Top Ten All-Time Swimmers

Here's my all-time top 10 greatest swimmers:

1. Michael Phelps. Duh. No explanation necessary.
2. Tracy Caulkins. But for the East Germans systematically doping their athletes and the boycott of the 1980 games, Tracy would be remembered as the most dominant female swimmer ever.
3. Ian Thorpe. When I watched this guy swim, I was in awe. He changed freestyle with a long stroke, power pull, and crazy kick. He also dabbled in backstroke and IM.
4. Natalie Coughlin. In an age where swimming is incredibly deep, Natalie shows incredible range in talent. She is world class in the 100 and 200 frees, the fastest ever 100 fly and back scy and among the best in lcm, and in 2008, she confounded many by throwing the 200 IM into the mix. She is, simply, a stud.
5. Mark Spitz. You can't argue with 7 gold medals. Yes, it was in a time when swimming was not as deep, but he was a ground-breaker and did what no one else had done before.
6. Janet Evans. Janet kicked the crap out of the steroid-laden East Germans. At 100 pounds with a wet winter jacket on, Janet was simply marvelous in 1988. She was my inspiration that Olympic Games. She held the longest-lasting women's world records--showing how incredible she was.
7. Matt Biondi. Matt is an awesome guy. His performance in 1988 was other-worldly--a bronze in the 200, golds in the 50 and 100 free, and three relays, and a silver in the 100 fly was pretty incredible. Our 400 medley relay record lasted 8 year. In 1986, I saw Matt go 133.0 in the 200 scy free. He was followed by Troy Dalbey and Craig Oppel in 133.2 and 133.9. That race was one of the most impressive races of all time.
8. Ryan Lochte. If it wasn't for Phelps, he might be the number 1 guy on this list. As one top-level swimmer recently said to me, "Phelps is such a douche bag." referring to his never-ending studliness undercutting everyone else. Lochte seems unphased by Phelps or anyone else. His defeat of Phelps' 200 IM record this summmer last summer (in a "slower" fast suit) at World's was meant to show Phelps that he could beat his record in anything. His defeat of Peirsol in 2008 showed that he can win the big one. I believe that Lochte might have the highest pain threshold of anyone in the world. For that he gets the double high five.
9. Shirley Babashoff. To put it bluntly, Shirley was screwed. She was the greatest swimmer no one knew. If it was not for the blatant doping by the East Germans, Shirley would be a household name and famous.
10. Kitajima/Peirsol. This one is a tie. Both dominate a single stroke--thus not higher on the list. But both showed that despite missteps or a "chink" in the armor, they responded and blew everyone away. Kitajima's 2008 response to his 2007 outing left no doubt he is the best breaststroker ever. Peirsol's falter in 2008 200 back and 2009 100 Worlds semis, led to world records in both races and complete dominance of perhaps the strongest mens' races in all of swimming.

My Beef About Jr. Nationals

Back inthe day, Jr. Nationals was considered a stepping stone event. Swimmers with Sr. National cuts were forbidden from swimming Jr. Nationals in those events if they decided to attend the Jr. Nationals meet. Thus, Jr. Nationals (with all the faults it did have) was a place for the top 18&under swimmers without Sr. National cuts to compete with similarly skilled swimmers in order to go to the next level.

Jr. Nationals had its faults in that coaches were purposely holding swimmers back in order to pump up team scores at the meet, or the meet became sort of a slow burial ground for talented swimmers who felt satisfied with the Jr. National level. The disparity between Jr. and Sr. National QTs was also growing, causing less and less 18 and unders to be at the Sr. National level.

The addition of the Sectional format was an effort to bridge the gap between Jr. and Sr. National level swimmers. The Sectional meets (in my opinion) have been very successful and have served the purpose of creating interaction between the very elite swimmer and the sub-Jr. National level swimmer. For example, I have had about fifteen swimmers who have qualified for our Sr. Sectional meet over the past four to five years. Those swimmers were able to compete with and meet swimmers like Megan Jendrick, Andie Taylor, Missy Franklin, Margaret Hoelzer, and many others--something that would not have occurred at a strictly Jr. National meet of the old days.

With the return of Jr. Nationals, the problem I see is again the creation of a "gap" between the elite and sub-Jr. National levels. With clearly Sr. National athletes taking up the top 10 to 16 places at the Jr. National meet as it is currently structured, the meet has become less of a "Jr. National" meet and more of an "19&under Nationals." These top 19&under athletes are already competing on the Sr. National and world stage. I have a problem with their drift backwards into the Jr. National realm because it essentially prevents the next generation (or later developing generation) of 19&under athletes who are just qualifying for the meet from having opportunity at what should be a second-tier meet.

Any thoughts?