Last Saturday, ss Jamaican sprint specialist Usain Bolt set a new 100m indoors best time in Warsaw, the Olympic champion showed just why he is arguably the greatest athlete ever. With absolute ease, Bolt stormed to success in 9.98 seconds.
Preparing for the upcoming Diamond League meeting in Zurich, the world record holder continues to obliterate the competition on and off the track. At the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, remarkably, Puma’s main man won gold in his three signature events, the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100 meters relay. Remarkable for a mere mortal, but Bolt seems to rise above any limitations, as he achieved the very same trifecta at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. After celebrating his 28th birthday two days before lighting up Poland, Bolt looks to be in great shape for his final Olympics in 2016 (According to the man himself, he will call time on his career after the 2017 World Championships).
With his compatriot Sheldon Mitchell finishing second and American Trell Kimmons clinching third place, Bolt displayed just how superior he is in every way imaginable, from his insane speed to his infectious charisma. This was just his second 100m event of 2014, with the first coming in an exhibition race on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach on August 17, a race that saw the sprinter finish in a time of 10.6sec.
As entertaining as Bolt is, is he the greatest Olympian of all time, or does Michael Phelps clinch the title?
Comparing Bolt or Phelps to Carl Lewis or Jesse Owens is as tricky as it is contentious.
Although Phelps dominated the Olympic scene on three separate occasions, Bolt is still the single most exciting athlete of the past two decades. Yes, Phelps demonstrated power, adaptability and toughness, all admirable characteristics, but he never possessed the X-Factor that Cristiano Ronaldo and Usain display 99.9% of the time. We’re talking about that superstar aura Boris Becker displayed, Mayweather Junior displays, and Ali excelled at displaying.
Without a shadow of doubt, Phelps is the greatest swimmer who ever lived, nevertheless, we all love a big debate; Wilt Chamberlain or Michael Jordan? LeBron or Kobe? Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders? Jim Thorpe or Babe Didrikson Zaharias? Jay Leno or Jimmy Fallon? Briefs or boxers?
Then, we examine accomplishments chosen professions, whose are more important? Tiger Woods’ or Richie McCaw’s? Rory McIlroy’s or Lewis Hamilton’s? And, more importantly for this article, who was the better Olympian: Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt?
Sure, Usain Bolt dipping under 10 seconds for the first time this season is impressive, but for him, undeniably, it’s no big deal.
Sure, due to a niggling foot injury, the six-time Olympic gold medallist was racing in only his second individual 100m of the summer. Yet again, no big deal for Bolt.
Sure, he anchored the Jamaica team to Commonwealth 4x100m gold in Glasgow just a few weeks ago, but this was just a routine run for him, Bolt expected nothing less.
When Bolt stormed to 100 meter success at the Beijing Olympics, so many of us used one word to describe the performance; freakish.
Let’s break his brilliance down.
Firstly, Standing at 6-foot-5, Bolt is not considered the perfect height for the 100. As sport scientists attest to, being this tall makes it extremely difficult to accelerate out of the starting blocks.
Secondly, as Bolt was initially a 200-meter specialist, the 100-meters did not become his prime focus until 2007, one year before the Beijing Olympics.
Considering these major factors, Bolt still ran a world record 9.69 in 2008. Oh ya, he was also running into a fiercely strong headwind.
As the most decorated participant in the 30-year history of the World Championships, the powerful athlete has already equalled the record of eight gold medals set by Lewis, Felix and Michael Johnson.
While Mo Farah, for example, is gifted, he has not got the inhuman talent of Bolt, but with 22 Olympic medals, 18 of these being gold, Michael Phelps certainly does. As the most decorated Olympian of all time, Phelps averaged more than seven medals in each of the last three Summer Games, and as Olympic prominence is evidently measured in gold, it’s totally justifiable to consider the swimming sensation the greatest Olympian ever.
However, it is almost impossible to watch what Bolt has achieved at the last two Olympics and not consider him the greatest participant in modern times, if not ever, possibly because sprinting captures the imagination much more effectively than swimming
Listen, both Phelps and Bolt have achieved amazing success. Debating which athlete is better is similar to the Ronaldo/Messi debate. Actually, it’s more contentious because they specialize in very different fields. It’s the old Blur/Oasis debate all over again, they are both brilliant, can’t we just admire them equally?
ABSOLUTELY NOT, you must choose.
If we examine an appearance/medal ratio, Bolt prevails. Having competed in 17 Olympic races in his career, including the first round, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the 100-meter, 200-meter and 4×100 relay, the most magnetic runner in history has finished first in 16 of them.
An almost perfect record ‘marred’ by a second place finish in a 200-meter, Beijing based, first-round qualifier. But it’s more than just this amazing record; Bolt’s radiant 9.63 in London’s 100-meter final actually bettered his Beijing time, and this saw the sprinter set another Olympic record.
Furthermore, as well as being the reigning 200-meter world-record holder, Bolt could have smashed the 200-meter Olympic record in 2012 if he didn’t drop a gear with 15 meters to go and coast over the finish line. While it is understandable for an athlete to slow a little and revel in the moment, Usain practically stopped, boiled an egg, ate it, and then decided to finish the race.
Although Bolt did slow down significantly, his 19.32 equalled Michael Johnson’s 200-meter record from 1996. As the first man in the history of the modern Games to grab 100 and 200 meter gold in back-to-back Olympics, perhaps Bolt should now consider adding the long jump, or the pole vault to his already impressive catalogue.
Jamaica’s golden child brings with him a parade of uncontainable vivacity. Watching him sprint for just a few seconds makes you truly appreciate the beauty of athletics.
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