Michael Gross (swimmer)
 Gross in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name |
Michael Gross Michael Groß (German) |
| Nickname(s) | "The Albatross" |
| National team |
 West Germany |
| Born |
17 June 1964 Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany |
| Height | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 88 kg (194 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Butterfly, freestyle |
| Club | EOSC Offenbach |
Medal record
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Michael Groß (born 17 June 1964), usually spelled Michael Gross in English, is a former competitive swimmer from Germany. He is 201 centimetres (6 ft 7 in) tall, and received the nickname "The Albatross" for his especially long arms that gave him a total span of 2.13 meters. Gross, competing for West Germany, won three Olympic gold medals, two in 1984 and one in 1988 in the freestyle and butterfly events, in addition to two World Championship titles in 1982, two in 1986 and one in 1991.[1][2][3]
Career
Michael Gross on a 1985 Paraguay stamp
Gross was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was probably the finest swimmer in the world in the 200-meter butterfly race from 1981 to 1988. In this period he set four world records, won two world titles, four European titles and one Olympic gold medal.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Gross was one of the great athletes of the games. Gross easily won gold in the 200-meter freestyle, dominating the field. In the 100-meter butterfly, however, Gross pulled off a bit of an upset, winning over the favorite in the event, American Pablo Morales. However, in the 200-meter butterfly, Gross himself was upset by a relative unknown, Australian Jon Sieben. The men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay race became one of the marquee events of the games, with Gross leading the German relay against the underdog American squad. Despite the fact that Gross swam the fastest relay leg in the event's history, the American team pulled off the upset, earning the title of the "Grossbusters."
Gross won a total of thirteen medals at the World Championships (including five gold), fifteen gold medals at the European Championships and was elected German "Athlete of the Year" four times (1982, 1983, 1984 and 1988). He retired from professional swimming in 1991.
He is featured in Bud Greenspan's 16 Days of Glory, the documentary film of the 1984 Summer Olympics.
American gold medalist swimmer John Naber remarked to Sports Illustrated in 1984 that if Michael Gross were an American, he would have won six or seven medals, and that Gross was better than Mark Spitz.
Gross was named Male World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine in 1985, and inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1995. He holds a PhD in philosophy.[3]
See also
- German records in swimming
- List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
- World record progression 100 metres butterfly
- World record progression 100 metres freestyle
- World record progression 200 metres butterfly
- World record progression 200 metres freestyle
- World record progression 400 metres freestyle
- World record progression 800 metres freestyle
- World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay
References
- ↑ Michael Gross. Encyclopaedia Britannica
- ↑ Michael Groß. sports-reference.com
- 1 2 International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees,Michael Gross (FRG). Retrieved 17 March 2015.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michael Gross (swimmer). |
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Pablo Morales |
Men's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) 30 July 1984 – 23 June 1986 |
Succeeded by Pablo Morales |
| Preceded by Craig Beardsley |
Men's 200 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) 26 August 1983 – 3 August 1984 |
Succeeded by Jon Sieben |
| Preceded by Jon Sieben |
Men's 200 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) 29 June 1985 – 12 January 1991 |
Succeeded by Melvin Stewart |
| Preceded by Rowdy Gaines |
Men's 200 metre freestyle world record holder (long course) 21 June 1983 – 19 September 1988 |
Succeeded by Duncan Armstrong |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Toni Mang |
German Sportsman of the Year 1982–1984 |
Succeeded by Boris Becker |
| Preceded by Harald Schmid |
German Sportsman of the Year 1988 |
Succeeded by Boris Becker |
| Preceded by Alex Baumann |
World Swimmer of the Year 1985 |
Succeeded by Matt Biondi |
| Preceded by Sándor Wladár |
European Swimmer of the Year 1982–1986 |
Succeeded by Tamás Darnyi |
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