March 20, 2007

Top 5 Tuesday: Greatest Rivalries in Swimming

Posted by David

After a little bit of controversy last week over my knowledge of pre-1996 swimming, I hope to appease both young and old in this week’s installment of Top 5 Tuesday. With all the talk of Hackett vs. Jensen, Kitajima vs. Hansen and Phelps vs. Crocker it seems the perfect time to examine how they stack up against the greastest rivalries throughout history. Okay, without further ado…

5. Matt Biondi vs. Tom Jager. This may not have been a mean-spirited rivalry, but these two duked it out for 50 freestyle supremacy for a decade. In fact, either one of the two held the world record from 1985 all the way until 2000! There aren’t very many instances of two people staying on top for such an extended period of time. The pair went one-two at the innaugural event in 1988, and then looked to do it again in 1992…only to have a young Russian sprinter steal the perfect ending to the rivalry. Papov may have won gold, but it also took him 8 more years to finally break Jager’s record.

Winner: Biondi. Jager may have held the World Record from 1990 to 2000 (with even greater supremacy in the short course yards version of the race), but Biondi always came through on the biggest stage, having beaten him at both Seoul and Barcelona.

4. Gary Hall Jr. vs. The Continent of Australia. Honorable mentions go to Hall vs. Papov and Hall vs. Lezak (Hall labeling Lezak a “professional relay swimmer” is certainly worth mentioning), but this is the best of the three. How many times has a swimmer made an entire continent scream bloody murder at him? That’s exactly what Hall did before the 2000 Olympics, when he claimed the United States would “smash them (the Aussies) like guitars.” While the quote was completely lifted out of context, it didn’t seem to matter much at the time. Images of the Australian 4X100 free relay team playing air guitars after they knocked off the American relay (the first time they had lost the event in history) will forever be burned in Olympic history.

Winner: (Tie). Hall lost the relay, but the U.S. went on to dominate the competition from that point forth, culminating in Gary tying Anthony Ervin for gold in the 50 free. From what I understand, Hall has also made peace with the Australian swimming community too…but will always be good for a one-liner.

3. Brian Goodell vs. Bobby Hackett vs. Steven Holland vs. Tim Shaw: This is without a doubt, not only one of the greatest rivalries of all time, but one of the greatest stories in swimming history. In the buildup to the 1500m at the 1976 Olympics, American Tim Shaw and Australian Stephen Holland had broken the World Record in this event an amazing Six Times in 3 years, and were headed for a major showdown in Montreal. Enter: two american punk teenagers, Bobby Hackett and Brian Goodell.

At the Montreal Olympics it was Hackett and Goodell that pushed the pace, working out a body length lead by the 1000m mark. Goodell, however, came storming back and splitting a ridiculous 57.73 on the last 100 to finish in a world record breaking 15:02.40, with Hackett and Holland also finishing under the old mark of 15:06.66. What makes this rivalry great though, is how these four men pushed each other to break barriers. The World Record stood at 15:52 before these guys got a hold of it, and they pushed each other in training (with Holland actually training with Goodell for a year) and in races, to new heights.

Winner: Goodell, obviously, as he came away with two golds and two World Records from the meet. But, it would be impossible to label the other three “losers” in this case, as they all raised the bar in so many areas of swimming.

2. Michael Phelps vs. The World. The greatest swimmer of all time has to be put somewhere in here, but which one of his rivalries is the best? Phelps vs. Lochte, Phelps vs. Crocker, Phelps vs. Peirsol, Phelps vs. Laszlo Cseh…the list goes on. The point is, the man now has a solid rivalry with the fastest or second fastest swimmer of all time in each of his races. Yet despite the strength of his competition, Phelps refuses to back down. Often seeking out the best by changing his event list (200 back and 200 free in 2004 for example).

Winner: The Sport of Swimming. While Phelps may lose to a Peirsol here, or a Crocker there, what he has done for the level of attention given to swimming is the best thing since Mark Spitz’s feat at the 1972 Olympics. As fans, we should feel fortunate just to get the chance to see these rivarlies blossom.

1. East German Women vs. American Women. Special attention here to the 1976 Olympics, where the East German Women absolutely dominated the competition. In particular, Shirley Babashoff should be mentioned here. She came into the Olympics with Spitz-ian hopes, only to take silver in four events, each time losing to an East German. In fact, in her two Olympic Games and two World Championships Babashoff finished second to an East German 10 times!

This rivarly take top place though because of the drama outside of the pool. Babashoff openly accused the East Germans of steroid abuse, she recalled that the East Germans “had gotten so big, and when we heard their voices, we thought we were in a coed locker room.” The drama continued however, as Babashoff was labeled “Surly Shirley” by the media for what they claimed to be poor sportsmanship. It was not until the Wall came down and the steroid abuse became apparent that Babashoff was vindicated. The best part about this rivalry to me, is that it still continues today. Babashoff told USA Today in 2004, “I’m actually more angry about it now than I’ve ever been, for all the girls who didn’t get the right medal…I don’t understand why they can take away some people’s medals, or share them, and not take away the East Germans’ medals.”

Winner: (Tie). Everyone comes out of this a loser, unfortunately. The East German team is suffering the side-effects of the doping regime now, Babashoff should have been one of the greatest and most lauded swimmer in American history yet was ostracized from the sport for a decade, and the swimming community has remained more skeptical steroid involvement in every great achievement since.

Alright, there you are, my Top 5. If Larsen can dethrone Hackett this month or in Beijing, I believe they will enter the Top 5. Until then, I can’t put such a one sided rivalry up there. But there are also some other ones developing to watch out for: Eamon Sullivan vs. the U.S., Hansen vs. Kitajima (this has been pretty lopsided lately too, and not enough smack-talking either), Hardy vs. Jones and others. Who will punch their ticket into the Top 5?

Last Week’s Top 5