Yet another Bolt vs. Phelps thread

[sprintblox]

To clarify: for the purposes of this thread, to equal or surpass the accomplishment does not require doing it in the same events. A track athlete can do it in 3 other events (e.g. 200, 400, 4x400), a swimmer can get 8 golds in events that don't exactly match Phelps.

Also for the purposes of this thread, Phelps' world records are to be disregarded; 8 swimming golds in one Olympics is to be considered as equaling Phelps' accomplishment. Phelps got his records by competing against older marks that were made without the suit and pool technology at this level, while the next 8-gold guy is likely to have to compete against prior marks made with technology equal to or extremely close to what is available to him.

[sprintblox]

Regarding technology, I suppose some of you will say that the same could be said about training and nutrition technology; the newer record-breaking athlete competes using training techniques and nutritional supplements that weren't available to athletes in older days.

However, that exists both in swimming and track, so it's not a differentiating factor in this debate.

[eldrick]

age & timing of a meet have a lot to do with it

Carl in '83 trials ran 19.75 & jumped 8.79 which were superior to altitude-assisted wrs of the time - for him,it happened at a trials & not a global

[sprintblox]

age & timing of a meet have a lot to do with it

Sure, but that's a factor in both sports and having to time it to happen at the Olympics makes both accomplishments much more difficult to match.

[Marlow]

I'll vote against T&Fonly because those WRs are less frequently broken. To get 3 T&F WRs is . . . Boltian (greater than Beamonian). Someone WILL equal or surpass Phelps's feat.

[steve]

I'll vote against T&Fonly because those WRs are less frequently broken. To get 3 T&F WRs is . . . Boltian (greater than Beamonian). Someone WILL equal or surpass Phelps's feat.

I think three world track records, and three golds, is difficult, but less so than 8 swimming golds. The training alone to achieve such a feat would kill most people.

[eldrick]

worth placing youself in the shoes of an intelligent, mainstream ( primarily ball sports ) fan who has no preconceived baggage to bring forward

what they woud go for - 3 golds or 8 ?

our bbc sports personality of the year gave a clue - the viewers gave it to hoy who won 3 golds over addlington who won 2 in 2 equally "unknown" sports to general fans

[Cooter Brown]

Phelps is so ideally suited to swimming that if he wasn't in the sport he'd be considered deformed. I can't remember the measurements NBC cited but he had a very short inseam, extra long torso, huge feet, and arm spam that would put most orangutans to shame.

[Marlow]

Phelps is so ideally suited to swimming that if he wasn't in the sport he'd be considered deformed. I can't remember the measurements NBC cited but he had a very short inseam, extra long torso, huge feet, and arm spam that would put most orangutans to shame.

Not 'deformed', but certainly a Freak, like The Freak, Jevon Kearse
6'4 tall, but has an arm span of 7'2
260 pounds but could run a 4.5 40 and had a 40" vert.
Could bench 225lb. 25 times in a row.
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

They are both outliers of the most extreme.

[Marlow]

Maybe this has been covered before, but NBC had a super-slo-mo camera on Bolt's legs in the 100 final. It's mermerizing to watch and also to consider his last 8 (EIGHT!) strides were decelerating, including leaning back for the last two strides.
First go here and watch all three of Bolt's WRs in a row, and then find the video called "Usain Bolt's 100m: From the ground up" (couldn't link it)

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player ... de=sportat

[Paul Henry]

This in an interesting spin on the sports debate of the year. As I would always maintain; I just don't give much praise to the redundant variations in the different swimming disciplines so, at the end of the day there is not much athletic prowess to be demonstarted in winning 8 golds competing in these events. However, setting world records in three sprint dsciplines (especially the 9.69 first time sub 9.7 legal clocking) will always register highly in my book especially in the fashion they were done and the circumstances surrounding them.

[Cooter Brown]

Another way to compare the two is to ask which athlete could more likely succeed in another sport. Bolt without question. Outside of swimming, I doubt Phelps is suited to anything sport that isn't prefixed with "Wii."

[Paul Henry]

Another way to compare the two is to ask which athlete could more likely succeed in another sport. Bolt without question. Outside of swimming, I doubt Phelps is suited to anything sport that isn't prefixed with "Wii."

This one was good.

[steve]

Another way to compare the two is to ask which athlete could more likely succeed in another sport. Bolt without question. Outside of swimming, I doubt Phelps is suited to anything sport that isn't prefixed with "Wii."

water polo, triathlon..........when looking at the poor tradition of great sprinters succeeding in other sports (yeah I know about Bob Hayes, but there are waaayyy more failures than successes), I think Phelps would be more likely to succeed in another sport than Bolt.

I think many on this board have a hard time accepting that the Olympics that produced history's undisputed greatest sprinter was the same one that produced the the greatest Olympian in Phelps . Bolt's performances were overshadowed by the overall performace of Phelps. My feeling is that the two most amazing performances were Bolt's 100 and 200, but the overall achievement of Phelps was mind boggling.

[observer2]

This was an easy one: BOLT IS NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD

http://www.aipsmedia.com/

Happy to see that sport journalists from 96 countries voted for
track&field athletes as number one: Bolt and Isinbayeva
Great for our sport isn´t it?