Word: grossness
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...meter breaststroke. The Australians took a host of silvers and bronzes and seemed ready for better things. Finally, an unknown 17-year-old Aussie named Jon Sieben came out of deepest anonymity in Lane 6 to win the 200-meter butterfly over a singular West German named Michael Gross, beating Gross's world record by one-hundredth of a second...
...Gross, never mind upstart antipodeans, was the dominant swimmer of the meet. He is a very tall, haunted-looking fellow whose nickname is the Albatross, and he soared above everyone else on air currents only he was able to find. He is 6 ft. 7½ in. tall and so thin he looks frail. His arm span, which on average should equal roughly his height, is an astonishing 7 ft. 4 in. He is the only male swimmer since Mark Spitz to hold world records in two strokes at the same time, and the combination of his success...
...then comforted Moffet. That was to be expected; Lundquist, who has had his own ups and downs since 1980, is an openhearted fellow and a teammate. But after Moffet left the pool on crutches, the foreigner who took the trouble to come over and offer sympathy was Michael Gross, not even a close acquaintance. "It was a class act," said Moffet, whose own act had been just that...
...Gross went on to win medals-two gold and two silver. One of the silvers, for the 4-by-200-meter relay, missed being gold by the diameter of the medallion. Earlier that day Gross had qualified for the 100-meter butterfly, then won the final with a world record of 53:08. The U.S. 4-by-200-meter relay team, knowing Gross awaited them at the anchor leg, went at their business quickly. Six other teams were in the water, but not really in the race...
...length. David Larson gave almost a second body length to Jeff Float, another boycott veteran, swimming his last race for the team. Float gave back a little, but when Bruce Hayes hit the water for the final leg, he had a length and a half on the Albatross. Remarkably, Gross had made up almost all of it by the end of the first 50 meters. Hayes kept a fingernail lead at the 100-meter turn. But the West German hit the last turn ahead. He held a lead through most of the closing 50 meters. Then Hayes, his arms seeming...