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Message board > Members' Opinion Polls > Members' poll: Who is/was the greatest oar of all time? 
  

Who is/was the greatest oar of all time?
Abbagnale (brothers, any of them)  0%
Ned Hanlan  0%
Sir Matthew Pinsent  29%
Sir Steve Redgrave  48%
James Tomkins  5%
Rob Waddell  14%
Dreissigacker (brothers, inventors of the ergo)  5%
Total: 21 members' votes
by dw229 - Mon 25th Jul 2005, 9:48pm
Ingers said: Who is/was the greatest oar
sman?
by gf - Tue 26th Jul 2005, 7:21am
Ingers said: Who is/was the greatest oar of all time?
Where's the option for S.D. Muttlebury?
by jpd - Tue 26th Jul 2005, 8:40am
dw229 said: sman?
From dictionary.com:

oar n. 2. A person who rows a boat, especially in a race.
by gf - Tue 26th Jul 2005, 9:55am
dw229 said: sman?
From acronymfinder.com:

SMAN Standard Medium Accuracy Navigator

...perhaps Dan was asking about coxswains or steersmen?
by mjb - Tue 26th Jul 2005, 11:57am
jpd said: oar n. 2. A person who rows a boat, especially in a race.
Also from dictionary.com ...

great adj. great·er, great·est
1. Very large in size.
2. Larger in size than others of the same kind.
by Simon - Tue 26th Jul 2005, 12:19pm
Ingers said: Who is/was the greatest oar of all time?
Where's that Bulgarian/Hungarian/scary woman who's won all those medals?
Or the really good looking Swedish/Danish/blonde lightweight women's double from the Eton World Cup?
by RTT - Tue 26th Jul 2005, 12:30pm
Simon said: the really good looking Swedish/Danish/blonde lightweight women's double from the Eton World Cup?
Some of us have been following the fortunes of the Swedish lightweight double since looooong before the Eton World Cup......
by Water boy, dreaming - Tue 26th Jul 2005, 9:23pm
RTT said: Some of us have been following the fortunes of the Swedish lightweight double since looooong before the Eton World Cup......
Yeah, but some of us got to patrol on the lake in a launch while they were training.
The Australian women's pairs, to whom I gave water after their races, were also lovely... I can recommend volunteering for the World Champs!
by dw229 - Wed 27th Jul 2005, 11:02pm
jpd said: From dictionary.com:

oar n. 2. A person who rows a boat, especially in a race.
Also from dictionary.com:

oars·man n.
A man who rows, especially an expert in rowing; a rower.

I would have thought that single definitions were preferable to ambiguous words...particularly given how many English language fascists there are in First and Third ;)
by Erica - Thu 28th Jul 2005, 9:36pm
dw229 said:
I would have thought that single definitions were preferable to ambiguous words...particularly given how many English language fascists there are in First and Third ;)
I would have thought that gender-neutral nouns were preferable to specific ones (despite the names on the list all being male)... particularly given how many women there are in First and Third :o)

(Why are the names on the list all male anyway? Perhaps the pollster did indeed intend it to be "greatest oarSMAN" if he hasn't included any women. Clearly another poll is suggested here :oD)
by RTT - Thu 28th Jul 2005, 9:44pm
Erica said: Why are the names on the list all male anyway?
When I see a woman who can beat Waddell in a single / Redgrave and Pinsent in a pair, then I might be persuaded that women exist who deserve this title. Until then the contenders are clearly going to be all male.
by Anything to do with being short - Fri 29th Jul 2005, 9:47am
RTT said: When I see a woman who can beat Waddell in a single / Redgrave and Pinsent in a pair, then I might be persuaded that women exist who deserve this title. Until then the contenders are clearly going to be all male.
Saucer of milk, table for two?

Flat speed is one thing, but you really need to consider the background and what they have achieved:- e.g. before Redgrave, Great Britain hadn't won much for donkeys, and he (along with the right teams at the right time, it is true) has left us being one of the top countries in the world.

That kind of achievement isn't dependant on sex, etc. There may be people these days who are faster than Jessie Owens, better than Bruce Lee or Cassius Clay (can't spell Mohamed or whatever! ;), but they will always be "greats"....
by jmg - Fri 29th Jul 2005, 12:09pm
Anything to do with being short said: Flat speed is one thing...
...but it's uphill rowing that really impresses me!
by sarah - Fri 29th Jul 2005, 12:26pm
I would have thought Elisabeta Lipa, would have stood a chance of getting into this list...No rower has won more Olympic medals ... in Athens recently she added her fifth gold to her overall haul of nine medals (in 6 olympics) worth pointing out that she managed to stuff up in Seoul (88) when she doubled up in 2x and 4x and only won a bronze and a silver...
by jpd - Mon 1st Aug 2005, 12:04pm
Perhaps the reason all the rowers on this list are male is that they are the ones who the poll's author has been most inspired by? This is not surprising, since the author is a man, and men's rowing (both in this country and the world) has held a high profile for much longer than women's rowing - for example, women's rowing was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1976. However, Lipa is a notable omission from this list (although she would still be the one I know least about on the extended list).

Out of interest, how are people interpreting the word "greatest"? Best technique? Most power? Overall boat moving ability? Largest mass (thanks Matt)? Most medals (gold only, or silver and bronze as well; Olympics only or Worlds as well)? Or do other factors play a part? - certainly Sir Steve has had a profound effect on the sport, especially in this country (taking rowing from being a pasttime of Oxbridge toffs to being one of Britain's most successful sports and having much higher public awareness), although one could certainly make a case for Pinsent being the better boat mover.
by Simon - Mon 1st Aug 2005, 2:40pm
jpd said: Out of interest, how are people interpreting the word "greatest"?
I went for the one who most reminded me of Tony the Tiger.

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