World or Olympic..?

[Imurg]

Champion.....
Which would you rather?

Watching the BBC Sports bulletin this morning, the presenter was talking about the Cycling wins at the World Championships. Hr then said taht it was a good warm up for the "Main Event" this Summer - obviously meaning the Olympics.

Is being a World Champion better or worse than being Olympic Champion...?

 

[Aztecs27]

Worse. Well not worse, but not as special IMO.

World Championships (depending on the sport) are once a year or at most, once every 2 years. Olympics are once every 4 and it's something special if you win Olympic Gold.

 

[Whee]

Depends on the sport for me.

I'd rather be boxing champion of the world than an olympic champion.

Obviously it's the other way round for anything athletics connected. You grow up aiming for heights of the olympics and competing/winning there.

I will never hear a 12 year old British boy say he wants to win gold in the football with Team GB at the olympics, over winning the FA Cup with his favourite side, or playing for England.

 

[Imurg]

Obviously it's the other way round for anything athletics connected. You grow up aiming for heights of the olympics and competing/winning there.

But don't they compete against the same people - Worlds or Olympics?
Surely they would be on an equal footing then......

 

[Captainron]

Olympic champion is that little bit better that World champion IMO. There are loads of athletes who lament not winning an Olympic Gold

 

[AmandaJR]

Olympic Champion for me every time. Always said the only tattoo I'd ever have would be the rings if I competed - so that never happened

The cycling is a world cup event rather than the world champs which are in April in Oz, but as a dress rehearsal for the velodrome have received the BBCs usual "extensive" coverage!

 

[MegaSteve]

Don't remember too much coverage of track cycling since last Olympics... Bit like the golf majors, rest of year gets relatively little coverage, yet for The Open much of the press will do a supplement... Think prestige is, these days, largley based on press coverage...

 

[PhilTheFragger]

I think it does depend on the sport

Winning Wimbledon ranks higher than olympic Tennis Gold in my book

Does the Golf Gold medal bring more kudos than world number 1? I dont think so

whereas in athletics or shooting or sailing etc, you have the World Champs and Olympics as the pinnacle.

For me as the olympics only come round every 4 years, your chances are less, so an olympic gold in these sports outweight a world champ, but not by much


Notice I didnt mention Beach Volleyball
Fragger