Phelps or Bolt

[eyeatoma]

They aired it in primetime right after Phelps got his 8th gold medal right at the peak of the ratings. I bet more than 25,000,000 people watched it.

As opposed to atleast 2 billion...

[High 5]

I did answer it. Its a consensus measuring stick. There has to be some way to rank who the fastest person on the planet is right? Its been this way since the Olympics inception. Why are u questioning history? Admit it dude, if Tyson Gay had just performed this feat, you would be defending him to the death if someone questioned how he can be labeled the fastest man in the world...

I have no problem calling Bolt the fastest man in the world. He is. But it's not because he won the 100m. It's just obvious watching him run. And I wouldn't defend Gay because I honestly don't care. I'm not even defending Phelps, he doesn't need defending. I'm just trying to find out where you guys are coming from.

[canoner]

Bolt is just a beast. He put all other great sprinters, current and past, in shame. The way he broke world record is unheard of. I don't see anyone challenge him in foreseeable future.

Phelps is more versatile, partially due to the fact swimming allows it. There is no 100m hopping or backward running events otherwise I suspect Bolt may win as well. Breaking WR in that swimming pool should be taken at a discount. It is like nothing this past week due the new swim suit and the fast swimming pool.

So it boiled down to this:who is more versatile, and wins more gold? Phelps. Who is less likely to be challenged in foreseeable future? Bolt.

[eyeatoma]

Do you speak for the rest of the world? There have been people from other countries that have said Phelps. Are they wrong?

I think your misunderstanding what I'm saying. I never said I didn't think Phelps was a great athlete. I supported him through out the tournament. I watched him capture his 8th gold medal Live this morning, and cheered for him.

I've traveled to over 15 countries in my life, and lived in 4. I believe I have a better sense of what the world considers important.

You should have gone to the websites of most international news agencies. The BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, etc all had Bolt's world record breaking achievement as their front page headline. Now go to a website like ESPN, and you have Carmelo anthony on the front page. I click on their Olympics sections, and it still shows Phelps, even though his last competition was in the morning. And guess what the headline was for the actual article about Bolt (on the left hand side) It went something like, "Gay fails to reach finals, Bolt breaks the world record)...Are you kidding me???? Usain Bolt just shattered the world record without even trying a 3/4's of the way through, and the media has the audacity to mention Tyson Gay missing out in the headline. I can understand it being part of the headlines after mentioning Bolt, "Bolt breaks world record, Gay fails to Qualify", but before Bolt??

Just do this dude, go to ESPN.com...

Look at the front page, it has Phelps winning his 8th gold as the headline. Thats fine, but look at the headlines on the right hand side. Bolts feat isn't even mentioned. A man just ran the 100 meters in 9.69 seconds, and it doesn't even deserve to make front page headlines???? Enough said...

[High 5]

I'd say there's a much better chance f someone challenging Bolt than someone winning 8 golds. The world records will continue to drop (as was shown by Bolt), but someone dominating as much as Phelps will probably never happen. It took perfection to pull off what Phelps pulled off.

[BlackMamba]

Bolt is just a beast. He put all other great sprinters, current and past, in shame. The way he broke world record is unheard of. I don't see anyone challenge him in foreseeable future.

Phelps is more versatile, partially due to the fact swimming allows it. There is no 100m hopping or backward running events otherwise I suspect Bolt may win as well. Breaking WR in that swimming pool should be taken at a discount. It is like nothing this past week due the new swim suit and the fast swimming pool.

So it boiled down to this:who is more versatile, and wins more gold? Phelps. Who is less likely to be challenged in foreseeable future? Bolt.

excellent post

[eyeatoma]

Bolt is just a beast. He put all other great sprinters, current and past, in shame. The way he broke world record is unheard of. I don't see anyone challenge him in foreseeable future.

Phelps is more versatile, partially due to the fact swimming allows it. There is no 100m hopping or backward running events otherwise I suspect Bolt may win as well. Breaking WR in that swimming pool should be taken at a discount. It is like nothing this past week due the new swim suit and the fast swimming pool.

So it boiled down to this:who is more versatile, and wins more gold? Phelps. Who is less likely to be challenged in foreseeable future? Bolt.

Agreed 100%

[canoner]

Thats because NBC is obsessed with their own athletes and delays about 50-60% of the events so they can air them in prime time and make the big bucks.

Down with NBC for giving more coverage to athletes in their own country

There is a limit to it. NBC should be ashamed of not broadcasting the 100m final live. It IS the most exciting competition of the whole Olympic game. I am sure many countries who have no players in the 100m final broadcasted it live. And NBC decided not to do it simply because Gay is out and there was no chance at the gold? What a stupid decision.

[SportsWorld]

Thats because NBC is obsessed with their own athletes and delays about 50-60% of the events so they can air them in prime time and make the big bucks.

Down with NBC for giving more coverage to athletes in their own country

There is a limit to it. NBC should be ashamed of not broadcasting the 100m final live. It IS the most exciting competition of the whole Olympic game.

How is 10 seconds of running the most exciting competition in the Olympics? And NBC probably didn't air this live because running isn't popular in the USA. I'm pretty sure 45% of people here don't know who Tyson Gay is.

[AdamTheGreek]

[canoner]

How is 10 seconds of running the most exciting competition in the Olympics? And NBC probably didn't air this live because running isn't popular in the USA. I'm pretty sure 45% of people here don't know who Tyson Gay is.

WOW! Do you really believe what you said? The fastest man in the world is a sprinter on track. We human live on land, not in water. If Phelps were an Aussie, and Bolt were an American, there'd be no debate who is the fastest man on earth and everyone would agree to that. I am sure 45% of people here don't know who Phelps is either. I am not even sure more than 50% of people here watch Olympic.

[shawngoat23]

Do you speak for the rest of the world? There have been people from other countries that have said Phelps. Are they wrong?

I think your misunderstanding what I'm saying. I never said I didn't think Phelps was a great athlete. I supported him through out the tournament. I watched him capture his 8th gold medal Live this morning, and cheered for him.

I've traveled to over 15 countries in my life, and lived in 4. I believe I have a better sense of what the world considers important.

You should have gone to the websites of most international news agencies. The BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, etc all had Bolt's world record breaking achievement as their front page headline. Now go to a website like ESPN, and you have Carmelo anthony on the front page. I click on their Olympics sections, and it still shows Phelps, even though his last competition was in the morning. And guess what the headline was for the actual article about Bolt (on the left hand side) It went something like, "Gay fails to reach finals, Bolt breaks the world record)...Are you kidding me???? Usain Bolt just shattered the world record without even trying a 3/4's of the way through, and the media has the audacity to mention Tyson Gay missing out in the headline. I can understand it being part of the headlines after mentioning Bolt, "Bolt breaks world record, Gay fails to Qualify", but before Bolt??

Just do this dude, go to ESPN.com...

Look at the front page, it has Phelps winning his 8th gold as the headline. Thats fine, but look at the headlines on the right hand side. Bolts feat isn't even mentioned. A man just ran the 100 meters in 9.69 seconds, and it doesn't even deserve to make front page headlines???? Enough said...

Yeah, I noticed the same too. Bolt's sprint should have been front page in every media outlet, but the American media is obviously going to cater to things of more national interest.

For instance, the IOC standard for sorting countries is by gold medals first, followed by silver, followed by bronze, which is the protocol followed by BBC, CBC, etc. sort their medal tables. But all the American-based media companies sort by total medals first.

Similarly, Bolt's stunning achievement is relegated to the side. It's unfortunate because if Tyson Gay had run 9.69, it would be all over the American media. I remember how excited everyone was back in 1996 when Michael Johnson ran that blistering 19.32.

The upshot of my whole rant is that American fans who casually follow the Olympics are obviously going to think more highly of Phelps because they are going to hear much more about him in the media.

[Doctor MJ]

Give Bolt the oppurtunity to run in 8 different races and we can talk.

I mentioned this before, but didn't think anyone would bring it up so specifically: Bolt could have run the 400, he could have run 100 hurdles, he could have done long jump, he didn't. Comparing a swimmer favorably to a runner simply based on number of medals is indeed foolish, but Phelps is maximizing what his sport has to offer, Bolt is not. The only argument for Bolt is that his sport, his event, are so important that with his flash they overwhelm Phelps superior overall mastery of his sport.

[High 5]

I just wish I could see a day where Phelps was Canadian. This thread would be oh so different. Oh well, the hate just means America is on top so I'll take it. This was a fun thread even though it went nowhere. No one is going to change their opinions.

[canoner]

Give Bolt the oppurtunity to run in 8 different races and we can talk.

I mentioned this before, but didn't think anyone would bring it up so specifically: Bolt could have run the 400, he could have run 100 hurdles, he could have done long jump, he didn't. Comparing a swimmer favorably to a runner simply based on number of medals is indeed foolish, but Phelps is maximizing what his sport has to offer, Bolt is not. The only argument for Bolt is that his sport, his event, are so important that with his flash they overwhelm Phelps superior overall mastery of his sport.

The swimming events are more spread out than the sprinting events. Also, sprinters have to go through more rounds to get into the finals. I guess Bolt could have participated in 200m but the glory of 100m is so much more he may not want to risk it. Among the swimming events, there is not a single individual event that stand out as THE defining contest for the fastest swimmer in the world so Phelps spread the wide net and it paid out handsomely.

[shawngoat23]

I mentioned this before, but didn't think anyone would bring it up so specifically: Bolt could have run the 400, he could have run 100 hurdles, he could have done long jump, he didn't. Comparing a swimmer favorably to a runner simply based on number of medals is indeed foolish, but Phelps is maximizing what his sport has to offer, Bolt is not. The only argument for Bolt is that his sport, his event, are so important that with his flash they overwhelm Phelps superior overall mastery of his sport.

Doctor MJ, I don't think that's an accurate statement.

It seems strange to me that there are four different strokes for covering a distance in swimming. It just seems redundant--why would you want to butterfly when you can freestyle?

In track and field, the 110 m hurdles and the long jump are fundamentally different from the 100 m sprint. The 100 m is a test of how fast you can run on land; the 110 m hurdles includes obstacles; and the long jump is a test to see how far you can jump. No such distinction is the case between the different strokes for swimming.

Obviously, Phelps deserves all the credit in the world for taking advantage of all the redundant events available to him, but it's simply not fair to Bolt or to any track athlete to compare them with swimmers with a metric as simplistic as total medal count.

[canoner]

It seems strange to me that there are four different strokes for covering a distance in swimming. It just seems redundant--why would you want to butterfly when you can freestyle?

Exactly. It is like asking someone to hop when he can run. I never understood the logic.

[GQStylin]

I'd say there's a much better chance f someone challenging Bolt than someone winning 8 golds. The world records will continue to drop (as was shown by Bolt), but someone dominating as much as Phelps will probably never happen. It took perfection to pull off what Phelps pulled off.

It also took a fair chunk of luck. Phelps has plenty of talent, but it also took heaps of luck for him to get two of those eight golds. In the relay, if Lezak doesn't draft off Bernard the drive for eight is over. But he got lucky and won it for Phelps. In yesterdays race, credit to him never giving up and touching the wall at nearly the same time as Cavic, but he was lucky since the decision being only a .01 difference it could have went either way.

Bolt's run in the 100m was all pure strength and talent, with no luck involved in destroying the field.

Also swimming records fall far faster than the 100m record does. Bolt is only the 4th runner to go under 9.84 since Bailey set it in Atlanta 12 years ago and that olympic record survived until today. Swimming records fall at every major swim meet. Also even with Phelps breaking records, the 2nd and 3rd place finishers also frequently broke the existing records as well, while only Bolt was able to go under his own record. So to me, the 100m is far more signficant since its much tougher to break.

[canoner]

This shows how competitive the 100m is and how much Bolt is above the everyone else. None of Phelps win was like this. Not taking anything away from Phelps, but this picture above just blows one away.

[redux46]

Is Phelps even the fastest swimmer?