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Michael vs Usain

David Guthrie | Profile

June 25, 2009

2008 Athlete of the Year Award

I just watched a replay of Usain Bolt in Beijing, and it is obvious why he won out over Phelps.

Usain Bolt won the award for two reasons. First, head to head, all things equal, track wins out over swimming. Sorry swimmers, but for all the attention heaped on it every 4 years, swimming is not on the top of the Olympic pyramid. Running is the most fundamental and universal measure of human athletic performance. Swimming is a second order skill, valuable, but not essential, a specialty. It ranks above, say, golf, cycling, or pole vaulting, on the primal or fundamental scale, but running, especially sprinting, rules. 50 meter Freestyle vs 100 meter dash? Sorry, no contest.

Second, is the sheer magnitude of Bolt's performance. He exceeded all previous Olympic track history, not just by a little bit, but by leaps and bounds. He was all alone, waaaaay out front, in both the 100 and 200 meters, the most widely anticipated races in the world of sports. His performances obliterated the two most coveted and revered world records in Olympic sports. Bolt looked like a different species—taller, swifter, a man among boys—as he toyed with the pack that struggled to stay on the tv screen with him. Neither event was even a race. And throw in the 4x100 meter relay WR for good measure. Bolt reset the Richter scale of running. Everything has to be re-calibrated after his shock wave rattled the record book.

So Bolt was absolutely deserving of the 2008 Athlete of the Year Award. Michael will get all the recognition he deserves in the Olympic Pantheon. The two athletes' achievements are ultimately difficult to compare. Michael's achievement is broader, wider, deeper. Almost methodically, Michael is creating an ongoing masterpiece, his life's work, which casts a much larger shadow across Olympic history. Usain's performance is more stunning, flamboyant, momentary.

It is right to distribute the awards and recognition and not let one athlete's achievement blot out all others. Think of it like Usain walking away with the game MVP trophy, while Michael takes home the Championship trophy (again).

As absurd as it may be, there are actually some people in the swimming "leadership" who have asserted that Michael (and, by extension, the sport of swimming) were robbed of the 2008 Athlete of the Year Award because "the suits" somehow diminished his achievement in the eyes of the press. What an obtuse analysis that has nothing to do with reality. Do these people actually follow sports, or just broadcast opinions from a fluorescent lit office cubicle? They are looking for someone or something to blame. But there is no injustice here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qslbf8L9nl0

Videos

Usain Bolt 100m 9.69 ( LIVE VIDEO ) Beijing Olympic Gold & WR

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Usain Bolt 100m 9.69 (LIVE VIDEO) Olympic Gold & WR EXCLUSIVE YOUTUBE VIDEO World Record in Beijing

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#76	Adam Shaw July 1, 2009 at 12:00pm Ben Skutnik said: “I didn't take time to read all of the comments to this, so sorry if someone has brought this up. But, Usain Bolt's performance is more incredible than Phelps's. Without a doubt. Due to the specialization involved in training for track, it is amazing whenever on athlete can dominate multiple events. A lot of people might see that as grounds for why Phelps should be Male AOTY, but for me it strengthens why Usain should get it. Not to mention, every able bodied human being on the planet knows how to run and chances are, at some point, have been in a foot race. A small percentage of the world population knows how to swim, and an even smaller amount has raced.” but swimming requires specialization of ALL strokes not just one thing, like running reply
#75	live2swim June 30, 2009 at 8:21pm Bolt's accomplishments are dwarfed when compared to Phelp's. We all know that Phelp's has probably hit the bong a bit but I'm sure Bolt has done worse. Besides there is no race in swimming that is only 9 seconds long. He runs around like a sissy girl after he wins. He's faster than me but Phelp's wins by a longshot. reply
#74	Kfuller June 30, 2009 at 9:25am Michael Phelp had an awesome performance with the 8 golds, but Usain bolts win here was insane. Usain wins hands down, but both Phelps and Usain were amazing. reply
#73	Kevin McGrath June 30, 2009 at 7:18am Dan Humphrey said: “You can't look at track times the same way you look at swimming times. Keep in mind track times go to the 1000th of a second.” But track world records actually go to the 1/100th of a second. And even if they did go to 1/1000 of a second, that doesn't make 1/100 of a second in 10 seconds of running more significant than 1/100 of a second in 10 seconds of swimming. reply
#72	Ben Skutnik June 29, 2009 at 7:34pm I didn't take time to read all of the comments to this, so sorry if someone has brought this up. But, Usain Bolt's performance is more incredible than Phelps's. Without a doubt. Due to the specialization involved in training for track, it is amazing whenever on athlete can dominate multiple events. A lot of people might see that as grounds for why Phelps should be Male AOTY, but for me it strengthens why Usain should get it. Not to mention, every able bodied human being on the planet knows how to run and chances are, at some point, have been in a foot race. A small percentage of the world population knows how to swim, and an even smaller amount has raced. reply
#71	Dan Humphrey June 29, 2009 at 4:01pm You can't look at track times the same way you look at swimming times. Keep in mind track times go to the 1000th of a second. reply
#70	Kevin McGrath June 29, 2009 at 1:02pm Anonymous Coward69 said: “I am a swimmer and think Bolt's 2 golds were more impressive, unlike michael he set a WR in events he did not already hold the WR, he didnt just set, he obliverated them. The 100m video is a testimony to why Usain won best athlete, he ran like no human has ever run before during a 100m race. Yes, it is the equivilent of swimming 25m but think about winning gold and smashing the world record by as much as Bolt did, it is unparalleled, he opened his arms and pumped his chest while crossing the finish line. I believe however, if Michael were to have set 8 World records, and done such as go 49 in the 100 fly, split faster than Lezak, broken his 2fly wr he should have won the award” Actually, Bolt did already hold the world record in the 100m and he broke it by .03 seconds. While he did not hold the WR in the 200m, his time of 19.30 was only .02 seconds faster than Michael Johnson's previous record. I would hardly call this smashing. reply
#69	David Lotterer June 29, 2009 at 11:38am Who had a better year? Hard to tell... Phelps August 10 400 m individual medley Gold Medal, World Record 4:03.84 August 11 4 x 100 m freestyle relay Gold Medal, World Record 3:08.24 August 12 200 m freestyle Gold Medal, World Record 1:42.96 August 13 200 m butterfly Gold Medal, World Record 1:52.03 August 13 4 x 200 m freestyle relay Gold Medal, World Record 6:58.56 August 15 200 m individual medley Gold Medal, World Record 1:54.23 August 16 100 m butterfly Gold Medal, Olympic Record 50.58 August 17 4 x 100 m medley relay Gold Medal, World Record 3:29.34 2008 Awards World Swimmer of the Year Award American Swimmer of the Year Award Golden Goggle Male Performance of the Year Golden Goggle Relay Performance of the Year Golden Goggle Male Athlete of the Year USOC SportsMan of the Year Award Laureus World Sports Sportsman of the Year Award (Nominated) Sports Illustrated Sportsmen of the Year Holds the record for most Olympic gold-medals: 14 Holds the record for most Olympic gold-medals in individual events: 9 Holds the record for most Olympic gold-medals at a single games: 8 Bolt 2008 Reebok Grand Prix New York City, United States 1st 100 m 9.72 WR 2008 Beijing Olympics Beijing, China Gold Metal 100 metres 9.69 WR OR 2008 Beijing Olympics Beijing, China Gold Metal 200 metres 19.30 WR OR 2008 Beijing Olympics Beijing, China Gold Metal 4x100 metres relay 37.10 WR OR Jamaica Sportsman of the Year CAC Male Athlete of the Year Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year IAAF World Athlete of the Year reply
#68	Anonymous Coward June 29, 2009 at 9:31am jesus doesn't sportsmanship play into this at all? he looks like a friggin child... thay all celebrate like children. you don't see phelps jump in the pool and float around in celebration. reply
#67	David Guthrie June 29, 2009 at 9:03am Apparently, a few readers don't understand my MVP trophy vs Championship trophy analogy. Usain conquered the track, while Phelps ascended to the very peak of Mount Olympus. In the big picture, Phelps' accomplishments dwarf Usain's at this point in their careers. But the AOTY award isn't really a big picture award. It recognizes the outstanding achievements during one year, not nearly enough expanse to adequately acknowledge what Phelps accomplished. To argue that Usain's historic feat deserves no recognition because Michael works harder or is more versatile misses the whole point. If we can't find room to honor both athletes, there's something very wrong here. Shawn Klosterman understands the real point of the blog. reply
#66	Tristan Vowles June 29, 2009 at 8:37am You can even look at media coverage between the two athletes. Bolt has been relatively silent since the olympics. Phelps has been in the media countless times since the olympics, obviously helped by his bong incident, but nevertheless, it takes a pretty big reputation for a guy to be railed as much as he was for such a little mistake. I think Phelps is more of a worldwide figure than Bolt is, despite track being a more popular sport. reply
#65	Impressive? June 29, 2009 at 8:35am i know 9.69 is fast but watching it a 2nd and 3rd time, it doesnt look that impressive. he wasnt that far ahead. reply
#64	David Lotterer June 29, 2009 at 8:05am When Bolt wins the shotput, Javalin and pole vault, then he can be compared to Phelps. He's a great sprinter. He can't even run distance. Phelps has world records in multiple specialties at multiple distances AND is world class in the events where he didn't set the record. Not to mention the longevity of his dominance. Guthrie's analysis is way off the mark. reply
#63	Anonymous Coward June 28, 2009 at 7:59pm This guy is just straight up stupid and if he knew anything about swimming he would know how much better of an athlete phelps is than bolt by seeing how much harder we work than they do. I think phelps could come a lot closer to bolt in the hundred meter dash than bolt could to phelps in the 50 fr. That just shows who is the better athlete here. reply
#62	Michael Miller June 28, 2009 at 1:30pm I am a swimmer. Phelps should have won the award. Both athletes had to have put in an absolutely monumental effort and years of training. But to me, the facts of the achievements should support Phelps. Running is better understood because almost anyone can do it. Not as many people can swim, especially at a highly competitive level. Bolt has 2 events. I understand the performances were incredible, but 2 compared to 8 isn't in the same league. Also, it's hard enough to compare to different sports as it is. But being a swimmer, I understand how different all of the many events that Phelps swam were. If Bolt could win some of the longer races as well, and by as much,then it would be much more comparable. Also, Phelps set 7 world records. I'm no runner, but i don't find it difficult to run 100 meters. I know his time was sickeningly fast, but that's a very short event, and probably requires much more strength and natural talent than finesse. That's not to say that I think running doesn't require finesse and technique. Bolt is amazing, and so is Phelps, but I think Phelps should have won out. reply
#61	Steve Ireland June 28, 2009 at 10:36am i think david guthrie has entirely missed the boat with this moronic article. just because usain bolts achievements were in athletics doesnt automatically mean that his achievements are better than michael phelps achievements, thats an outrageous point of view to have. i mean look at the range of achievements that michaels phelps managed. how different are the 200 freestyle and the 400 im and yet he managed to dominate them, utterly dominate them, while setting new world records in 7 of his 8 events. yes usain bolt is a fantastic athlete but he is limited in what he has or can achieve. when usain bolt wins 8 medals in an olympics then he can challenge michael phelps as the mvp of the olympics. and with regards to the fact that usain bolt couldnt swim a 400im, thats absolutely true but i think that michael phelps would get an awful lot closer in the 100 metres dash. running is a far more natural talent where as swimming requires years of dedication and is far more technique based and so michaels achievements are much more representative of an athlete who has trained much harder and longer to win what he has won, on the other hand usain bolts speed seems to be much more of a natural talent. this doesn't neccesarily make his achievements any less spectacular but perhaps means that phelps earns a bit more respect for his dedication and the fact that he had to work a lot harder to achieve what he has done. reply
#60	Kentucky Klark June 28, 2009 at 1:43am It should not matter the sport. (Swimming, Track, Fencing...) 8 gold medals. 7 world records. Put that haul with Curling and you're the Athlete of the Year. No question. Espy = joke. reply
#59	Moe Lester June 27, 2009 at 9:57pm it sounds like usain is happy. very happy. just happy reply
#58	Anonymous Coward June 27, 2009 at 8:35pm Usain would probily win because track is more popular than swimming reply
#57	Anonymous Coward June 27, 2009 at 5:56pm but despite that, they have to pick an athlete of the year and i would say that usains 100 performance is by far more memorable than any of phelps' individual performances, not saying better or more impressive, but more memorable reply
#56	Anonymous Coward June 27, 2009 at 5:53pm no one is arguing that the act of swimming is harder than the act of running, but to say that being the best performer in history is harder to do in swimming than in running is ridiculous. usain couldnt swim a 400 im but phelps also could get nowhere near a 9.69 in 100m dash. its impossible to compare the two performances. both are by far the best in history. it would be like comparing jordan and gretzky or tiger woods and nastia liukin. it just doesnt make sense. reply
#55	Anonymous Coward June 27, 2009 at 5:32pm I think the first comment by Darren Grose sums it up pretty well. People have to argue that Bolt was better than Phelps, not the tother way around. reply
#54	Anonymous Coward June 27, 2009 at 4:39pm Wait woah. When Phelps swims the 200 free and further lowers a record that Ian Thorpe said was impossible for Phelps, that is not anticipated? Also Phelps is diverse, he swim what was the third fastest 100 free ever leading off the relay, yet he can drop from a 4:05 to a 4:03 in the 400 IM. No contest, David Guthrie doesn't understand anything. reply
#53	Mitch June 27, 2009 at 2:35pm Bolt celebrated in all three races before they were over...he didnt even put his FULL best effort in. If phelps did something like that not only would he probably be disqualified for an illegal finish technically, the press would be all over his arrogance. reply
#52	Nick DeLeon June 27, 2009 at 12:35pm This is crazy. Swimming is WAY harder. Almost any able bodied human can run. It is way harder to learn to swim than it is to run. Only distance running can compare to swimming in terms of how hard it is to train and compete. reply
#51	Anonymous Coward June 27, 2009 at 11:18am but bolt in a pool and he will drown in 5 seconds have phelps run a 100m and im sure he'd finish it reply
#50	David Muir June 27, 2009 at 10:54am New facebook group "Craig Lord Talks Rubbish" join and spread the word. reply
#49	David Muir June 27, 2009 at 9:40am One distance, one style of running. If Phelps followed this rule then he would have been no where in comparison. Phelps achieved something great, no doubt, but surely the suit swam fast and not Phelps...(yes, tongue in cheek comment) Great piece, thank you. reply
#48	BestP June 27, 2009 at 9:06am If Phelps training running... he would be the best! better than Bolt! :) reply
#47	Jimmy Morris June 27, 2009 at 8:58am I'm going to have to agree with this. If you take the amount of people who run vs those who can swim it is more impressive to be the fastest man on land than the fastest man in the water. However, what I find so special about what Phelps did was he won 8 events all of which of various length and specialties. It's like a decathlon athlete entering all of the events individually and winning all of them. reply
#46	Anonymous Coward June 27, 2009 at 6:44am swimming is by far harder. the only reason running is most fundamental is becuase we are born on land not water we must first learn to walk and breath and the basic LAND necessities of our human life come from land. when we swim we put ourselves in an foreign enviornment thus making it harder for ourselves to compete or survive. and you say that bolt looks like a man among boys LOOK AT PHELPS he makes the 200 free 200 fly and multiple other races look like he is swimming a summer league race look at the 400 IM the sports decathlon its not even fair. another point is phelps can swim the longer harder events he has more depth in events bolt only has the 100 and 200. there is a reason why phelps is the greatest olympic athlete ever. reply
#45	Impressed June 26, 2009 at 10:41pm by far the most intelligent and well written item i have ever seen on any swimming website. reply
#44	Bo Carroll June 26, 2009 at 9:44pm Anonymous Coward said: “A new WR*. He probably wouldn't have even been under 9.8 if it weren't for his shoes.” you have got to be kiddng me......his shoes. i can see how suits can greatly help swimmers being as i am one but lets be for real shoes? he could have run barefoot and still won reply
#43	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 9:21pm bob said: “I'm a runner and a swimmer! To say that track is harder then swimming is RIDICULUS especially sprinting! Distance is the real challenge in running! Everytime a go to swim practice I'm out of breath, hurting, and wishing I ran track. Swimming is so much more challenging then running! I don't care what "evidence" you have to track is harder it's not. How many track people can say they swim a 500 under 6 minutes while almost all good swimmers can run a mile under 7 minutes!” This is probably because more people know how to run correctly than swim correctly chief. reply
#42	Alaina Bernard Girani June 26, 2009 at 8:33pm this guy is really slow. i can beat him swimming a mile reply
#41	Peter_Galick June 26, 2009 at 6:39pm Phelps did break his 200 fly WR...the 100 fly was the only event he did not set a world record in. I totally agree with the blog, however. Bolt was shock and awe, which is something the world lives for. However Phelps absolutely painted a masterpiece that I will go on a limb and say will never be topped in my lifetime. The fact remains that non swimmers can't even comprehend exactly what went into Phelps's performance, and I'm totally okay with that. reply
#40	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 6:28pm give it to the white man! reply
#39	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 6:20pm A new WR*. He probably wouldn't have even been under 9.8 if it weren't for his shoes. reply
#38	Video Games? June 26, 2009 at 5:42pm anyone ever figure out what it means to be "in the realm of video game times"? haha reply
#37	Anonymous Coward69 June 26, 2009 at 5:38pm I am a swimmer and think Bolt's 2 golds were more impressive, unlike michael he set a WR in events he did not already hold the WR, he didnt just set, he obliverated them. The 100m video is a testimony to why Usain won best athlete, he ran like no human has ever run before during a 100m race. Yes, it is the equivilent of swimming 25m but think about winning gold and smashing the world record by as much as Bolt did, it is unparalleled, he opened his arms and pumped his chest while crossing the finish line. I believe however, if Michael were to have set 8 World records, and done such as go 49 in the 100 fly, split faster than Lezak, broken his 2fly wr he should have won the award reply
#36	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 5:01pm Anonymous Coward said: “hahaha read the last sentence i wrote, bob, i didnt say track is harder than swimming. its a fact though that the muscles are pounded harder in track just by the nature of the exercise and it takes longer to recover, that doesnt make it harder. to say one sport is harder than another is a ridiculous argument to make anyways, at the top levels of every sport, athletes are pushing their bodies to their limits. that why i hate it when people compare sports in terms of how "hard" they are” This is true it takes weeks to recover from a WR 100 meter dash. reply
#35	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 4:52pm hahaha read the last sentence i wrote, bob, i didnt say track is harder than swimming. its a fact though that the muscles are pounded harder in track just by the nature of the exercise and it takes longer to recover, that doesnt make it harder. to say one sport is harder than another is a ridiculous argument to make anyways, at the top levels of every sport, athletes are pushing their bodies to their limits. that why i hate it when people compare sports in terms of how "hard" they are reply
#34	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 4:25pm Drugs reply
#33	Bob June 26, 2009 at 3:58pm I'm a runner and a swimmer! To say that track is harder then swimming is RIDICULUS especially sprinting! Distance is the real challenge in running! Everytime a go to swim practice I'm out of breath, hurting, and wishing I ran track. Swimming is so much more challenging then running! I don't care what "evidence" you have to track is harder it's not. How many track people can say they swim a 500 under 6 minutes while almost all good swimmers can run a mile under 7 minutes! reply
#32	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 3:24pm track is way harder on the body than swimming. using jesse owens as an example is a bad idea because he's the one of the greatest athletes in history. im a swimmer and im not saying track is harder as a sport, but track is harder on the body. reply
#31	Tristan Vowles June 26, 2009 at 2:48pm and wait... said: “the only swimming medal ever stripped was from Rick DeMont. who eventually had his name cleared.” Yeah.. that was absolute bull. especially since he won the 400 free by 0.01, and they never gave him the medal back. reply
#30	Tristan Vowles June 26, 2009 at 2:42pm Anonymous Coward said: “track and field is a joke. the entire mindset of training is bogus. every olympics track an field gets so much attention and then every olympics medals are taken away from the track and field athletes. the US has been EMBARRASSED multiple times by track athletes representing the USA. 4 track and field athletes at beijing tested positive for PEDs. 0 did for swimming. 8 track and field athletes at athens tested positive for PEDs. (3 GOLD medals winners were stripped of their medals.) 0 athletes tested positive at athens for PEDs in swimming. in sydney the US was stripped of a total of SIX MEDALS because of doping in track and field. four of them were gold. there are the facts. make your decision on who is cheating.” As strong of an argument as this is (and i wholeheartedly agree with you), this thread has gotten away from the intended debate somewhat. I don't think Usain is doping. People take drugs because they don't think they can win without them. Usain Bolt is DEFINITELY good enough to win without drugs, so it wouldn't make any sense for him to cheat. reply
#29	Jim June 26, 2009 at 2:37pm Editorial on the 2008 Athlete of the Year on July 25, 2009? That's timely. reply
#28	And Wait... June 26, 2009 at 1:59pm the only swimming medal ever stripped was from Rick DeMont. who eventually had his name cleared. reply
#27	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 1:53pm track and field is a joke. the entire mindset of training is bogus. every olympics track an field gets so much attention and then every olympics medals are taken away from the track and field athletes. the US has been EMBARRASSED multiple times by track athletes representing the USA. 4 track and field athletes at beijing tested positive for PEDs. 0 did for swimming. 8 track and field athletes at athens tested positive for PEDs. (3 GOLD medals winners were stripped of their medals.) 0 athletes tested positive at athens for PEDs in swimming. in sydney the US was stripped of a total of SIX MEDALS because of doping in track and field. four of them were gold. there are the facts. make your decision on who is cheating. reply
#26	Tristan Vowles June 26, 2009 at 1:11pm BAHAHAHA at last post :) reply
#25	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 1:06pm TYSON GAY! reply
#24	The Same Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 12:40pm the reason someone can set 4 world records in track is because the races are so much shorter and therefore much easier to recover from events reply
#23	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 12:39pm wrong. track is much much easier to be more versatile than swimming. Look at Jesse Owens the greatest track and field competitor ever. He set 3 world records and tied a fourth all within 45 minutes. That would be unheard of in swimming. reply
#22	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 12:16pm i think the main difference is that more people can relate to running. Almost everybody can understand how fast a 9.6 is for a 100m dash because almost everybody has done some sort of running sprint in their lives. Far less people can grasp the magnitude of how fast michael really is. Honestly I don't really care if phelps gets the credit he truly deserves right now because history will remember him as the greatest olympic champion. I'm just happy to be involved with the sport of swimming. So many people only saw michael's accomplishment as 8 gold medals, while those of us who have been around the sport were utterly amazed that one man could swim so many strokes so well and win by so much. reply
#21	Sandwish June 26, 2009 at 12:10pm Anonymous Coward said: “running 100 meters is like swimming a 25 sure you put all the effort you have in it but you recover fast because it was barely anything.” Not saying Bolt deserved the award over Phelps, but can anyone validate this statement that track sprinters recover so fast from a 100 meter dash? I would think that it would take much longer to recover from a WR caliber or near WR caliber 100 meter dash than any swimming race. (With the possible exception of the 400 IM or 1500 free--those races suck!) reply
#20	Tristan Vowles June 26, 2009 at 12:00pm Anonymous Coward said: “it is tough to compare track and swimming. Alot of the time swimmers can cover a wide range of races. In track it is more difficult for a 100 meter sprinter to try and win the 300 hurdles as well. The training is just so different. To compare Phelps and Usain is is very hard just because it is much more difficult to have a wide range of races in track.” who says? just because nobody has done it yet... nobody has ever managed to cover that variety of races in swimming either until Phelps. Even spitz could really only swim two strokes. Phelps is WORLD class in three out of four, and very, very good in the fourth. As for difference in training, compare backstroke with breaststroke. This is a MUCH bigger difference than straight running is compared to hurdles. reply
#19	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 11:56am it is tough to compare track and swimming. Alot of the time swimmers can cover a wide range of races. In track it is more difficult for a 100 meter sprinter to try and win the 300 hurdles as well. The training is just so different. To compare Phelps and Usain is is very hard just because it is much more difficult to have a wide range of races in track. reply
#18	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 11:49am You're right that the suits weren't the reason that Usain won. Michael's bong scandal hurt him a lot. And if there was bias in the Laureus decision (and I think there probably was at least a little), it comes from the fact that of the 46 members of the Laureus committee who voted, far more were former T&F;athletes than swimmers. I think only Spitz is a Laureus member. reply
#17	Tristan Vowles June 26, 2009 at 11:45am "Second, is the sheer magnitude of Bolt's performance. He exceeded all previous Olympic track history, not just by a little bit, but by leaps and bounds. He was all alone, waaaaay out front, in both the 100 and 200 meters, the most widely anticipated races in the world of sports. His performances obliterated the two most coveted and revered world records in Olympic sports. Bolt looked like a different species—taller, swifter, a man among boys—as he toyed with the pack that struggled to stay on the tv screen with him. Neither event was even a race. And throw in the 4x100 meter relay WR for good measure. Bolt reset the Richter scale of running. Everything has to be re-calibrated after his shock wave rattled the record book." You could argue that you could just simply replace "Usain Bolt" with "Michael Phelps" and "running" with "swimming" in this paragraph. There is nothing you can say about Bolt that you can't say about Phelps. Phelps' achievement was much more breathtaking to watch played out over the 9 days, covering all 4 strokes, and three 3 different distances. And while it was evident that Bolt cruised his way through two rounds of both the 100 and 200, Phelps had numerous non-final races in which he was forced to exert himself into a level of discomfort. Anybody who has raced 400 IM will tell you it is absolutely impossible to swim it easily. Personally, I feel that the only way Bolt could achieve the same as what Phelps achieved would be to win the 100, 200, 400, 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles, and the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. This to me would be an equivalent achievement. reply
#16	CG Rhino June 26, 2009 at 11:14am For Krayer . Bolt has been around long before 2008 .He holds the world Junior record for the 200 metres from April 2004 at 19.93,World Youth best performance 2003 200m 20.13,World junior champion 2002 200 m ,second in 2007 World Champs 200m 19.91. And Jamaica is noted for track and field so there is no place to hide him and given his talent the drug testers would be after him to ensure that he was not doping. Also given the HGH scandal how many of the other athletes who did at Athens have been no where near their best all of a sudden. The drug testers are catching up with the cheats in track and field so now the clean athletes are coming to the fore. Also if you disagree with the athlete of the year choice argue it on a point that has substance and proof. reply
#15	Blastoff June 26, 2009 at 11:02am Right on the money Mr. Guthrie. To use the media's voting Bolt as AOTY as a justification for getting rid of fast suits is about as stupid as it comes. Kind of like WMD as a justification for invading Iraq... reply
#14	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 10:52am running 100 meters is like swimming a 25 sure you put all the effort you have in it but you recover fast because it was barely anything. I didnt see usian bolt winnning EIGHT track and field events and i didnt see him running anything over a 200 aka a 50 free. wake me up when bolt wins the 100, 200, 400, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 100 hurdles, and 300 hurdles reply
#13	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 10:12am This blog may be the best analysis of the difference between the two accomplishments I've ever read - mostly because it comes from a rational observer from the swimming community. This is what analysis is supposed to be about. Take out the provincial homerism and look at the facts. Phelps may well be creating a "masterpiece" but Bolt was transcendent for the brief moment he held the world stage. reply
#12	WWW June 26, 2009 at 10:02am AGREED. Bottom Line, running is fundamental. 100M Dash is the most exciting event of Olympics, No Arguement reply
#11	Adam Shaw June 26, 2009 at 9:44am what would he have done if he didnt raise his arm like an idiot at the end? reply
#10	Kevin McGrath June 26, 2009 at 8:43am STM said: “bottom line is usain bolt is a badass... and phelps isa pansy” How can you say bolt is a badass while phelps is a pansy? bolt's longest race lasted less than 20 seconds, while phelps swam the 400 IM. assuming you are a swimmer, you should understand how much of a "badass" you have to be to train for phelps' events and do what he did. the man is tough as nails! In response to the article, both phelps and bolt are freaks of nature. bolt is without question the greatest sprinter the world has ever seen, and phelps is without question the greatest swimmer the world has ever seen. Both men are deserving of the award, however, the greatness of bolt's achievements are much butter understood by most of the population. reply
#9	David Guthrie June 26, 2009 at 8:36am "As much as the swimming community likes to think that the world really understands what he did...they don't." I would go farther and say that even the swimming community itself doesn't fully comprehend what Michael did in Beijing....But that's another blog. reply
#8	STM June 26, 2009 at 8:24am bottom line is usain bolt is a badass... and phelps isa pansy reply
#7	BS June 26, 2009 at 7:57am Ask any knowledgeable bodybuilder who knows HGH (and other performance enhancers) and uses it and they will say that there is no way Bolt was using performance enhancers. HGH is an aesthetic drug which enhances athletic appearance and can sometimes reduce injuries. Studies have reported that it can inhibit athletic ability. Acromelagy patients, who suffer from natural growth hormone levels of up to 100 times higher than normal, have lower stamina towards physical activity than people with regular levels. They found cyclists of good health and endurance “were unable to complete accustomed cycling tasks after administration of exogenous hGH” and concluded that HGH can inhibit recuperation from exercise (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1724606). So don't go around spreading rumors and claims that can't be proven. reply
#6	Akos Fabian June 26, 2009 at 7:40am Next time ask a non-US non-swimmer if they believe Phelps was not doping...I don't want to generalize, but in Europe it's a pretty common assumption that the US has WADA eating out of their hands and that the used drugs are not screened for by WADA. (This probably has something to do with the fact that WADA is largely funded by the US). So a year-round testing program isn't really accepted as a guarantee for the cleanness of the athletes, especially when the agency doing the testing isn't independent. reply
#5	Shawn Klosterman June 26, 2009 at 7:23am Anonymous Coward said: “hmm a little late writing this one???” I don't think so. It is very timely considering John Leonard's using it to rationalize FINA's decision to form a suit commission and the fact that voting for the ESPY's just opened. reply
#4	Cancel Account Cancel Account June 26, 2009 at 7:05am Ask any knowledgeable track athlete and they will tell you Bolt was doped to the max. I don't think anyone believes Phelps was or is doping. Further, Michael Phelps's accomplishments take a lot more work, training, hours in and outside of the pool than running a 100 and 200 meter dash. Bolt was jumping around on his island taking any illegal performance enhancing drugs for 3 years, before he climbs out of the woodworks a few month before the Olympic games and tests clean. Bolt could have popped all the HGH in the world if he wanted to and still test negative three months off of it. Phelps and athletes from countries that have very strict anti-doping testing protocols year round don't have that "luxury". If you would ask me, only countries that have a year round anti-doping testing protocol should be allowed to participate in the Olympic games. reply
#3	Anonymous Coward June 26, 2009 at 5:23am I fully agree with this one. I can't imagine that swimsuits were what kept Phelps from getting AOTY. Just another opportunity to blame something on the suits. As much as the swimming community likes to think that the world really understands what he did...they don't. Track vs Swimming in the worlds eyes just doesn't measure up. I wish it did but it doesn't. reply
#2	Anonymous Coward June 25, 2009 at 5:16pm hmm a little late writing this one??? reply
#1	Darren Grose June 25, 2009 at 4:50pm If Usain can get the 400 record, and defend titles in the 100, 200 and 400 that would be pretty ridiculous, or, dare I say Phelpsian? reply