Michael Gross (swimmer)

Michael Groß

Personal information
Nickname	The Albatross
Born	(1964-06-17) 17 June 1964 Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany
Height	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight	88 kg (194 lb)
Sport
Country	Germany
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Butterfly, freestyle
Club	EOSC Offenbach
Medal record Men’s swimming Representing West Germany Olympic Games 1984 Los Angeles 200 m freestyle 1984 Los Angeles 100 m butterfly 1988 Seoul 200 m butterfly 1984 Los Angeles 200 m butterfly 1984 Los Angeles 4×200 m freestyle 1988 Seoul 4×200 m freestyle World Championships (LC) 1982 Guayaquil 200 m freestyle 1982 Guayaquil 200 m butterfly 1986 Madrid 200 m freestyle 1986 Madrid 200 m butterfly 1991 Perth 4×200 m freestyle 1982 Guayaquil 100 m butterfly 1986 Madrid 4×200 m freestyle 1986 Madrid 4×100 m medley 1991 Perth 100 m butterfly 1991 Perth 200 m butterfly 1982 Guayaquil 4×200 m freestyle 1982 Guayaquil 4×100 m freestyle 1991 Perth 4×100 m freestyle European Championships (LC) 1981 Split 200 m butterfly 1983 Rome 200 m freestyle 1983 Rome 100 m butterfly 1983 Rome 200 m butterfly 1983 Rome 4×200 m freestyle 1985 Sofia 200 m freestyle 1985 Sofia 100 m butterfly 1985 Sofia 200 m butterfly 1985 Sofia 4×100 m freestyle 1985 Sofia 4×200 m freestyle 1985 Sofia 4×100 m medley 1987 Strasbourg 200 m butterfly 1987 Strasbourg 4×200 m freestyle 1981 Split 4×200 m freestyle 1987 Strasbourg 100 m butterfly 1987 Strasbourg 4×100 m freestyle 1981 Split 4×100 m freestyle Summer Universiade 1985 Kobe 200 m butterfly

Michael Groß (born 17 June 1964 in Frankfurt am Main) is a former swimmer from Germany. A 202 cm (6 ft 7 in) athlete, he received the nickname "The Albatross" due to his especially long arms which gave him a total span of 2.13 m. 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.

Career

Groß was probably the finest swimmer in the world in the 200 m 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. He is perhaps the finest European swimmer ever.

The sole exception occurred in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when Groß was one of the great athletes of the games. Groß easily won gold in the 200 m freestyle, dominating the field. In the 100 m butterfly, Groß pulled off a bit of an upset, winning over the favorite in the event, American Pablo Morales. However, in the 200 m butterfly, Groß himself was upset by a relative unknown, Australian Jon Sieben. The men's 4×200 m 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.

1976 gold medal winning 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.

He was named Male World Swimmer of the Year in 1985 by Swimming World magazine and admitted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1995.

See also

• List of world records in swimming
• German records in swimming
• List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games

External links

• Michael Gross at IMDb
• ISHOF Bio