Listening to the Olympic commentators makes me cringe sometimes. Some of these cretins are convinced Usain Bolt is a greater Olympian than Phelps.
No Way----NO FRIGGIN' WAY!!!!
=> Michael has won more total golds and total medals over a longer period of time He Owned the pool in Beijing. Bolt dominated two individual and one relay over two Olympiads.
=> Michael's career has lasted much longer than Bolt's.
=> Michael probably has the aerobic capacity of 3 Bolts put together.
=> Bolt is all fast-twitch fibers - honed to perfection for sure but I'd love to see him try to run a 400 or 800m.Michael is fast and slow twitch fibers.
Much of the strength of the argument for Bolt is how dominant he has been, the fact that his WRs represent a quantum leap beyond the competition.
But he obviously lacks Phelps' versatility and longevity: in terms of medal count, Phelps was the premier Olympian for three consecutive Olympics. At his peak he was dominant in several events too but his competition has been catching him lately and none of his WRs look unassailable (before Lochte's swim in the Olympics I thought the 400 IM WR was untouchable).
Who knows what another 4 years will bring? Bolt's records may not look so untouchable then either (though maybe not, T&F WRs don't seem to have the same kind of steady improvement that swimming WRs do).
Bolt preens, talks and has a healthy ego, but I also think he sometimes has his tongue planted firmly in cheek. Regardless, he's a lot more interesting to listen to than Phelps.
There's some psychology happening here: people tend to forget the impact of earlier events in favor of What Just Happened. Phelps and Bolt both did awesome things, but Bolt did his a few days after Phelps had already retired. Switch the order, do the "athletics" before the swimming, and no one would even dream of making this comparison. Bolt would have been forgotten after the 200IM.
Yes, but the discussion is about the greatest Olympian, is it not? Anything outside the Olympics shouldn't matter.
It's sort of interesting that Phelps is only 14 months older than Bolt yet he's already been to four Olympics and Bolt has only been to two. Actually, I take that back. He did run the 200 meter in 2004, but didn't make it past prelims, so Bolt has NOT been perfect at the Olympics and he's competed in three Olympics.
en.wikipedia.org/.../Usain_Bolt
Phelps made it to finals at his first Olympics and at 15. Track and Field Athletes can compete up to 35ish. Bolt isn't a diversified track athlete. Jackie Joyner Kearse did the long jump as well as the heptathlon. Carl Lewis did the long jump as well as the sprints.
Bolt preens, talks and has a healthy ego, but I also think he sometimes has his tongue planted firmly in cheek. Regardless, he's a lot more interesting to listen to than Phelps.
Not sure how tongue-in-cheek he's being sometimes - you may be being overly-generous. But if he is trying to be, he needs to work on jamming it in there just a bit harder, IMHO.
Phelps at least comes across as a real person.
Not that I know (and I'm not sure why I even care) but Bolt seems like he'd be interesting for all of 5 minutes - then progressively more and more annoying.
Phelps made it to finals at his first Olympics and at 15. Track and Field Athletes can compete up to 35ish. Bolt isn't a diversified track athlete. Jackie Joyner Kearse did the long jump as well as the heptathlon. Carl Lewis did the long jump as well as the sprints.
Heck yeah, Carl Lewis won the long jump at FOUR successive Olympics in addition to winning the 100 twice and the 200 once.
Lewis is the far more accomplished T&F Olympic athlete. Bolt is flashy and works the crowds, so that's good for their sport.
I think where Bolt has the edge over Phelps right now is he's never shown a *** in his armor. He's been absolutely perfect at the Olympics. Of course he's also only raced six finals at the Olympics whereas Phelps has raced in something like 24 finals.
I think where Bolt has the edge over Phelps right now is he's never shown a *** in his armor. He's been absolutely perfect at the Olympics. Of course he's also only raced six finals at the Olympics whereas Phelps has raced in something like 24 finals.
Ah, He didn't win the Jamaican Trials and fail stated at Worlds last Year. It is too soon for Bolt to show any major "chinks in his armor"
Ah, He didn't win the Jamaican Trials and fail stated at Worlds last Year.
Yes, but the discussion is about the greatest Olympian, is it not? Anything outside the Olympics shouldn't matter.
It's sort of interesting that Phelps is only 14 months older than Bolt yet he's already been to four Olympics and Bolt has only been to two. Actually, I take that back. He did run the 200 meter in 2004, but didn't make it past prelims, so Bolt has NOT been perfect at the Olympics and he's competed in three Olympics.
en.wikipedia.org/.../Usain_Bolt
