Karelin Olympic video

[Scott Sonnon]

http://media.putfile.com/Alexander-Karelin-2000-Olympic-Wrestling-Intro

Since I was a young teenager I have been in awe of this man.

I have always thought that the world needs heros. And this man was is one.
I was happy for America but sad that his legend diminished after his loss in the olympics.

A great example of not only incredible physical gifts but that of a complete athlete/warrior. I think that young athletes of every sport should be told about the legend of this man.

Corbin

[KD Jones]

How big at birth? Um, eeeek.

And the running through a snowbank routine... that man is a mountain.

A culture that produces Shastakovitch, Tschaikovsky, Pushkin, Baryshnikov, Dostoevsky and people like this. Simply beyond belief.

[Jrichardson]

ooo awesome

[Scott Sonnon]

My daughter was born at 12lbs... does that mean she'll become 4/5 the grappler? :P

[stultzies9]

It broke my heart when he lost the Gold that year. He made one very small mistake that cost him one point. The other guy didn't even score the point. It was a penalty. And then the other guy literally just went and tried to lie there for the rest of the match.

What bugged me isn't that the other guy beat Karelin. He won because Karelin messed up. The other guy didn't win. Karelin lost.

[sames]

If the other guy had tried to do much more he would have lost probably yeah? So strategically he made the right choice. Victory isn't always glorious. Karelin messed up and the other guy didn't. I wouldn't want to win that way but then I'm not obsessed with winning ;)

[JasonE]

Roulon Gardner deserves credit for taking on Karelin and managing to capitalize on that mistake. Gardner had previously lost to Karelin and knew what he was up against. While it would have been much easier to lose one more time, he stepped up to the challenge and came out the victor.

That said, Karelin is a living legend, and it will be a long time before there is another like him.

[stultzies9]

The thing is, I agree. I think Gardner did exactly what he needed to do to win. It just hurt to see a living legend lose, not because he ran into someone better than him, but because of a very small mistake.

[Scott Sonnon]

The only undefeated athletes are those who do not compete.

[Coach Jones]

The only undefeated athletes are those who do not compete.

Everyone should REALLY pay attention to that. The idea that a loss (or even several losses) in a stellar career that changed the face of a sport only exists in combat sport and martial arts.

Baseball players can strike out a lot as long as they homer a lot, basketball players can become world famous even though they can't make a freethrow shot to save their lives. Football players can have good seasons and bad as long as the highs are comenserate with the lows.

It's only really in combat sport where people expect super-human perfection.


The thing is, I agree. I think Gardner did exactly what he needed to do to win. It just hurt to see a living legend lose, not because he ran into someone better than him, but because of a very small mistake.

I see what you're saying here, but a part (and no small part at that) of being masterful at your sport is understanding the rules and being able to work wiothin them to your best advantage. Karelin was an amazing wrestler and will be remembered as such for centuries, no losses he suffered will impact that. On that day, Gardner was the better wrestler. Within the context of the rules Karelin was defeated. Nothing wrong with that. It happens. Compete long enough and everybody loses. Face off against the best and your chances increase exponentially.

That's just how it goes.

[Peter]

I think it is partly due to the origins of martial arts/combat sports. In baseball, the consequences of a strike out do not include death, nor does a missed free throw usually result in loss of life. But when we think of wrestling or boxing or any other sport derived from life-and-death combat, somehow I think for many people a loss equates with losing your life because that can be the result in real, no-rules combat.

[Scott Sonnon]

Why doesn't that apply then to combat sports such as football or rugby which are specific team combat sports?

Olympic games were specifically created due to their reflection of prowess on the battlefield: running, javelin, shotput, etc. Yet, these do not have the same stigma.

Combat sports are no more "life and death" encounteres than any of the above sports, but are considered lethal collisions only in the fantasies of those who have become enamored with the "sexiness" of combat never (obviously having been in the stink), or have become so scarred emotionally by actual trauma that they cannot transcend their emotional damage.

[Jake Shannon]

The only undefeated athletes are those who do not compete.

lol AWESOME!!