munster11 wrote:Yeah, I don't want to get into a pissing contest either lads. Sauvignon, you attack me for knowing nothing about golf. I can play a bit too thanks!
No Munster I did not attack you, I merely stated an opinion. Thats not an attack.
And I watch it avidly. You can keep your Rich Beem autobiography though
I was just injecting a bit of balance into this. If you say Sonia threw it away in 2000,
Where did I say that?
I'd say Sergio threw it away in 2007. You see, balance. But I accept that Harrington was mentally stronger on this occasion and there wasn't a happier Irishman than me on that occasion. I already told you that I believe Harrington to be a worthy winner of that list. He is a legend and his achievements as an Irishman will probably never be matched. I never said anything different.
What I did say is that Sonia had only a couple of chances to win an Olympic Gold as opposed to Harrington's majors. Yes, Harrington broke through the door after making small strides along the way but Sonia broke down many doors along the way too only to be undone on the day (despite an unbelievable 14:41) by a highly questionable athlete. Unlike Harrington, she didn't get 37 chances to win an Olympic Gold. It is not fair to compare Sonia's Olympic attempts with Padraig's major attempts.
I agree, I didnt start this funnily enough
you only have a 15 minute period every 4 yrs to win an Olympic Gold and Sonia's failure to win one doesn't sully her other achievements in my book.
Agreed
To my mind, an outdoor World Athletic Championship Gold is the equal of a Golf major.
No it is not. Please stop this nonsense. But its your opinion so fair enough
You say that golf is a sport that is impossible to master. Tell me about it! But athletics is not?!!! You describe Golf as a tougher, more exacting game to master. I cannot agree with this. I have hit a few decent golf shots
Now imagine trying to hit a pure strike one after the other for nigh on four and a half hours in front of thousands of raucous spectators. Because believe me, your best shot ever still wouldn't measure up to Major level
but I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to run a sub 14:45 5K. Not in my wildest dreams!
Every man, woman and child runs.
Debatable
What % of the world ever had the opportunity to play golf?
Very few, but please dont tell me Athletics is some sort of mass populative bastion of global participation that welcomes all-comers then selectively nurtures talent in some utopian wayAgain, I'm not downplaying Harrington's achievements. But you have to balance this!
PS: To insinuate that my attempt to bring balance to this debate was an example of Irish begrudgery is embarrassing,
Do please illustrate where I did this on your behalf
lazy and way off the mark. Again, I don't have to repeat my complete admiration for Harrington's unbelievable achievements over the course of his career. I was merely celebrating the achievements of both of these athletes and trying to work out which was better. You have said that Sonia was a bottler.
Not in such a crass manner, I merely suggested she 'lost her bottle'. Mere supposition m'laud as Rumpole would say.
If she was a bottler, she'd never have won anything in her career. Things just didn't go perfectly (as they need to do) on the couple of occasions that she lined up in an Olympic Final. A bottler, that does not make. To repeat, she didn't have the luxury of dozens of chances to win the big one like a golfer.
Golf has 4 Majors. Always has and always will. Athletics is what it is, Golf is what it is.
And I think you'll find that Sonia is held in great esteem by many of the legends of the track that you mentioned earlier. Even by Paula Radcliffe, a brilliant runner albeit one who never won any Olympic medal!
fair point, I did ask what their opinion was, I never stated I knew what esteem she was held in.
It's a healthy debate though!