Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #8 - Fabio Casartelli

Fabio Casartelli

Italy

Road Cycling

Overall Ranks

#1 among Italian Olympians

#1 among Cyclists

Olympic Results

1992

Road Race - Gold

Total

Events - 1

Gold - 1

Fabio Casartelli was born on August 16, 1970 in Como, Italy, and began to see success in amateur cycling when he was 19, winning 6 races between 1990 and 1991, before being selected to race in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

Going into the road race in Barcelona, Casartelli wasn't really expected to challenge for a medal. The favorites were Lance Armstrong of the USA, and Erik Dekker of the Netherlands. There was a massive group of 71 riders that stayed together for nearly the entire race, but on the penultimate lap, Dekker led a breakaway that Casartelli and Dainis Ozols of Latvia joined, while the rest of the pack remained behind. When the time came for the final sprint, Casartelli had more left in the tank, and pulled away to beat Dekker by a second, while the pack, including Armstrong, finished 35 seconds later.

The win was the largest in Olympic history based on the standard deviation from the time of the mean finisher, and it was a great achievement for the young rider. He turned pro the next year, and in 1995 was riding in the Tour de France when he crashed during the 15th stage, hitting a concrete barrier on the side of the road, and he died on the way to the hospital.

That tragedy prevented him from attempting to defend his title in Atlanta the next year, the first time that pro riders were allowed to compete in cycling. He only competed in one Olympic race, but had statistically the most impressive victory in Olympic history, which makes him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Football Predictions - 10 thru 16 Nov

Upset picks are in italics.

Tuesday

Western Michigan at Akron - Broncos by 13

Kent State at Bowling Green - Falcons by 5

Ohio at Miami (OH) - Warhawks by 0.5

Wednesday

Buffalo at Ball State - Cardinals by 2

Sacramento State at Central Michigan - Chippewas by 16.5

UMass at Toledo - Rockets by 10.5

Thursday

Memphis at South Florida - Bulls by 1

Louisiana at UL Monroe - Ragin Cajuns by 12

Washington at NY Giants - Giants by 3.5

Friday

Florida State at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 5

Illinois at (4) UCLA - Bruins by 15.5

(14) Houston at Colorado - Cougars by 12

Saturday

Duke at (5) Miami - Hurricanes by 15.5

Northwestern at (21) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 11

(11) Wake Forest at (25) SMU - Demon Deacons by 2

Cincinnati at Iowa State - Cyclones by 5

Auburn at Mississippi State - Bulldogs by 5

Syracuse at NC State - Orange by 0.5

Wisconsin at Maryland - Badgers by 6.5

James Madison at UConn - Dukes by 5.5

Georgia Tech at Clemson - Tigers by 19

Nebraska at Rutgers - Cornhuskers by 12

(7) Alabama at Vanderbilt - Crimson Tide by 22

East Carolina at Charlotte - Pirates by 8.5

UAB at Temple - Owls by 3.5

Arkansas State at Coastal Carolina - Chanticleers by 5

Kansas State at TCU - Horned Frogs by 12.5

Tulane at Rice - Owls by 4

Kennesaw State at Sam Houston - Owls by 4

(9) Tennessee at Texas A&M - Volunteers by 4

New Mexico State at Missouri State - Bears by 4.5

FIU at Delaware - Blue Hens by 6

Missouri at (1) Georgia - Bulldogs by 15

(15) USC at (6) Indiana - Hoosiers by 8.5

Baylor at (12) BYU - Cougars by 5

Boston College at (3) Notre Dame - Irish by 30

Michigan at (18) Oregon - Ducks by 16

Arizona State at UCF - Knights by 10

California at Virginia - Cavaliers by 12.5

FAU at Tulsa - Golden Hurricane by 9

Nevada at Northern Illinois - Wolf Pack by 8

Georgia Southern at Georgia State - Panthers by 2

Jacksonville State at Western Kentucky - Gamecocks by 6.5

Middle Tennessee at Liberty - Flames by 22

Fresno State at Texas State - Bobcats by 7.5

(19) Ole Miss at Oklahoma - Rebels by 0.5

Washington at Michigan State - Spartans by 3.5

Southern Miss at Louisiana Tech - Bulldogs by 22.5

Kansas at West Virginia - Mountaineers by 5.5

Oregon State at (17) Boise State - Broncos by 13.5

App State at Marshall - Thundering Herd by 0.5

Florida at (13) Kentucky - Wildcats by 7

Louisville at North Carolina - Tar Heels by 2.5

Minnesota at Penn State - Nittany Lions by 10.5

San Jose State at Air Force - Falcons by 12.5

Troy at South Alabama - Jaguars by 8.5

(2) Utah at (22) Arizona - Utes by 1

(8) Texas at (24) LSU - Tigers by 5.5

Purdue at (16) Iowa - Hawkeyes by 13.5

Stanford at Virginia Tech - Hokies by 13.5

UNLV at (23) New Mexico - Lobos by 18

(20) South Carolina at Arkansas - Gamecocks by 7

North Texas at UTSA - Mean Green by 0.5

(10) Texas Tech at Oklahoma State - Cowboys by 8.5

Utah State at San Diego State - Aztecs by 2

Wyoming at UTEP - Cowboys by 6.5

Colorado State at Washington State - Cougars by 5

North Dakota State at Hawaii - Bison by 13

Sunday

New England vs. Detroit - Patriots by 0.5

Kansas City at Atlanta - Chiefs by 4.5

Houston at Cleveland - Texans by 4.5

Minnesota at Green Bay - Vikings by 0.5

Jacksonville at Tennessee - Jaguars by 19.5

Miami at Indianapolis - Colts by 0.5

Carolina at New Orleans - Panthers by 2.5

Buffalo at NY Jets - Bills by 11.5

Seattle at Las Vegas - Seahawks by 6

San Francisco at Dallas - 49ers by 9

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - Bengals by 4.5

Monday

LA Chargers at Baltimore - Ravens by 7

Results

NCAA: 38-25 (.603) 493-192 overall (.720)

Upsets: 3-7 (.300) 42-82 overall (.339)

NFL: 13-2 (.867) 85-51 overall (.625)

Upsets: 0-1 (.000) 10-16 overall (.385)

LA Rams at Arizona - Rams by 8

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #9 - Nikolay Andrianov

Nikolay Andrianov

USSR

Artistic Gymnastics

Overall Ranks

#4 among Gymnasts

#2 among Male Gymnasts

#2 among Soviet Olympians

#1 among Male Soviet Olympians

Olympic Results

1972

Team - Silver

Floor Exercise - Gold

Vault - Bronze

1976

Individual All-Around - Gold

Team - Silver

Floor Exercise - Gold

Vault - Gold

Parallel Bars - Silver

Rings - Gold

Pommel Horse - Bronze

1980

Individual All-Around - Silver

Team - Gold

Floor Exercise - Silver

Vault - Gold

Horizontal Bar - Bronze

Total

Events - 24

Gold - 7

Silver - 5

Bronze - 3

Nikolay Yefimovich Andrianov was born on October 14, 1952 in Vladimir, USSR, now part of Russia. He was enrolled in a Soviet gymnastics school when he was 11, and by age 18 he had won a couple of gold medals at the European championships, and by the next year, he was on the Soviet Olympic team.

The Munich Olympics began with the team competition, which had been dominated by Japan for more than a decade, and 1972 was no different. Japan won the gold medal by 7.2 points, and the USSR was left with the silver, just like the past 3 Olympics. Andrianov, though only 19, was the highest-scoring member of the Soviet team.

That year, the top 36 athletes in the team competition advanced to the individual all-around, and the medals were determined by adding their scores from each half of the competition together. He was #5 in qualifying, behind 4 Japanese gymnasts, but posted the top score of anyone in the final, which was enough to move him up to 4th, but not quite into the medals, just 0.125 points short.

He qualified for the event finals in 4 events, and missed out on the rings final due to a tiebreaker. He was #2 in qualifying for the floor exercise, behind Sawao Kato of Japan, but Kato had a poor final performance, while Andrianov's 9.65 was the highest, moving him up to win the gold medal.

He was the #1 qualifier in the vault, but he only scored a 9.2 in the final, which allowed him to be passed by two others, and he ended up having to settle for the bronze medal. He got into the parallel bars final through a tiebreaker, and only scored an 8.45 in the final, which left him far behind the others in 6th place. He was also the final qualifier in the horizontal bar, and was unable to improve his standing. His first Olympics ended with 3 medals, one of each color, while coming somewhat close to 4 others.

In the 1974 World Championships, he won a gold medal in the rings, and 5 silver medals to go with it, and he was still improving, so that by 1976 he was the top gymnast in the world. Starting out with the team event again in Montreal, he gave it his all, but the Soviet Union fell just short, losing to Japan by 0.4 points, their closest margin in the 5 straight Olympic losses.

This time, the individual all-around limited each nation to 3 gymnasts, but that didn't affect Andrianov, who was the top qualifier from the team event. In the final, just as he had 4 years earlier, he had the best overall score, leading to a dominant gold medal win by a full point over Kato.

He qualified for 5 of the event finals, only missing out on the horizontal bar. He was the defending champ in the floor exercise, but came into the final tied for third. After scoring a 9.8 in the final, he was able to overcome the deficit and move up to the top, repeating as the gold medalist.

In the vault, he was #2 after qualifying, behind Imre Molnar of Hungar, but Molnar faltered in the final, and Andrianov posted the top score again, allowing him to move up to win his third gold medal of the games. In the parallel bars, Kato was the defending champ and the top qualifier, and he followed it up with the top final score as well, leaving Andrianov no chance to move up from second, so he earned the silver in that event.

In the rings, he was on top after qualifying, and with a 9.8 in the final, he was able to win his 4th gold medal in Montreal, and 5th overall. On the pommel horse, he was tied for third entering the final, and he again scored a 9.8 in that round, but it wasn't enough this time to move up, and he ended up with the bronze medal.

At the 1978 World Championships, he repeated his gold medal in the rings, and took the individual all-around gold as well, further validating his win in Montreal. The 1980 Olympics would be held in Moscow in his home nation, and he was chosen to recite the Olympic Oath at the opening ceremonies.

Japan joined the USA-led boycott of the 1980 Games, taking away the Soviet Union's chief rival in the team event, and as a result, the Soviets won gold in the event by 8.45 points, with Andrianov #2 on the Soviet team in scoring, behind Aleksandr Dityatin, who would go on to win medals in all 8 events in Moscow, the first Olympian ever to win 8 medals in the same Olympics. 

Those two were the top two in qualifying for the individual all-around, and they remained in the same places afterward, leaving Andrianov with the silver medal and his third straight top 4 finish in the event. He qualified for 5 individual event finals, everything but the pommel horse, but elected to sit out of the parallel bars and rings to allow younger teammates the chance to compete.

In the floor exercise, he was the 2-time defending champ, and the top qualifier, and he scored a 9.85 in the final, which would usually have been enough to win, but Roland Bruckner of East Germany scored a 9.9 to leapfrog him, leaving him just short of the three-peat in silver position.

He was also the top qualifier in the vault, in addition to being the defending champion, and a 9.925 in the final was enough to hold off Dityatin, earning Andrianov his 6th individual gold medal, and 7th overall in his career. He was #3 in qualifying for the horizontal bar, and was able to hold his position in the final, which earned him the bronze medal in the only event he hadn't won a medal in before.

He retired soon after his home Olympics, and went on to become a coach, coaching the national Junior team for several years, and later becoming the final coach of the national team before the fall of the Soviet Union. Later, he would develop MSA, a neurological disorder that caused him to lose the ability to speak or use his arms or legs, and he passed away in 2011 at age 58.

At the time of his retirement, he had the most Olympic medals of any man in history, trailing only Larisa Latynina overall, and currently is #3 in overall medals, as he has also been passed by Michael Phelps. He still holds the records for most gold and overall medals for a male gymnast, and he was easily the best performer at the 1976 Olympics, and he is easily one of the best Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #10 - Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson

USA

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#5 among American Olympians

#4 among Track & Field Athletes

#3 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#3 among American Track & Field Athletes

#3 among Male American Olympians

#2 among Male American Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

1992

4x400m Relay - Gold

1996

200m - Gold

400m - Gold

2000

400m - Gold

4x400m Relay - Gold*

Total

Events - 6

Gold - 5*

*medal returned after disqualification of teammates

Michael Duane Johnson was born on September 13, 1967 in Dallas, Texas, where he ran the 100m and 200m sprints in high school, before attending Baylor University, where he started running the 400m after competing in a 4x400m relay and performing well. He graduated in 1990 with a degree in accounting, then won his first World Championship the next year in the 200m, which made him a favorite heading to Barcelona in 1992.

Prior to competing in the 200m in Barcelona, Johnson contracted food poisoning at a local restaurant, and it affected him so badly that he was only able to reach the semifinal round. He recovered enough to compete in the 4x400m relay a few days later. He ran the second leg in the heats, and then the third leg in the final. In that race, the USA had a lead of almost a second after the first leg, and more than 2 seconds before Johnson ran. He stretched the lead to 2.66 seconds, and they ended up winning by 3.77 seconds, breaking the world record in the process, which had stood for 24 years, so he did not walk away from his first Olympics emptyhanded.

He won the 400m World Championship in 1993, and won both the 200m and 400m in 1995, so the 1996 Olympics were expected to be a showcase for him. He set a new world record in the 200m at the US Olympic Trials, and went to Atlanta hoping to be the first man ever to win both events in the same Olympics.

He started with the 400m, where he didn't push it in the first round heat, just doing enough to advance. After that, he posted the fastest time in each of the next two rounds, making him well-prepared for the final. In the final, he left the field in the dust, winning by 0.92 seconds, the largest margin of victory in 100 years, and set a new Olympic record at the same time.

He finished up in Atlanta with the 200m race. He started with a very good time around the curve, but was basically even with Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago and Frankie Fredericks of Namibia, but as soon as he hit the straightaway, he shifted gears and pulled away from the pair, and beat his new world record by 0.34 seconds, the largest improvement on the event's record in history, and beat Fredericks by 0.36 seconds for his second gold of the Olympics.

Johnson suffered from numerous injuries over the next few years, including an injury during the 200m race at the US Olympic Trials, where he had already qualified in the 400m. He wouldn't be able to defend one of his gold medals, but he still had a chance at the other, and was also put on the relay team.

He started in Sydney with the 400m, where he had recently broken the world record, and he was expected to win again, even though he was older than any winner of the event in history. It turns out that his age didn't matter, as he won by 0.56 seconds, making him not only the oldest ever to win the event, but also the only man to win it twice.

He also competed in the 4x400m relay final as the anchor, but he really wasn't even needed. The USA had a lead of nearly a second after the first leg, which ballooned to more than 2 seconds before Johnston took the baton, and he ran a steady leg to bring home the gold medal. In 2003, it was revealed that Jerome Young, who had run in the prelim heat, had tested positive for PEDs, so he was forced to return his medal, but the others were not, as he had not run in the final. Then, in 2008, Antonio Pettigrew, who had run the second leg, confessed to doping during the race, and the entire team was disqualified. It was later revealed that the Harrison brothers, who ran the other two legs of the final, were also cheating, so Johnson was the only clean runner in the race.

He retired after the 2000 Olympics, but his world records stood for much longer. He was the 200m world record holder until 2008, when Usain Bolt beat his time, and his 400m time wasn't beaten until 2016. The only things to stop him from winning gold medals at the Olympics were food poisoning and cheating teammates, and there is no doubt that he is one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

NCAA Football Rankings - 8 Nov

LSU was #1 in my rankings before the weekend, but then they were blown out at home by Alabama, which dropped the Tigers down to #5, and put the Tide back up at #1. Notre Dame and Miami went exactly as expected, so both team remained where they were last week, while Georgia jumped up to #3 after destroying Ole Miss on the road. Tennessee also joined the top 10 after a beatdown of Kentucky, which gives the SEC 5 of the top 7 teams. Here are my full current rankings:

						Proj
Rank	LW	Team	Rating	W	L	W	L
1	3	Alabama	-24.82	7	2	10	2
2	2	Notre Dame	-22.24	8	1	11	1
3	5	Georgia	-22.2	8	1	11	1
4	4	Miami	-21.37	8	1	11	1
5	1	LSU	-19.76	6	3	8	4
6	8	Texas	-18.81	7	2	9	3
7	12	Tennessee	-17.35	7	2	9	3
8	10	UCLA	-17.1	9	0	11	1
9	9	Utah	-16.73	9	0	11	1
10	6	Ohio State	-16.2	6	3	8	4
11	11	Wake Forest	-14.53	8	1	10	2
12	23	Oklahoma State	-14.41	6	3	8	4
13	7	Ole Miss	-14.41	6	3	8	4
14	26	Oregon	-14.14	6	3	8	4
15	14	Indiana	-14.02	8	1	10	2
16	13	Houston	-13.26	7	2	9	3
17	22	Boise State	-12.74	8	1	10	1
18	19	South Carolina	-12.5	6	3	8	4
19	21	BYU	-12.23	7	2	9	3
20	24	Louisville	-12	6	3	8	4
21	20	Baylor	-11.75	6	3	7	5
22	15	Missouri	-11.73	6	3	7	5
23	31	Iowa	-11.33	7	2	9	3
24	16	Kentucky	-11.25	7	2	9	3
25	18	Arizona	-11.14	7	2	9	3
26	17	Texas Tech	-10.31	8	1	9	3
27	28	Liberty	-10.28	8	1	11	1
28	34	New Mexico	-10.25	8	1	11	1
29	37	Duke	-10.09	7	2	8	4
30	35	North Carolina	-9.997	5	4	7	5
31	30	USC	-9.955	7	2	8	4
32	29	Nebraska	-9.753	5	4	7	5
33	25	Northwestern	-9.507	6	4	8	5
34	32	Wisconsin	-9.376	5	4	7	5
35	45	Oklahoma	-9.32	5	4	6	6
36	33	Texas A&M	-8.821	4	5	5	7
37	36	James Madison	-8.749	8	2	10	2
38	27	Florida	-8.544	5	4	7	5
39	48	SMU	-7.925	7	2	8	4
40	40	North Dakota State	-7.514	7	2	10	2
41	46	TCU	-7.406	4	5	5	7
42	41	Penn State	-7.113	6	3	8	4
43	49	North Texas	-6.883	7	2	9	3
44	47	Clemson	-6.842	6	3	8	4
45	58	Texas State	-6.766	5	4	7	4
46	43	Pittsburgh	-6.721	6	3	8	4
47	39	Mississippi St	-6.245	4	5	6	6
48	52	Louisiana Tech	-6.17	7	2	9	3
49	56	Illinois	-6.124	6	3	7	5
50	55	Florida State	-5.946	4	5	6	6
51	53	UCF	-5.732	5	4	7	5
52	42	Auburn	-5.717	5	4	6	6
53	44	Memphis	-5.35	7	2	9	3
54	70	Tulsa	-4.782	5	4	7	5
55	61	Iowa State	-3.992	4	5	6	6
56	38	Oregon State	-3.654	5	4	6	5
57	54	Virginia Tech	-3.555	6	3	8	4
58	57	Washington	-3.543	5	4	6	6
59	51	Fresno State	-3.484	5	4	6	5
60	65	Cincinnati	-3.158	5	4	6	6
61	71	West Virginia	-3.112	5	4	6	6
62	69	Georgia Southern	-2.795	5	4	7	5
63	76	Michigan St	-2.591	3	6	5	7
64	60	Michigan	-2.536	5	4	5	7
65	50	UT San Antonio	-2.331	7	2	9	3
66	59	Purdue	-2.017	3	6	4	8
67	64	Kansas	-1.942	3	6	4	8
68	62	South Florida	-1.9	6	3	8	4
69	68	Syracuse	-1.876	4	5	5	7
70	74	Jacksonville State	-1.812	7	2	9	3
71	73	Virginia	-1.753	4	5	6	6
72	63	Army	-1.671	5	4	7	5
73	84	Arkansas	-0.995	3	6	3	9
74	72	Minnesota	-0.952	5	4	6	6
75	75	West Michigan	-0.949	6	3	9	3
76	80	Air Force	-0.935	7	2	9	3
77	66	Louisiana	-0.374	6	3	8	4
78	89	Florida Atlantic	-0.274	6	3	7	5
79	85	Georgia State	-0.231	5	4	7	5
80	79	Arizona State	0.1161	5	4	6	6
81	78	Toledo	0.4844	7	2	9	3
82	67	Kansas State	0.7139	4	5	5	7
83	81	Navy	0.867	3	6	5	7
84	77	Connecticut	0.9757	4	5	6	6
85	82	Ohio	1.2425	7	2	9	3
86	92	Maryland	1.5221	3	6	4	8
87	95	Vanderbilt	1.6573	4	5	4	8
88	91	East Carolina	2.3293	5	4	7	5
89	90	Delaware	2.8801	4	5	6	6
90	87	Colorado	2.8932	3	6	4	8
91	83	NC State	3.1338	4	5	5	7
92	86	UNLV	3.2251	5	4	6	6
93	96	Boston College	3.2809	4	5	4	8
94	102	Utah State	3.2945	4	5	5	6
95	98	South Alabama	3.7118	4	5	6	6
96	99	Florida Intl	4.2681	4	5	6	6
97	103	Kennesaw State	4.6768	3	6	5	7
98	88	Coastal Carolina	4.9724	3	6	4	8
99	100	Miami (OH)	5.333	5	4	6	6
100	121	Central Michigan	5.4716	4	5	6	6
101	94	Arkansas State	5.5625	4	5	5	7
102	117	Wyoming	5.6384	6	3	7	5
103	97	Appalachian St	5.7721	5	4	7	5
104	107	Stanford	5.8062	4	5	5	7
105	101	Nevada	5.8624	3	6	5	7
106	105	San Diego State	5.8667	4	5	5	6
107	108	California	6.3879	3	6	4	8
108	109	UAB	6.4817	5	4	6	6
109	111	Rutgers	6.6519	2	7	3	9
110	104	UMass	6.8172	5	4	7	5
111	93	Tulane	6.8757	4	5	5	7
112	110	San Jose State	7.1527	5	5	6	7
113	113	Temple	7.1744	2	7	3	9
114	120	Buffalo	7.2736	6	3	8	4
115	112	Rice	7.333	1	8	2	10
116	116	Mid Tennessee	7.5395	5	4	6	6
117	115	Georgia Tech	7.6878	2	7	2	10
118	106	Troy	7.7281	4	5	5	7
119	114	Washington St	8.2682	1	8	2	9
120	119	Colorado State	8.7218	3	6	3	8
121	123	West Kentucky	8.9142	3	6	4	8
122	127	Missouri State	8.9544	3	6	4	8
123	125	New Mexico St	9.2068	3	6	4	8
124	122	Marshall	9.4944	5	4	6	6
125	132	Old Dominion	9.5662	3	7	4	8
126	128	Hawaii	9.6431	3	6	4	8
127	126	Ball State	9.6557	3	6	4	8
128	118	Eastern Michigan	10.48	4	6	5	7
129	129	Bowling Green	11.33	2	7	3	9
130	124	Southern Miss	11.922	3	6	4	8
131	130	Kent State	12.114	3	6	4	8
132	131	Sam Houston	13.116	1	8	2	10
133	133	Charlotte	15.148	1	8	2	10
134	136	Louisiana Monroe	15.787	2	7	3	9
135	135	UTEP	16.252	1	8	2	10
136	134	Akron	16.43	1	8	2	10
137	137	Sacramento State	17.443	2	8	2	10
138	138	Northern Illinois	18.254	0	9	1	11