USAIN BOLT VS. MICHAEL PHELPS---ultimate challenge:who is the greatest olympian?
- Thread starter holysmoke
- Start date
The question isn't about the greatest athlete but rather Olympian. The only time Bolt lost at the OLYMPICS was when he was a debuting as an injured 17 year old competing in the 200m in 2004. Bolt has not only been unbeatable at the Olympics, it hasn't even been close...and let's face it, the Olympics' blue riband event is the 100m. And all this suffering from scoliosis, which he has to work around to even compete at this level. Plus a lot more people come out to see Bolt. Bolt has the edge in my book.For Track and Field overall, I'd have to say Jesse Owens or Carl Lewis (Lewis was still busted for illegal substances in '88 remember; dirtiest race of all time was the Seoul Olympic finals) are the greatest athletes. People need to realize Jesse Owens' best clocking at 10.2 secs (Some of the 100 m runner qualifying times still today even). If Jesse Owens had the racing gear of today (clothes, shoes, starting blocks), a rubberized track to run on and today's training methods what do you think his time would be like now? Owens raced on a beat up dirt track (worn out from other races, 5000 m and others) and didn't have the same starting blocks to start the sprint. I bet at his peak Owens could hit 9.2-9.4 secs flat if he were running in the same conditions Bolt was today. De Grasse did a mock race for a David Suzuki nature of things documentary one time and they gave him similar shoes Owens wore, they had him run on a dirt track and took away the starting blocks, he had to start with those foot pits. De Grasse clocked in at 11 secs with the analog step watch. Does that mean Bolt at his peak of 9.58 secs needs approx a 1-1.1 second increase of 10.5-10.6 had he been racing in the same conditions as Owens? The one thing I took away from the clip I watched of De Grasse is his admiration for Owens' incredible leg strength, based on the conditions faced and how incredibly tired De Grasse was afterwards.
Swimming takes a lot of core power and requires more energy for propulsion and endurance, I think I'd have to give the edge to Phelps in this case then. Bolt has fast legs for sprinting, but swimmers have to utilize their upper body (core muscles) and legs in unison for further propulsion through greater resistance (pool water). For sheer entertainment factor (charisma, showmanship) and ridiculous unbridled speed Bolt wins by a long shot. For freak of nature consistency and endurance I'd have to go with Phelps if we can't decide between the two of them...
He came to attention as a 200m and 400m runner. He only took up competitive 100m sprinting in 2006/2007! He trains a lot less than others due to that spine of his.
You can only beat what's put in front of you. Comparing different eras is sometimes pointless.
I want a Platinum medal for that one.Top marks nd for your good memory, or google skills.
Gold medal to you for a great solution. LMAO
That is something a British dude, named Daley Thompson, has already done in 1980 and 1984Ashton Eaton deserves a mention. Two consecutive decathlon golds.
Also done in 1948 and 1952 by another American.
I'd argue the greatest Olympic team is US Woman's Basketball.... Is any national team that dominant?
Great topic - I was actually wondering the same thing myself earlier in the week.
I am no Phelps fan- he's dumb as a bag of nails and seems to be groping frantically for the last few seconds of his 15 minutes of fame. But Man, 27 medals? 22 gold? Can't see anyone touching that for a long time.I was never a competitive swimmer but to a degree, if you are good at one event, you are decent in all of them. But to excel and dominate in multiple events over multiple distances, and to rise to the occasion at the finals, is pretty amazing.
In Bolt's case - I am a big fan - perhaps not as much of a leap from 100 to 200. Most top sprinters tend to double at both distances as there isn't much difference in ability. Maybe the biggest accomplishment of his triple triple was the relays where he works with a different team each time against the top powerhouse nations in the world. Some many things can go wrong in a relay that have nothing to do that one particular athlete.
With a sigh, I would have to give the nod to Phelps.
I am no Phelps fan- he's dumb as a bag of nails and seems to be groping frantically for the last few seconds of his 15 minutes of fame. But Man, 27 medals? 22 gold? Can't see anyone touching that for a long time.I was never a competitive swimmer but to a degree, if you are good at one event, you are decent in all of them. But to excel and dominate in multiple events over multiple distances, and to rise to the occasion at the finals, is pretty amazing.
In Bolt's case - I am a big fan - perhaps not as much of a leap from 100 to 200. Most top sprinters tend to double at both distances as there isn't much difference in ability. Maybe the biggest accomplishment of his triple triple was the relays where he works with a different team each time against the top powerhouse nations in the world. Some many things can go wrong in a relay that have nothing to do that one particular athlete.
With a sigh, I would have to give the nod to Phelps.
Bolt started running 100m in 2007. Up until then he ran only 200m and 400m. And he doesn't just beat people. Me makes them run for 2nd place. He waltzes across finish lines. It's like he doesn't even try when he blows the competition away. This is something the nuanced observer takes into account.Great topic - I was actually wondering the same thing myself earlier in the week.
I am no Phelps fan- he's dumb as a bag of nails and seems to be groping frantically for the last few seconds of his 15 minutes of fame. But Man, 27 medals? 22 gold? Can't see anyone touching that for a long time.I was never a competitive swimmer but to a degree, if you are good at one event, you are decent in all of them. But to excel and dominate in multiple events over multiple distances, and to rise to the occasion at the finals, is pretty amazing.
In Bolt's case - I am a big fan - perhaps not as much of a leap from 100 to 200. Most top sprinters tend to double at both distances as there isn't much difference in ability. Maybe the biggest accomplishment of his triple triple was the relays where he works with a different team each time against the top powerhouse nations in the world. Some many things can go wrong in a relay that have nothing to do that one particular athlete.
With a sigh, I would have to give the nod to Phelps.
No person has done what he has done OLYs after OLYs in Track. It is unprecedented and most likely will never repeated...and I'm excluding relays from this. Gold medal tally mean very little in the argument. What are they going to do? Do 60m races, 200m straight, 150m sprints? 100m split in 2, where you touch the wall at 50m, and run back to the start? The barefoot 100m? The barefoot 200m? The barefoot 150m? How about 250m race? Or even 300m? Maybe they could implement these somehow since they are willing to make trampoline and Olympic sport....event.
One thing most haven't touched upon yet is that there is FAR FAR FAR greater competition in sprinting. There are way more competitors worldwide.
Bolt carried T&F on his back. Read any of the articles on this matter and how Rogge was told shoo and go away when tried to rebuke Bolt's showmanship.
Here in Europe all they are talking about is Bolt. I heard it's pretty much the same in Africa, Asia and South America. Phelps must be a north American thing. Then again, even the Americans are grudgingly giving massive props and still trying to get him over there to come and talk to them. Heard some NFL team is extending and offer. Madness because Bolt is 30 and they expect him to learn the other finer points of American football.
At each of the last two Olympics, it is Bolt that people go there to chant...and I'm not talking about Jamaicans. Bolt has transcended his sport more than any other Olympian since Ali, and I guess Ali did it as a professional boxer.
Phelps will be an American icon. Bolt a Global one. Think Gretzky vs an Ali or a Jordan.
This is true, I noticed he never tries in the qualifying heats, especially towards the back 20-30 metres roughly. We've only ever seen him go all-out in the race for the medals, and we've undoubtedly seen him hit his peak in the 100m and 200m circa 2008-2009 when he picked up the WRs in 100m (9.58s) and 200m (19.19s) respectively. When you see him sprint in the finals, he goes all out, until he knows the win is in the bag (last 2-3 metres approx.) then he raises his arm and it's over. Bolt is a natural with superior sprint running genetics. Even if you take all the best black athletes from the other countries, and the push themselves to their limits, it wouldn't matter, because Bolt is a cut above the rest of them. You have great (2nd, 3rd all the rest) and then you have legendary/unbeatable, that's the category to describe Bolt...Bolt started running 100m in 2007. Up until then he ran only 200m and 400m. And he doesn't just beat people. Me makes them run for 2nd place. He waltzes across finish lines. It's like he doesn't even try when he blows the competition away. This is something the nuanced observer takes into account.
Phelps is the Wayne Gretzky/Gordie Howe/Bobby Orr equivalent for aquatic racing. Bolt is the Ali (1960s-Mid '70s until his last fight with Joe Frazier) and Pele equivalent to shorter distance sprinting. They're those once in a lifetime athletes that come around, if we're lucky enough to witness it... Like 1 in several million or 1 in several billion.
