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'{{Infobox swimmer | name = Michael Groß (no relation to John Aldous) | image = | imagesize = | caption = | fullname = | nicknames = The Albatross | country = {{GER}} | formercountry = {{FRG}} | strokes = [[Butterfly stroke|Butterfly]], [[Freestyle swimming|freestyle]] | birth_date={{Birth date and age|1964|6|17|df=y}} | birth_place=[[Frankfurt am Main]], [[Hesse]], [[Germany]] | death_date = | death_place = | club = EOSC Offenbach | height = {{height|m=2.01}} | weight = {{convert|88|kg|lb}} | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men’s [[swimming (sport)|swimming]]}} {{MedalCountry | {{FRG}} }} {{MedalCompetition|[[Swimming at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}} {{MedalGold | [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Los Angeles]] | [[Swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metre freestyle|200 m freestyle]]}} {{MedalGold | [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Los Angeles]] | [[Swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 metre butterfly|100 m butterfly]]}} {{MedalGold | [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul]] | [[Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metre butterfly|200 m butterfly]]}} {{MedalSilver | [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Los Angeles]] | [[Swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metre butterfly|200 m butterfly]]}} {{MedalSilver | [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Los Angeles]] | [[Swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics - Men's 4 x 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]]}} {{MedalBronze | [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul]] | [[Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics - Men's 4 x 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]]}} {{MedalCompetition|[[FINA World Aquatics Championships|World Championships (LC)]]}} {{MedalGold| [[1982 World Aquatics Championships|1982 Guayaquil]] | 200 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold| [[1982 World Aquatics Championships|1982 Guayaquil]] | 200 m butterfly}} {{MedalGold| [[1986 World Aquatics Championships|1986 Madrid]] | 200 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold| [[1986 World Aquatics Championships|1986 Madrid]] | 200 m butterfly}} {{MedalGold| [[1991 World Aquatics Championships|1991 Perth]] | 4×200 m freestyle}} {{MedalSilver| [[1982 World Aquatics Championships|1982 Guayaquil]] | 100 m butterfly}} {{MedalSilver| [[1986 World Aquatics Championships|1986 Madrid]] | 4×200 m freestyle}} {{MedalSilver| [[1986 World Aquatics Championships|1986 Madrid]] | 4×100 m medley}} {{MedalSilver| [[1991 World Aquatics Championships|1991 Perth]] | 100 m butterfly}} {{MedalSilver| [[1991 World Aquatics Championships|1991 Perth]] | 200 m butterfly}} {{MedalBronze| [[1982 World Aquatics Championships|1982 Guayaquil]] | 4×200 m freestyle}} {{MedalBronze| [[1982 World Aquatics Championships|1982 Guayaquil]] | 4×100 m freestyle}} {{MedalBronze| [[1991 World Aquatics Championships|1991 Perth]] | 4×100 m freestyle}} {{MedalCompetition|[[LEN European Aquatics Championships|European Championships (LC)]]}} {{MedalGold| [[1981 European Aquatics Championships|1981 Split]] | 200 m butterfly}} {{MedalGold| [[1983 European Aquatics Championships|1983 Rome]] | 200 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold| [[1983 European Aquatics Championships|1983 Rome]] | 100 m butterfly}} {{MedalGold| [[1983 European Aquatics Championships|1983 Rome]] | 200 m butterfly}} {{MedalGold| [[1983 European Aquatics Championships|1983 Rome]] | 4×200 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold| [[1985 European Aquatics Championships|1985 Sofia]] | 200 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold| [[1985 European Aquatics Championships|1985 Sofia]] | 100 m butterfly}} {{MedalGold| [[1985 European Aquatics Championships|1985 Sofia]] | 200 m butterfly}} {{MedalGold| [[1985 European Aquatics Championships|1985 Sofia]] | 4×100 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold| [[1985 European Aquatics Championships|1985 Sofia]] | 4×200 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold| [[1987 European Aquatics Championships|1985 Sofia]] | 4×100 m medley}} {{MedalGold| [[1987 European Aquatics Championships|1987 Strasbourg]] | 200 m butterfly}} {{MedalGold| [[1987 European Aquatics Championships|1987 Strasbourg]] | 4×200 m freestyle}} {{MedalSilver| [[1981 European Aquatics Championships|1981 Split]] | 4×200 m freestyle}} {{MedalSilver| [[1987 European Aquatics Championships|1987 Strasbourg]] | 100 m butterfly}} {{MedalSilver| [[1987 European Aquatics Championships|1987 Strasbourg]] | 4×100 m freestyle}} {{MedalBronze| [[1981 European Aquatics Championships|1981 Split]] | 4×100 m freestyle}} {{MedalCompetition|[[Summer Universiade]]}} {{MedalGold | [[Swimming at the 1985 Summer Universiade|1985 Kobe]] | 200 m butterfly}} }} '''Michael Groß''' (born 17 June 1964 in [[Frankfurt am Main]]) is a former [[swimming (sport)|swimmer]] from [[Germany]]. A 202&nbsp;cm (6&nbsp;ft 7&nbsp;in) athlete, he received the nickname "The [[Albatross]]" due to his especially long arms which gave him a total span of 2.13&nbsp;m. Groß, competing for [[West Germany]], won three Olympic gold medals, two in 1984 and one in 1988 in the [[Freestyle swimming|freestyle]] and [[butterfly stroke|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&nbsp;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&nbsp;m freestyle, dominating the field. In the 100&nbsp;m butterfly, Groß pulled off a bit of an upset, winning over the favorite in the event, [[United States|American]] [[Pablo Morales]]. However, in the 200&nbsp;m butterfly, Groß himself was upset by a relative unknown, [[Australian]] [[Jon Sieben]]. The men's 4×200&nbsp;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 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]] ==External links== * {{imdb name|id=1174621|name=Michael Gross}} * [http://www.ishof.org/honorees/95/95mgross.html ISHOF Bio] {{s-start}} {{s-ach|rec}} {{succession box|before={{flagicon|USA}} [[Pablo Morales]]|title=[[World record progression 100 metres butterfly|Men's 100 metre butterfly<br>world record holder (long course)]]|years=30 July 1984 &ndash; 23 June 1986|after={{flagicon|USA}} [[Pablo Morales]]}} {{succession box|before={{flagicon|USA}} [[Craig Beardsley]]|title=[[World record progression 200 metres butterfly|Men's 200 metre butterfly<br>world record holder (long course)]]|years=26 August 1983 &ndash; 3 August 1984|after={{flagicon|AUS}} [[Jon Sieben]]}} {{succession box|before={{flagicon|AUS}} [[Jon Sieben]]|title=[[World record progression 200 metres butterfly|Men's 200 metre butterfly<br>world record holder (long course)]]|years=29 June 1985 &ndash; 12 January 1991|after={{flagicon|USA}} [[Melvin Stewart]]}} {{succession box|before={{flagicon|USA}} [[Rowdy Gaines]]|title=[[World record progression 200 metres freestyle|Men's 200 metre Freestyle<br>World Record Holder (Long Course)]]|years=21 June 1983 &ndash; 19 September 1988|after={{flagicon|AUS}} [[Duncan Armstrong]]}} {{s-ach|aw}} {{succession box|before={{flagicon|GER}} [[Toni Mang]]|title=[[German Sportspersonality of the year|German Sportsman of the Year]]|years=1982 &ndash; 1984|after={{flagicon|GER}} [[Boris Becker]]}} {{succession box|before={{flagicon|GER}} [[Harald Schmid]]|title=[[German Sportspersonality of the year|German Sportsman of the Year]]|years=1988|after={{flagicon|GER}} [[Boris Becker]]}} {{succession box|title=[[Swimming World Swimmers of the Year|World Swimmer of the Year]]|before={{flagicon|CAN}} [[Alex Baumann]] |after={{flagicon|USA}} [[Matt Biondi]]|years=1985}} {{succession box|title=[[Swimming World Swimmers of the Year|European Swimmer of the Year]]|before={{flagicon|HUN}} [[Sándor Wladár]]|after={{flagicon|HUN}} [[Tamás Darnyi]]|years= 1982 &ndash; 1986}} {{s-end}} {{Footer Olympic Champions 200 m Freestyle Men}} {{Footer Olympic Champions 100 m Butterfly Men}} {{Footer Olympic Champions 200 m Butterfly Men}} {{Footer World LC Champions 200m Freestyle Men}} {{Footer World LC Champions 200m Butterfly Men}} {{Footer World LC Champions 4x200m Freestyle Men}} {{Footer European Champions 200m Freestyle Men}} {{Footer European Champions 100m Butterfly Men}} {{Footer European Champions 200m Butterfly Men}} {{Footer Universiade Champions 200m Butterfly Men}} <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{Persondata |NAME=Gross, Michael |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Groß, Michael (German) |SHORT DESCRIPTION=[[West Germany|West German]] [[swimming (sport)|swimmer]] |DATE OF BIRTH=June 17, 1964 |PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Frankfurt]], [[Hesse]], [[West Germany]] |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Michael}} [[Category:1964 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Frankfurt]] [[Category:German swimmers]] [[Category:Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics]] [[Category:Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics]] [[Category:Swimming World World Swimmers of the Year]] [[Category:Olympic swimmers of West Germany]] [[Category:Olympic gold medalists for West Germany]] [[Category:Olympic silver medalists for West Germany]] [[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for West Germany]] [[Category:Former world record holders in swimming]] [[ca:Michael Gross]] [[de:Michael Groß]] [[es:Michael Groß]] [[fr:Michael Groß]] [[hr:Michael Groß]] [[it:Michael Gross (nuotatore)]] [[he:מיכאל גרוס (שחיין)]] [[nl:Michael Gross (zwemmer)]] [[ja:ミヒャエル・グロス]] [[no:Michael Gross]] [[pt:Michael Gross]] [[ru:Гросс, Михаэль (спортсмен)]] [[sl:Michael Gross (plavalec)]] [[fi:Michael Gross]]'