Left field

Thorpe risks reputation by jumping back in the pool

Ian Thorpe’s decision to make a return to competitive swimming has already raised the prospect of a mouthwatering clash with Michael Phelps at the 2012 London Olympics, but at the possible risk of damaging his reputation.

As one of the greatest swimmers of all time, Thorpe’s chances of making a successful comeback cannot be discounted but the odds are stacked against him adding to his collection of five Olympic gold medals.

The Australian says his return is not motivated by money but rather by the lure of competition even though he admits failure could harm his legacy.

More often than not, sporting comebacks end in disappointment as great athletes fail to reproduce the form that took them to the top of their chosen sports.

For many, age and injuries are the biggest hurdles as they struggle to get their bodies to do what they once did.

For others, evolution is the biggest obstacle as they discover that their best is no longer good enough because their younger opponents have taken their events to new levels.

But for all the failures, there are also many inspiring cases of athletes who defied the odds and came back better than ever.

Does athletics still rule the Olympics?

Dash or splash? Which is the number one Olympic sport?

Athletics has massive crowds and Usain “Lightning” Bolt torching world records while swimming boasts Michael Phelps ripping off another bundle of world and Olympic records.

Conversations over the past week indicate the argument is heating up.

First, respected U.S. sports analyst Bob Dorfman suggested: “Because of the drug issues, because it (athletics) is not terribly compelling, I think swimming has taken over a little bit in terms of Olympic sports popularity.”

Athletics leaders including USA Track & Field chief executive Doug Logan strongly disagreed. But the splash-dash talk continued with International Swimming Federation (FINA) boss Julio Maglione at the forefront.

During a meeting of sports chiefs in Dubai to discuss the way broadcast revenue from the Olympic Games is distributed, Maglione called for a realignment that would take money from athletics and provide more for sports like his.

from Shop Talk:

Olympic Gold for Coke, McDonald’s and Visa

When is Olympic sponsorship money well spent? A Performance Research poll shows it may depend on how the funds are used.

Coke, McDonald's and Visa dominate consumer awareness when it comes to the Olympics, according to a study by the Rhode Island-based research firm that evaluates the sponsorship industry.

Sixty-eight percent of Americans polled confirmed the Olympic sponsorship of Coke and McDonald's, followed closely by 66 percent for Visa, Performance Research said. Those three companies also were listed as having consumers' favorite Olympic TV commercials and doing the most to support the Games.

"They start their advertising early and they're continuous with it," Performance Research President Jed Pearsall said of the three companies' success. "They're always reminding people they're Olympic sponsors."

Other sponsors trailed far behind in consumer awareness -- AT&T (36 percent), Procter & Gamble (27 percent), Polo Ralph Lauren (26 percent), GE (25 percent), Samsung (24 percent) and Panasonic (20 percent), according to the study.

Meanwhile, ambush marketing is alive and well at the Games despite the efforts of the International and U.S. Olympic committees as restaurant chain Subway was associated with the Olympics by 26 percent of respondents, Performance Research said.

Nearly half of respondents saw Subway's ad with swimmer Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the Beijing Summer Games in 2008, and 79 percent of those believed Subway supported the U.S. Olympic team.

from Olympics Notebook: Vancouver 2010:

Winter Games podcast — day seven

vancouverpodday7edit

Our latest podcast from downtown Vancouver focuses on the little differences between cultures, the giant war of words between the figure skaters and the surprise visit of the multi-medal winning Michael Phelps.

Sportswrap: redemption special

Click on the video above for our latest look at the week’s sporting highlights, including an interview with Andre Agassi (in full Edith Piaf mode), the thoughts of Michael Phelps on his trial by textile and the almighty scrap for the last nine World Cup places.

As always, Sportswrap is presented by Owen Wyatt, written by Kevin Fylan and produced from our Canary Wharf HQ.

I just swam the world championship pool

In the midst of a deluge of world records at the world swimming championships, I was close to breaking the mark for the slowest ever time.

Journalists at the Rome event were given the chance to swim in the outdoor 50 metre pool just hours after Michael Phelps and Federica Pellegrini had graced the same starting blocks and water.

We were treated like the real swimmers and had to sit in the ‘call room’ where the professionals wait before their race.

The announcer boomed out the competitors on the public address system and our names appeared on the electronic scoreboard. The stands were empty but you could easily imagine 10,000 screaming fans urging you on.

Despite not having swum properly for years, I looked the part with cap, goggles and tight trunks.

It was only when we got to the blocks that I realised I had no idea how to dive into the water. This contributed to my terrible 50 freestyle time of 52.48 seconds. Phelps and the like would have finished before I’d even got halfway.

Is it fair to compare greats from different sports?

I just came across an interesting blog on the bleacher report comparing the greatness of Roger Federer and Tiger Woods.

Here in Italy, the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper has been running a series called “Impossible duels” where the likes of Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt have gone up against each other in a bizarre statistical battle.

But if there is even a debate about whether we can say Federer is the greatest player in tennis, how can we start to compare across sports?

We can talk about desire, mental toughness etc but the sports are so radically different.

Despite my doubts, here goes. Who was/is the greatest sports personality ever?

CAPTION: Can you name all the sporting figures in this photo?