Phelps 18 gold - Argentina 17 gold

erian said:
You just answered it for me when you say 'Elite' sports!

Generally Rugby players here play for private school and universities and come from a well off background. So even though the league is amateur they have plenty of family support financially. Then when they reach a top level they go to Europe, Australia etc. where they can earn 300,000 euros plus a year.

I am friends with a player for the Las Leonas, and even though most get little financial support from the government, a lot (not all) have decent famliy financial support behind them and of course personal sponsorhip.

So in these types of situations family background comes into play and they don't have to worry too much about finances and can focus on training etc.

With exceptional athletes aside, money has everything to do with olympic success!!
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Yes they might earn 300.000 euro a year when they are 22 years old, but who supported them before?

The point is that in the first world you must do most of your development alone(or with help from parents/family) and most(all?) government plans only start when the athlete is already an adult.
 
Wikipedia

Phelps was born and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of Towson, Maryland, located just north of Baltimore.[7] Michael is the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue "Debbie" (née Davisson), is a middle school principal.[8] His father, Michael Fred Phelps, is a retired Maryland state trooper who played football in high school and college and tried out for the Washington Redskins in the 1970s.[8][9] Phelps' parents divorced in 1994, and his father remarried in 2000.[9] His ancestry includes English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and German.[10] Phelps graduated from Towson High School in 2003.[11]
Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy.[12] When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[13][14] By the age of 10, he held a national record for his age group, and Phelps began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman. More age group records followed, and Phelps' rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15 and becoming the youngest male to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years.[15] While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-m butterfly.[16]
At the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, on March 30, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-m butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest man ever to set a swimming world record, breaking the record previously held by Ian Thorpe when he lowered the 400-m freestyle world record at 16 years, 10 months.[17] At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-m butterfly en route to becoming a world champion for the first time.[18]
Phelps was born and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of Towson, Maryland, located just north of Baltimore.[7] Michael is the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue "Debbie" (née Davisson), is a middle school principal.[8] His father, Michael Fred Phelps, is a retired Maryland state trooper who played football in high school and college and tried out for the Washington Redskins in the 1970s.[8][9] Phelps' parents divorced in 1994, and his father remarried in 2000.[9] His ancestry includes English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and German.[10] Phelps graduated from Towson High School in 2003.[11]
Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy.[12] When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[13][14] By the age of 10, he held a national record for his age group, and Phelps began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman. More age group records followed, and Phelps' rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15 and becoming the youngest male to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years.[15] While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-m butterfly.[16]
At the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, on March 30, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-m butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest man ever to set a swimming world record, breaking the record previously held by Ian Thorpe when he lowered the 400-m freestyle world record at 16 years, 10 months.[17] At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-m butterfly en route to becoming a world champion for the first time.[18]

How did the American state help Phelps in his early career?

And why would a kid living close to let's say River Plate, Hindu club, CUBA, SAG or any other club with a good pool not do the same?
 
And the Argentine Michael Phelps probally has a much easier time getting to the olympics because there are probally like 15 guys just in the US who got better PR's then Graberich and Pereyra(2 male Argentine swimmers who competed in the OG)
 
whatadahl said:
Definitely the riders who went were qualified to go, and as far as I know the presidents kid didn't end up going. I didn't mean to say that the guy was the only one to go, I meant individual as in not a team as you also pointed out. But Ramiro Quintana was qualified (at least to my knowledge!) and was booted out of his spot for another rider. He had qualified himself at either WEF of the GM American invitational (maybe the 2 together, not sure). And really, my information is what I get from the side up here, so it could be more convoluted than I thought, of course. But the bigger point being that at least in my experience with Venezuela and what I've war about the argentine federation, you can qualify yourself 100%, and never see another thing about it depending on who you are and what can be earned from your participation.
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Jorge Gabriel's (pres of FEA) kid, blanking on his first name, doesn't even jump the GPs. He's doing 1.30, maybe 40 and was never going to the Olympics. And Ramiro, AFAIK, has never represented Argentina internationally and wouldn't have even been in consideration for the team, let alone as an individual. But since Arg was only entitled to 2, there wasn't ever any question that it would be Maldorno and Larocca. Not disagreeing however that politics is always a big issue in any country, as is money.

THe FEA gives no money to riders here, the GPs don't pay out money and while there are sponsorships, they're laughable. It's actually an on-going discussion here about how to improve the sport, because even when the best from here compete internationally, they are well below standard. It's apples to oranges as to the level of quality. The only exception of someone that is doing decently in the big int'l comps (WEG, Pan-Am, Olympics, etc) is Larocca and he's based out of Europe.

Okay, anyway, will stop hijacking! But whatadahl, whenever you're back in BA, open invite to come out to the farm and visit us! We have about 35 horses at home in training and we're about 40 min outside of Cap Fed, near Zangersheide :) Always fun to meet another horseperson!
 
Where does the name Zangersheide come from?

Either way those below standards does apply for most Argentine athletes at the Olympics, I don't see why the state should sponsor someone who will finish 65th and with a lot of money 64th. What's the point?
 
Vamos Las Leonas!

Argentina might just win a gold this olympics after all...

Good win by the baketball team too, they may have a chance at bronze (assunming theyre playing dream team next round and thinking they wont win that).
 
El chabon said:
Where does the name Zangersheide come from?

Either way those below standards does apply for most Argentine athletes at the Olympics, I don't see why the state should sponsor someone who will finish 65th and with a lot of money 64th. What's the point?
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Zangersheide comes from Belgium - it's an offshoot of a Belgian sporthorse breeding registry as the daughter of the founder is married to an Argentine.

The problem is for most sports, in order for athletes to get better, you have to compete against the best. And usually that can't be found in your home country. So you have to travel to train. And if the gov't or federations (in this case, the FEA has nothing to do with the gov't) won't sponsor or provide some way to defray the costs, there are very limited options for people to do so unless they come from a lot of money.

Maybe they'll finish 64th. But maybe in 5 years, they'll be 20th. But if you don't invest in your athletes, it's pretty much a certainty that they will be 64th or worse in 20 years.
 
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