jealous of the attention the swimmers and swimming are getting. Swimming and running are different and this whole stupid comparison of having "backwards running" and pretending that it is similar to butterfly is just dumb. Swimming has different stresses and different physiological requirements which make it more possible for people to win multiple medals. That doesn't make swimming less valid of an activity than running. Direct comparisons just are not really relevant.

I find them both entertaining. If somebody else doesn't, that's fine, but can we please stop with bashing swimming, it just looks silly and petty and exposes runners as insecure little twits.

noracing wrote:

The thing that bothers me about swimming is that it is NOT A RACE.

You are not RACING against your competitors, there are no tactics, WRs are set during the olympics!! That almost never happens in track events (except all out 100m 200m for example).

The 100 and 200m are definitely more like swimming, and thats ok for the short events, but for the longer swimming events there are still no tactics.

I like to watch a RACE, something exciting where any of the people toeing the line can win. In swimming that just isnt the case.

...and watching people go all out so you truly see who the best athlete in the field is isn't racing or exciting. It's much better to see who is best at sprinting after a 4k jog. There is nothing people would rather do than watch a 12:50 5ker run 14:00 pace for the majority of the race!

At the first World Championships (Helsinki 1983), Jarmila Kratochvilova won the 400/800 double with the following schedule:

August 7

11:55 AM - 800 heats - 2nd in 2:12.35

6:15 PM - 400 heats - 1st in 52.42

August 8

11:20 AM - 400 quarterfinals - 3rd in 52.40

7:30 PM - 800 semifinals - 2nd in 1:59.58

August 9

5:35 PM - 400 semifinals - 1st in 51.08

6:10 PM - 800 finals - 1st in 1:54.68 (57.8/56.9)

August 10

5:50 PM - 400 finals - 1st in 47.99 WR

ttyrdyjud wrote:

rojo wrote:

I heard that last night and just don't get how that is physiologically possible. And then I started wondering, "Could this ever happen in running?"

Swimming is more of a technical event than it is a physiological event.

A better comparison to track would be winning multiple field events (since those are skill-based). The general theme of swimming is multiple techniques using the same muscles.

This would be like winning the long jump, triple jump, and maybe high jump.

Or winning the 100m, 100m hurdles, 200m.

Or the discuss, shotput, javelin, and hammer.

The IM might be like the decathlon....maybe.

+1 THIS

Helsinki 1983 wrote:

At the first World Championships (Helsinki 1983), Jarmila Kratochvilova won the 400/800 double with the following schedule:

August 7

11:55 AM - 800 heats - 2nd in 2:12.35

6:15 PM - 400 heats - 1st in 52.42

August 8

11:20 AM - 400 quarterfinals - 3rd in 52.40

7:30 PM - 800 semifinals - 2nd in 1:59.58

August 9

5:35 PM - 400 semifinals - 1st in 51.08

6:10 PM - 800 finals - 1st in 1:54.68 (57.8/56.9)

August 10

5:50 PM - 400 finals - 1st in 47.99 WR

Let's hope little Missy isn't up to the same tricks as old Jarmila.

noracing wrote:

The thing that bothers me about swimming is that it is NOT A RACE.

You are not RACING against your competitors, there are no tactics, WRs are set during the olympics!! That almost never happens in track events (except all out 100m 200m for example).

The 100 and 200m are definitely more like swimming, and thats ok for the short events, but for the longer swimming events there are still no tactics.

I like to watch a RACE, something exciting where any of the people toeing the line can win. In swimming that just isnt the case.

I agree completely. I'd much rather watch someone sit in a group and draft going well below their ability and then have everyone sprint the last 100m.

No that's a race.

Does any of this relate to track cycling at all? I feel like those guys win a lot of medals. Too lazy to look it up. Yep.

You can swim hard as crap and your heart rate won't be near max. That prelim was the equivalent of doing strides before a race for her

Adam C wrote:

Paavo Nurmi's 1500/5000 double at the 1924 Olympics is pretty darn impressive. I always thought the two races were 90 minutes apart. But according wikipedia they were just 26 minutes apart. That sounds wrong to me but who knows.

Also in +90 degree heat.

randomcoach wrote:

Swimming has 13 swimming events, of which all 13 are swimming. There are 5 different distances, but let's look closer at them, because they aren't evenly distributed.

50m: 1 event (free)

100m: 4 events (free, back, breast, fly)

200m: 5 events (free, back, breast, fly, IM)

400m: 2 events (free, IM)

1500m: 1 event (free)

So if a swimmer is good over the 100-200 distances, there are NINE events for them to contest, not counting the 3 relays.

You are an idiot. Breaking down the events by distance rather than by stroke shows you have no clue about swimming. Why yap when you are just ignorant?

Ummmmm wrote:

You can swim hard as crap and your heart rate won't be near max. That prelim was the equivalent of doing strides before a race for her

This.