men we love: alex popov
August 15th, 2008
Forget our ongoing Phelps: Demi God or Douchebag? debate. I think it’s a good day for a little vintage Olympic goodness.
And yes, I am going to write all of this from the top of my head without doing any research of any kind. Not even googling. I’ve had a weird sportscrush on Popov since I was ten and I just think he’s lovely. Judge me if you like.
Remember when swimmers wore speedos, and had body hair? Amazing.
This is a boy who first learned to swim when he was terrified of water.
Who held the 50m freestyle world record for almost a decade.
Who – when he won the 50 / 100 sprint freestyle double for the second time at the 1996 Olympics (the Johnny ‘Tarzan’ Weissmuller double) – gave his 100m gold medal to his coach, Gennadi Touretski, to say thank you.
Who – when he was stabbed in the streets of Moscow a month after the Atlanta Olympics – endured emergency surgery and three months of rehab to come back and win his two pet events the next year at the European Championships.
And who – now that Aussie waterbaby Eamonn Sullivan holds both of the world records that used to be his – is nothing but excited to watch Sullivan and Alain Bernard go faster.
And if you’re wondering what all these things mean: they mean he’s a classy bitch. Happy friday, kids.
(this post is alex popov-approved)
kiki
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