wildcatcountry97 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 With all of this talk of Phelps being the greatest Olympian ever - which I disagree with - Who do you feel is the best Olympic wrestler of all time? I understand some had more Olympic medals than others, but I think the argument can be made for most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleB Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 No Jeff Blatnick? No Kurt Angle? Maaaaan that's just wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2016GrecoGold Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Humphrey and Howe haven't competed in the Olympics yet and Lee Kemp never competed in them because the U.S. boycotted the 1980 Moscow games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I think Gable should be on the list as well.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestler112 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 What about cael sanderson.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjacoby Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Add to your list of Russians, Sergei Beloglazov. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1oldwrestler Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I think Gable should be on the list as well.... Agreed. A list that doesn't include Gable can't be taken seriously. He may not get the most votes but to be totally excluded? Though Kemp didn't wrestle because of the boycotted olympics, he was the clear favorite for gold that year so I have no problem with him being on this list. Sanderson is also a glaring oversight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1oldwrestler Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 With all of this talk of Phelps being the greatest Olympian ever - which I disagree with - Who do you feel is the best Olympic wrestler of all time? I understand some had more Olympic medals than others, but I think the argument can be made for most. Phelps is the greatest, end of discussion. Any of the arguments (swimming is too exclusive so only rich white kids do it, swimming has too many opportunities for medals) just don't hold water (pardon the pun). His dominance is unparalleled at the olympics in any sport. Keep in mind that I can't swim worth a lick so I have no personal appreciation for his feats. I have just totally enjoyed watching him mow down the competition especially during his previous two olympics. This olympics is just a coronation of his achievemnets. Wildcat, you and Skip Bayless and Michael Wilbon can remain in the tiny minority that believe Phelps not to be the greatest olympian to date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwoodjc89 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Buvaisar Saitiev. Some argue that he may be the greatest wrestler ever. 3x Olympic Champ 6x World Champ 6x European Champ Sergei Beloglasov is/was pretty amazing to watch as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcatcountry97 Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 Kurt Angle only won 1 medal and if memory serves correctly it was 1-1 and he won his lone medal on a judge?s decision. Blatnick, Cael, and Gable only won 1 Olympic medal as well, so I found it hard to add them to that list. (Some of those fellas have 3 Golds) I felt that quite a few people would absent-mindedly choose Gable because of his popularity in this country without considering some of the others. I put Lee Kemp on this list because he was a very strong favorite for the Gold during our boycott, and I hated to leave him off the list with his other accomplishments in mind (1st American to win 3 world gold medals - and still youngest to win a world gold I believe) ALSO - I put Humphries/Howe on here a bit facetiously as a not-so-subtle knock on all the folks who act like they are the greatest of all time in every post because their knowledge base is only about 8 years back it seems. Sergei Beloglazov is an interesting one, I think he had a brother who was a gold medalist as well but I don't recall his name - I will add him to the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2CJ41 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 *Reece Humphrey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwoodjc89 Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Twin brother of Sergei Beloglasov was Anatoli Beloglasov an Olympic Champion in 1980 Buvaisar Saitiev also had a brother that was an Olympic Champion in 2000, Adam Saitiev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1oldwrestler Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Kurt Angle only won 1 medal and if memory serves correctly it was 1-1 and he won his lone medal on a judge?s decision. Blatnick, Cael, and Gable only won 1 Olympic medal as well, so I found it hard to add them to that list. (Some of those fellas have 3 Golds) I felt that quite a few people would absent-mindedly choose Gable because of his popularity in this country Hes also the only wrestler to not get scored upon during his march to Olympic gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chambers Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Hes also the only wrestler to not get scored upon during his march to Olympic gold. I don't know which wrestler you are talking about but it does not matter. Your statement is wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1oldwrestler Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I don't know which wrestler you are talking about but it does not matter. Your statement is wrong. I was referring to gable. Im wrong that he never got scored on, or im wrong hes the only one to not get scored on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chambers Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I was referring to gable. Im wrong that he never got scored on, or im wrong hes the only one to not get scored on? He was not the only one to not be scored on. Alexander Karelin went 13 years undefeated in international competition and six years without giving up a point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMAWRESTLER Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Bruce Baumgartner is the most decorated American wrestler of all time, winning 4 Olympic Medals (2-Gold, 1-Silver, 1-Bronze), 9 World Championship Medals (3-Gold, 3-Silver, 3-Bronze) and 4 Pan-American Medals (3-Gold, 1-Silver,); he has also won 12 World Cup Medals (7-Gold, 5-Silver), an NCAA title (and 2 Runner-Up finishes), 4 Olympic Festival titles, 2 AAU National titles and a Junior National title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Is this greatest overall Olympian? Greatest Wrestling Olympian? Greatest American Wrestling Olympian? Greatest combined Olympians? Greatest "they may be future" Olympians? Greatest "if he actually got to compete in the Olympics" Olympian? Greatest single Olympic wrestling preformance? Greatest complete resume of a wrestling Olympian? Quite frankly this poll is all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greco165 Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Reed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1oldwrestler Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 He was not the only one to not be scored on. Alexander Karelin went 13 years undefeated in international competition and six years without giving up a point. Guw Guess I was referring to freestyle. More impressive to do it in fs, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcatcountry97 Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 "Is this greatest overall Olympian? Greatest Wrestling Olympian? Greatest American Wrestling Olympian? Greatest combined Olympians? Greatest "they may be future" Olympians? Greatest "if he actually got to compete in the Olympics" Olympian? Greatest single Olympic wrestling preformance? Greatest complete resume of a wrestling Olympian? Quite frankly this poll is all over the place. " MATTM ? maybe you should the title of the poll ? ?Who do you feel is the best Olympic wrestler of all time?? Is this greatest overall Olympian? ? If you?ll notice they are all wrestlers; so probably not overall Olympian. Greatest Wrestling Olympian? ? Actually yes, that is what the title says. Greatest American Wrestling Olympian? ? Probably not since that list is full of Russians. Greatest combined Olympians? ? They only tw0-fer is the Schultz boys; I combined them to give them a chance at a vote. And if the list was the greatest combined Olympians I guess it wouldnt be a very interesting vote and they'd win hands down since they are the only combined Olympians on the list! Greatest "they may be future" Olympians? ? I clearly was being sarcastic with the maybe-future fellas ?and even posted to that effect. Greatest "if he actually got to compete in the Olympics" Olympian? ? As you may know ? despite the fact that we boycotted the Olympics ? we still held an Olympic trials and Mr. Kemp won that trials- which puts him on an Olympic team whether we competed over there or not. Thereby he is still an Olympic wrestler in the opinion of many. If you don?t feel that way, then don?t vote for him. Greatest single Olympic wrestling preformance? ? AGAIN ? the title says ??best Olympic wrestler of all time.? ? No one said greatest performance or the list would have included more ?single medal? guys. Greatest complete resume of a wrestling Olympian? ? I suppose that is where the ?discussion? in discussion board comes into deciding who is the greatest. So? quite frankly this poll is spot on - If you have any other suggestions as to someone I left off the list who is a reasonable addition I?d be happy to add ? as I added Beloglazov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 I'll stick with my original thought. This poll is all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Peck Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Robin Reed is definitely in the mix. My favorite for the position is Doug Blubaugh. I would also say that Jack VanBebber (sp?) would be in the running because he actually missed his ride and had to run several miles to get to the venue and arrived in time to compete. I would agree that in the context of Olympic success Phelps is without question the greatest Olympian, but in terms of performance it is impossible to compare athletes of different generations. For example when Mark Spitz was swimming very few did multiple Olympics becasue they needed to get a job to make a living. Anyway, Phelps is awesome. To stay in a grueling sport as long as he has is amazing. He might want to check the rearview though as Missy Franklin may be gaining on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleB Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 No Jeff Blatnick? No Kurt Angle? Maaaaan that's just wrong! Okay mine was in jest.. Blatnick needs a huge astericks by his name b/c the Russian Bear wasn't there. Angle did have a broken neck though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1oldwrestler Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Phelps might want to check the rearview though as Missy Franklin may be gaining on him. Agreed. My sons and I were just going over how she might be able to do it last night. She's got 5 medals in her first where Phelps got zero. She'll be 29 in her fourth games (Phelps was 27) which means she'll need to average almost 6 medals in ea of the next 3 olympics. It will come down to how many she can rack up in these next two games that will determine if she can do it or not. I think she can and will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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