LONDON – In what may be her final hour before losing her title as most-decorated Olympian of all time to Michael Phelps, Russian gymnastics legend Larissa Latynina was still holding on to her claim as the greatest the Games have ever seen.
As
she left the stands at gymnastics venue the North Greenwich Arena to
head to the aquatics center and watch Phelps’ two potentially historic
races, the 18-time medalist spoke her mind.
"Do
I think I am still the greatest Olympian?" she said in an interview
with Yahoo! Sports translated by a Russian gymnastics federation
official. "Why yes, but that is my opinion.
"Why do I think this?
Well, I did not only compete in three Olympic Games and won many medals,
but the Soviet Union team had very great success when I was the coach."
Success
is an understatement. Latynina won nine golds and 18 total medals in
her Olympic career, one that took her to Melbourne in 1956, Rome in 1960
and Tokyo in 1964. When she was coach during the 1970s, the Soviet
Union claimed another 10 golds.
Phelps and Latynina met at a
promotional event in the United States earlier this year and had a short
conversation, after which the gymnast presented the American swimmer
with one of her medals as a token of respect.
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