I guess controversy sells ...
"Track and field is so much more physically demanding ..."
Michael Phelps is not the greatest Olympic athlete in history
Former Member
I actually heard a local sports radio show covering the same angle. Basically blowing off everything Phelps did as "pretty cool" and showing complete awe for what Usain Bolt did in the track and field events.
I completely agree that Usain is freaky fast and totally impressive to watch, but there's no way you can discount what Phelps did.
I guess controversy sells ...
"Track and field is so much more physically demanding ..."
Michael Phelps is not the greatest Olympic athlete in history
why limit it to only the summer games? when you throw in all sports, Phelps is at the bottom of the top five.........with the likes of Lance, Tiger, Jordan, Petty. Swimmers should just be satisfied to have someone in this elite group. If Phelps can pull off another mega gold performance in 2012, he will have the longevity that Lance and the others have and could move up to the top 3 maybe.
Maybe the author is a closet swimming and Phelps fan who is worried that Michael is running out of motivating articles to tape up in his locker.
Awesome!:applaud:
Petty?
Richard Petty 7 time NASCAR Champion,120 race victories over 20 years.
Yea I know it is a stretch to call race car drivers athletes, but in our present McDonalds fat hog'in, beer drink'in, anal cell phone society the sports media considers him a God. I won't be surprised to see Phelps driving or riding in the pace car (ala LA) at some auto race soon also.:doh:
It's possibly correct to say Bolt is a better all around athlete than Phelps - depending on how you measure better athlete.
The only fair way to measure athleticism would be to have both athletes compete in some sort of all around competition involving multiple athletic disciplines. Phelps obviously had a huge edge in the water, Bolt on the land. Bolt is most likely physically stronger (i.e could bench press more, squat more, and so on). Bolt would most likely have an edge in pretty much every land based competition - as in, Bolt would most likely take Phelps in a game of one-on-one basketball.
The only other way to measure who is the best all around is dominance in their respective sports. The simple answer is that Phelps did more events, won more gold, and thus was more dominant than Bolt. Getting into the technical details of which sport requires more skill or talent, or who had better competition is at best a toss up and in the end a matter of opinion.
Great idea. Phelps and Bolt head to head in a Olympic Distance Triathlon. My moneys on Phelps.
I don't think it is any different from assuming that Phelps would have a distinct advantage in any water based activity. Bolt is the fastest human on the planet so it is not illogical that he would have a significant advantage in land based activities.
Richard Petty 7 time NASCAR Champion,120 race victories over 20 years.
Sorry, I thought you were talking about current athletes, not retired ones, but you did mention Jordan so I should have known. I know Richard's son Kyle is or was a NASCAR driver, too, but certainly isn't one of the major stars of the sport.
Should the debate be who is the better athlete or should the debate be whose athletic accomplishment is more worthy of recognition? Bolt could be the better "athlete" but isn't Phelp's accomplishment perhaps more worthy of recogntion?
I suppose all of this can get rather tricky because how does one decide which athletic feat is more worthy of recognition?
Should the debate be who is the better athlete or should the debate be whose athletic accomplishment is more worthy of recognition?
The whole discussion of who the "greatest all-around" athlete is has always struck me as ridiculous. Honestly, I could care less how fast Michael Phelps runs or how well Usain Bolt plays tennis. Domination in a single sport qualifies someone as a great athlete, in my opinion. Arguing whether Bolt or Phelps is the "better athlete" seems completely pointless. They both kick ass in their sports of choice.
