Phelps or Bolt

[Doctor MJ]

Errrmmm. I did say that Tiger is the best golfer I've ever seen didn't I? I'm just saying what Bolt and Phelps achieved in these olympics is much more impressive than what Tiger has done, mainly because golf isn't much of a sport. I mean you don't have to be in shape or be very young to be competitive and all you have to do is compete against a golf course.

Yes, you just rephrased exactly what I took issue with. Let me try to be more clear and see if we can come together here: In terms classic athleticism (strength, speed, etc), Tiger is much less impressive than Bolt or Phelps. In terms of how extraordinary Tiger's talent is relative to humanity, regardless of in what category you classify Tiger's talent, he's right up there with on the shortlist of sporting greats. Can we agree on that?

[canoner]

Errrmmm. I did say that Tiger is the best golfer I've ever seen didn't I? I'm just saying what Bolt and Phelps achieved in these olympics is much more impressive than what Tiger has done, mainly because golf isn't much of a sport. I mean you don't have to be in shape or be very young to be competitive and all you have to do is compete against a golf course.

Yes, you just rephrased exactly what I took issue with. Let me try to be more clear and see if we can come together here: In terms classic athleticism (strength, speed, etc), Tiger is much less impressive than Bolt or Phelps. In terms of how extraordinary Tiger's talent is relative to humanity, regardless of in what category you classify Tiger's talent, he's right up there with on the shortlist of sporting greats. Can we agree on that?

Still, golf is not much of a sport. Tiger is great, dominant. But it is weird to compare him with the like of Bolt or Phelps.

[Joker]

Well I think he thinks of it as a recreational sport... instead of a physical sport. There isn't much of a possibility of you being physically harmed by playing golf instead of football/basketball, and etc. And in some peoples eyes it isn't a real sport due to that reason. What about bowling? It isn't a popular sport but there are parallels that can be drawn to golfing. It is a recreational sport. You can get fat guys who excel while the creme of the crop are fit guys.

But I agree with you with Tiger... the man will become the first billionaire from playing sports. If you can't be impressed with that, nothing will. He is about as dominate in his sport as Joe Louis was in boxing, that MJ was to basketball.

Whilte I completely agree that it's a less physical sport than most, Tiger's knee clearly got injured by something, and it's pretty easy how you could wrench your back something fierce playing golf.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was when the injury first happened.

Woods said he tore the ACL while jogging at home after the British Open last July. He played on, going on a streak that included seven consecutive victories, including Dubai Desert Classic in Europe and his Target World Challenge, an unofficial event.

He did not play overseas late last year for the first time since 2003, hopeful that rest could allow him to play more this year. But the pain intensified through the Masters, where he finished second, and Woods said the cartilage damage developed from the ACL injury.

[Joker]

I read a good point on another site, re: the significance of swimming and Phelps' accomplishments. Someone astutely pointed out that the average person doesn't even know what particular swimming events Phelps won gold in--they just know that he won gold in a slew of events. That speaks to the significance of any given swimming event vs. say, the 100m or 200 m in athletics. In 10 years' time, I probably won't be able to say with confidence the name of an event that Phelps won. But 50 years from now, I'll still be able to recall which exact track events lewis won in 84, or what specific track events Bolt won in 2008.

[Blame Rasho]

You can tear an ACL walking up stairs hard... so don't sell me that golf is a physical sport. It isn't.

[Doctor MJ]

Perhaps the biggest surprise was when the injury first happened.

Woods said he tore the ACL while jogging at home after the British Open last July. He played on, going on a streak that included seven consecutive victories, including Dubai Desert Classic in Europe and his Target World Challenge, an unofficial event.

He did not play overseas late last year for the first time since 2003, hopeful that rest could allow him to play more this year. But the pain intensified through the Masters, where he finished second, and Woods said the cartilage damage developed from the ACL injury.

Okay, never mind then.

[BadWolf]

Tiger is dominating golf as no one before.
Then again, golf is the sport of the rich, only a few get a chance to try and be good, so the competition is by default truncated. Majority of good athletes come from middle/lower classes. That's one way out of there, ie they're driven more.
I'm not saying Tiger wouldn't be the best of the best if golf was more accessible to general population, but he'll have a lot more competition for sure.

[jTF2]

The 100m dash is the pinnacle of human athletic achievement. Its the most exciting 10 seconds in sports history and it only comes every 2 years (Olympics, Commonwealth games... world champs don't have the same prestige). IMO, Bolt's win in the 100 is worth about 3 golds by Phelps. Phelps is still ahead by far overall and Bolt/team winning the relay won't change anything but I absolutely admire Bolt more.

That being said, I'm not sure which I'll remember more.. Phelps' YAHHHH moment which sent shivers down my spine or Bolt slowing down and getting the WR in which I was left slack jawed.

Hang on, you're saying the commonwealth games 100m final has more prestige than the World Championships 100m final?

Disagree 100%

Olympics >> World Champs >>>> Commonwealth Games.

Pretty sure the commonwealth games are bigger than the world track& field. In the US.. idk, probably world track & field but its a moot point because ESPN will cover only certain events and just the final.

[jTF2]

The 100m dash is the pinnacle of human athletic achievement.

I think I'd consider basically any athlete at the top of a sport of skill to have reached a greater state of human athletic achievement. I'm more impressed with Tiger Woods or Roger Federer or Michael Jordan than someone who basically can run fast in a straight line for 10 seconds. I mean it's an impressive feat of training / genetics, but I would consider it less than just about any other real sport on the pinnacle of human athletic achievement. Could you really watch a 100m race 50-60 times a year compared to most sports?

I'm saying that for the amount of work and training one has to do to win this race and be called the fastest in the world is saying a lot. TIger woods trains his mind primarily to win his 'sport'. Federer and Jordan... again its mostly about the mental game. Not trying to put them down or anything... of course they're giants in their respective sports. But being called the fastest man should have significant recognition.

[jTF2]

The 100m dash is the pinnacle of human athletic achievement. Its the most exciting 10 seconds in sports history and it only comes every 2 years (Olympics, Commonwealth games... world champs don't have the same prestige). IMO, Bolt's win in the 100 is worth about 3 golds by Phelps. Phelps is still ahead by far overall and Bolt/team winning the relay won't change anything but I absolutely admire Bolt more.

That being said, I'm not sure which I'll remember more.. Phelps' YAHHHH moment which sent shivers down my spine or Bolt slowing down and getting the WR in which I was left slack jawed.

Lol, not really.

You can say that the 100m is the pinnacle of the human body, but it isn't the pinnacle of the human athletic achievement. Again, coming from a track athlete, you are born to run the 100m. It's all about acceleration and overall top speed. Compared to other track events or other sports, genetics far outweigh training and dedication/heart.

Anyone can run a 100m. It's not far at all. Your typical Joe will be able to run the 100m. He'll be able to get out of the blocks, start sprinting as fast as he can, depending on his conditioning, he will very likely hit a wall 60-70m in. However, if he can tough another 5 seconds or so, he'll finish the race. ANYONE can do that.

What I would like to see is Bolt run the 400 (which is the pinnacle of human athletic achievement, and also one of my former events lol). 400 you are sprinting at top speed the entire time. From the moment you leave the blocks, you are sprinting as fast as you can, you do that for the first 100m curve, then the 2nd 100 straightaway, by now you want to quit, but you keep going for another 100m curve. Now, your body is dead, you can't move your legs anymore, your heart and lungs hurt, all common sense says stop, you've already ran as fast as you can for 300m, but instead of stopping, you now run even faster for the final stretch. The 400m pushes a human to his limit (in terms of speed).

In order for Bolt to prove his ability to me, he will have to become a 400m runner as well. If you watched his 200m race, he hit a wall about 150m, I want to see how he will do in a full lap.

Agree with everything you said. The bolded part is what I meant... damn gotta be more clear next time.

[fame]

So another world record in the books for Bolt

[Doctor MJ]

Can anyone tell me what's the record for most world records set by one track athlete in a single Olympics?

[jTF2]

fck, anyone know where I can find videos? preferably from BBC... not NBC.

[deNIEd]

http://www.rapidfind.org/upload/showthread.php?t=87547

You'll find both Bolt and all of Phelp's races.

Doctor MJ, I would guess Phelps has that record, primarily because I doubt many athletes have ever competed in 8 events in a single year.

Golf is a sport that is more skill based than physical/athletic based. Basketball, Soccer, Baseball, etc. are also all sports that have a larger majority about skill than athletic ability.

However, a sport like track or swimming, is primarily all about physical capabilities. It doesn't matter about how skilled you are at running, the main determinant of your speed will be your athleticism. Form, pacing, technique does eventually come into play, but those are for primarily subtracting thousand's of a second off of your overall time.

[jTF2]

no relay race though..

[The Duke]

Mark Spitz had 7 WR in the pool also if I recall correctly

[tracey_nice]

Anyone have the link for the 4x100 mens relay???

[Rasho Brezec]

Anyone have the link for the 4x100 mens relay???

You can try here.
Just click the second square, the one above which it says "VIDEO: JAMAJČANI RAZRED ZASE". For HQ video you have to click below the picture, where it says "Kvaliteta: visoka".

[JN]

You can tear an ACL walking up stairs hard... so don't sell me that golf is a physical sport. It isn't.

So by your definition, the pinnacle of physical accomplishment is pitching a baseball. There is no act in sports in America that creates as many major injuries as pitching a baseball.

[jTF2]

Anyone have the link for the 4x100 mens relay???

You can try here.
Just click the second square, the one above which it says "VIDEO: JAMAJČANI RAZRED ZASE". For HQ video you have to click below the picture, where it says "Kvaliteta: visoka".

awesome!