Bolt's Seismic Impact: Where Does It Rank?

2009-03-06T01:28:42-05:00

2008-08-20T12:47:58-04:00

2008-09-10T06:40:13-04:00

2008-08-26T10:23:31-04:00

DannyAves

Miami 483457

All these insinuations that Usain Bolt was using drugs just don't hold water. Consider this, the time he ran in the 200 meters as a 17 year old (19.93) would have placed second in Beijing and his 200 meter time as a 15 year old (20.61) was better than many who made it to the second round of the heats. 2587271

2008-08-26T10:22:57-04:00

DannyAves

Miami 483457

2008-08-25T10:02:25-04:00

truslu

No City 478371

It was almost predictable that Phelps would win the medals that he did, after all he had already proven that he could win six in Athens. The big story would have been if he had fallen short. People tuned in to swimming to see if he would LOSE! The Jamaicans are winning at track now because they gotten smart and stopped sending their best runners to the NCAA circuit to be abused and then showing up at the Olympics burnt out. Do you really believe that a poor island like Jamaica can find a way beat the drug tests that rich countries like the USA and UK have not found? 2578060

2008-08-25T01:46:46-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/912/10/thumb/ist2_7355600-man-playing-electric-guitar-and-jumping.jpg 194 NY

realityrecall

New York 91510

Sorry, just watch a video of Bolts wins (3) versus Phelps wins (8). Phelps are much more exciting. The 4x100 relay was the best ever. The 100 fly was spectacular. Bolt blew out the feild. GREAT. What does that say...really? 3 of MJ's 4 relay buds admitted to doping but not MJ. MJ was clean and since Bolt beat a non-doping MJ so Bolt must be clean...yeah right and Chinas gymnasts were 16 (nice job IOC). Track is a dirty sport. Phelps didn't win by the margin Bolt destroyed his competion by. Jamaica had its best sprinting year ever. What a surprise. Most pople will identify with Bolt b/c they have all run and appreciate fast runners regardless. But, Bolts record will be crushed well before Phelps 8 golds b/c the cheaters are always a few steps ahead but will eventually be caught. 2576578

2008-08-22T08:37:14-04:00

truslu

No City 478371

Because he comes from a tiny third world country of less than two million people. Because he is the opposite of what a 100m sprinter should be. Because he achieved his performance without living and training in the US. Because of the unpredictable nature of track and field where many favorites have lost. Usain Bolt makes a greater impact. 2561065

2008-08-22T01:28:10-04:00

vk00

Chicago 479287

I agree with others who have stated it's down to what gets the individual spectators blood moving. Personally, there is something special about the idea of outright speed; fastest man in history. This is the fastest the human body has ever moved of it's own devices, and in style. This in no way diminishes Phelps' achievement. The notion of 8 gold medals and, perhaps more impressive, 7 world records sounds almost comical. The idea is laughable if not for the fact that we've seen it with our own eyes. Admittedly, NBC has done much to desensitize me to Phelps' staggering accomplishment. Their coverage was just over the top; mentioning him every few minutes as if riding him to pad their ratings. It could also be my fault for not ignoring their incessant and inane blathering. Too many manufactured moments. I think both athletes deserve to be the faces of these games because of their similarities. Two consummate athletes and sportsman who's exuberance and achievement made it fun to watch them in action. These games needed that; something beyond the usual pomp and media generated inanity that make these games actually fun to watch. This is the same spirit that most olympians display but all too often are prempted for the made for TV stories. (Sorry about going a bit off topic there) 2560240

2008-08-21T14:35:14-04:00

watever

No City 472286

I don't care if phelp wins 11 gold medal in 1 olympics but the 100m and 200m sprint is more exciting 2554970

2008-08-21T13:28:16-04:00

goshorn83

Lynchburg 218728

Let me preface my comment by disclosing that I am a former competitive swimmer, so I know that it is impossible to take eight golds and seven world records in a single games lightly. It's a performance the sport has never seen and may never see again. However, world records fall by the boatload in swimming, and at least every other Olympics (Sydney, anyone?) nearly all the marks are re-written. Also, there were no other dominant male swimmers at these games - Ian Thorpe has retired - so the feat loses a little luster, a lot like Roger Federer's run in tennis not too long ago. Meanwhile, Usain Bolt had Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay to contend with ... granted Powell underperformed and Gay has been injured ... but combined with the fact that setting world records in the 100 & 200 at the same Games has NEVER been done. His performance made a mockery out of the 100 as a test of the world's fastest man, and broke a 200 record that the track & field community believed to be untouchable while running into a headwind makes Bolt's performance stand another plane. No technology aid, or even legendary work ethic and training, just a 22-year-old physical freak with flawless technique and multiple gears beyond what mortal runners possess. I can't disrespect Phelps or what he accomplished - although my assessment surely is colored by the bad aftertaste of the jingoistic U.S. media hype machine - but Bolt made me care about running and what he achieved in each race taken by themselves was the most amazing athletic accomplishment I've ever seen. Together, they've redefined "Olympic glory." 2553940

2008-08-21T12:57:51-04:00

451

sme2thcwe

Wendell 436024

If Bolt won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and whatever else there is then you can say he is as good an athlete as Phelps. This IS the Phelps Olympics! 2553549

2008-08-21T12:20:43-04:00

120

eessydo

Kennesaw 68759

Come to think of it, Japanese dominance in gymnastics from 1960 - 1976 was pretty awesome: Nakayama, Onon, Endo, Tsukahara, were all gymnastics innovators over that stretch of time. 2553101

By Dick Friedman In a previous post, my colleague B.J. Schecter has asked whether the performance of Usain Bolt at these Games has been <a href="/blogs/post/234887" target="_blank">more impressive</a> than that of Michael Phelps. (I'm with B.J. on tabbing Phelps.) I'd like to add a question that takes a longer view. There are certain Olympic results that have come seemingly out of nowhere and whose aftershocks have altered the landscape. Bolt's strikes me as belonging on that list. I was amused in my colleague Tim Layden's story yesterday previewing the 200 as to how many of the old-timers didn't seem to think Bolt had paid his dues; that how a guy who hadn't been around that long and had such an unconventional style (mostly because of his height) would have to get a little more seasoning before he could lower the record. Clearly, that conventional wisdom has been turned on its head. Here are some other summer events in my Olympic lifetime that made everyone sit up and take notice. 1. Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia winning the marathon at Rome in 1960, essentially putting Africa on the track map. 2. Bob Beamon of the U.S. obliterating the long-jump mark in Mexico City in 1968. 3. At those same Games, high jumper Dick Fosbury of the U.S. introducing the "Fosbury Flop." 4. The Soviet Union ending the U.S.'s men's basketball dominance at Munich in 1972. 5. The perfect 10 on the uneven bars by Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci at Montreal in 1976. 6. Ben Johnson being stripped of his medals after the Canadian sprinter was found to have been on Stanozolol while winning the 100-meter dash in a world record 9.79 at the 1988 Games in Seoul. What other summer events would you say have had such seismic impact? And where does Bolt rank on the seismic scale? 2483

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