Usain Bolt is most like who...?
 

I say Mike Tyson circa 1988.

The guy is unbeatable, and the whole sports world stops to watch him. Is there any other athlete that had that aura of invincibility that he reminds you of?

Even Phelps has lost 5x.

Eddie Gaedel - a perfect career with OBP OF 1.000 ;)

At 3' 7" he is frequently overlooked though.:D

Probably not a popular answer but my guess is Lance Armstrong.

well yeah, but he was in like 3 times the events as Bolt every olympics too....


IMO, he reminds me of Carl Lewis when he was in his prime winning the 100m and the long jump all the time. Both were brash and self promoting and were able to create fame outside of just the Olympic spotlight (which can be difficult)

Usain Bolt is most like who....?

NOBODY. HE IS THE GOLD STANDARD.

HE IS THE GREATEST SPRINTER OF ALL.

HE PUTS ON A FABULOUS SHOW, IS VERY UNINHIBITED IN A REFRESHING WAY. HE IS STARKLY BETTER THAN HIS COMPETITORS.

I GET THE SUBTLE IMPRESSION SOME PEOPLE WANT TO SEE HIM COME DOWN AND CRUMBLE, LIKE SO MANY ROOKIE PHENOMS THAT THEY BOUGHT INTO WITH ALL THEIR MIGHT, LIKE SO MANY CRASH AND BURN AMERICAN ATHLETES, AND, DEEP DOWN, MAYBE EVEN LIKE THEMSELVES.

I THINK IT'S WONDERFUL WHAT HE HAS DONE. HE COMES OFF AS A HAPPY CHAMPION AND HE'S SO APPROACHABLE. I WAS IMMENSELY IMPRESSED WHEN HE RECENTLY SHUSHED HIS BRAZILIAN INTERVIEWER WHEN THE USA'S NATIONAL ANTHEM WAS BEING PLAYED. WHAT GENUINE RESPECT. WHAT A CHAMPION!

OUR WORLD NEEDS HIM RIGHT NOW---MORE THAN EVER BEFORE.

I SALUTE USAIN BOLT. ---BRIAN POWELL

When reading the title of this thread, my first thought was:

The Flash

tiger woods before he got caught. elin saved jack's record.

+1 - I agree...just in lower case.

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Jesse Owens. Bolt is the greatest Olympian of the modern era where Olympic athletes can make millions of dollars and still compete in the games. On the other hand, Owens lost his amateur statis right after the 1936 games. We will never know if he could have done it for two more Olympics given financial rewards for his athletic accomplishments and opportunity. What we do know he was 4 for 4 in the Olympics, world record holder in all 4 events, held 7 world records at one time and his long jump record stood for 25 years. Owens the greatest of the amateur era, Bolt the greatest of the professional era.

I would rate Carl Lewis as the equal of Bolt due to his dominance in the long jump as well as the sprints.

I have a hard time crowning a guy "the greatest Olympian" who did the same thing in 3 different races: sprinted. He ran 100m twice an olympics then 200m once. It's a great feat and all, but I'm just not impressed compared to winning 18 or 19 individual events over 4 olympics in different strokes and distances.

Or say the people who have won events in different sports and different olympics .


I tend to think the media hype machine and internet tends to push hyperbole to the point where any achievement now is "THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME" often, it just isn't.

Bolt, greatest sprinter in Olympic History sure, but I don't think he's in the top 5 of greatest olympians.

Heck, Ledecky's swim where she broke her own world record by 2 seconds and the field by 11 seconds is one of the greatest performances in olympic history and what about that american shooter? Hasn't she won her event 6 olympics in a row or something?

I am not calling him the greatest ever nor am I calling Tyson the greatest ever. What I am saying is that he brings gravity to the situation. Everyone stops and watches and says "Woah".

It's that aura of invincibility coupled with that aura of "I gotta watch." The Pinnacle for Tiger was probably when he slow-rolled that Nike ball putt in the late stages of a major win.

I think Owens and Lewis are all great comparisons. Jordan was in particular games, but he played nearly 100 per season, so it was different. Like Tyson, Bolt only works his craft a few times per year on a big stage. Bolt also has that Foreman charisma as well to sell bis sport.

I would say aside from Tyson, the only individual event that rivals Bolt for inevitability and anticipation was Federer-Nadal 2008 Wimbledon final.

I was referring more to the media hype than you or any other individual commenting in here. The sprints are high profile for the USA (like swimming) si our media tends to push it hard. I still think that Kim Rhode winning a skeet shooting medal in 6 straight olympics is one of the greatest olympic feats ever. 24 years!!!! Even if they aren't all gold, that's pretty amazing.

Hell, that women's wrestler who beat the japanese icon for the gold has been totally overlooked. It was like some nobody showing up and beating Bolt in the 100m!

Perhaps the most invincible athlete ever was Alexander Karelin, the incomparable Russian wrestler. Rulon Gardner's win over him was truly epic, easily the equal of someone beating Bolt.

Here is a piece on Karelin, which reveals that behind that massive and menacing physique was a thoughtful intellectual.
http://www.si.com/vault/1991/05/13/1...sing-intellect

Bolt is really amazing, and as in most sports comparing eras is difficult. Today most athletes are at least a bit specialized, only doing one or two events. Athletes before may have only competed at the top level in one or two, but competed in more than that.

The US coverage only covers a few sports that are popular here, and a lot of the great performances in less well known sports get missed.

I'm a big fan of the performances by the athletes at the lower end of the spectrum. I can enjoy Phelps, Bolt etc and admire what they accomplish.
But I really like the ones that put in a great effort despite being a bit overmatched.

Mathieu Razanakolona sking for Madagascar. Nearly crashes, doesn't DQ and finishes the course. Placed 39th out of 41 finishers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m51Fg6Hv2xM

A few more, Eddie the eagle was a favorite of mine. I can't imagine trying either of the big ski jumps, and I was a bit crazy as a skier.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/oth...s-history.html


Attended the 96 Olympics in Atlanta, and watched some qualifying, some of the people who barely made the finals celebrated more than the ones who got in more easily.

Steve B

Did you watch the Eddie the Eagle movie from a few years ago? Good bubblegum fare.

Thanks for sharing Peter- I had forgotten how dominant Karelin was.

Undefeated in International Competition for 13 years and unscored upon for 6 years!!!! Simply Amazing !

I don't think you can say Usain Bolt is hyped. The guy is the best sprinter on the planet and faster than any man alive, and possibly ever to live. Not only does he have that distinction, but he's held that distinction for 12 years. We don't even know how fast he can actually run because he isn't challenged in his races. He pulls up at the end of every race because he's got it won before it's over.

Kim Rhode has won a medal in 6 consecutive Olympics, but not all gold and not the same event. She has 3 gold 1 silver and 2 bronze in double trap and skeet shooting. She has also had finishes of 5th, 7th and 9th. She won her first gold medal in Atlanta at the age of 17.

Aladar Gerevich, a Hungarian fencer, won gold medals in six consecutive Olympics - 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960. A record for any Olympic sport. If not for WWII who knows. They thought he was too old for the team in 1960. He challenged every member of the Hungarian sabre team and beat every one of them.

Ray Ewry has the true record for perfection in the Olympics - 10 events 10 gold medals 1900, 1904, 1906 and 1908. The IOC does not acknowledge 1906 as it was not a normal quadrennial event, but even without the two golds he won there he is still 8 for 8. His medals were in the standing high jump - 1900, 1904, 1906 and 1908. The standing long jump 1900, 1904, 1906 and 1908. Standing triple jump 1900, 1904.

The interesting this about Bolt is that he is a sprinter at 6' 5". Most sprinters are shorter. If he was in the U.S. they would have tried to turn him into a high jumper or steered him towards basketball or football.

he is over hyped. he is fast, so what? he is good at one little thing. and if he pulls up at the end he has nobody to blame but himself.

I am not impressed, not when compared to other Olympians who have done more in different events.

I'm looking at it differently. The thing about sprinting is you aren't supposed to be good for very long. But Bolt isn't even challenged 12 years later. That's what I think is so impressive about the feat.

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2008 to now is 8 years, no?

You are right about that. I was going by the rule of 4 times 3.

Precisely. "TO DI WORLD"

I love Jesse Owens and respect him to the hilt. Were it not for the war, who knows? Then again, Avery Brundage was a real self-absorbed jerk. He would have found some way to disqualify Jesse for being a professional. After all, Jesse embarrassed Brundage's darling, Adolph Hitler, and his Aryan race "superstars".

Poor Mr. Owens tried in vain to secure a good job when all the wealthy guys wined and dined him for a few days after the '36 Olympics. They made promises or offers to him; sadly, they were just courting his favor and blowing smoke in his face. Finally, desperate, he chose the only offer he had---to race some idiot's horse.

Thank you for posting the disturbing photo of the former Bruce Jenner. Did any of you notice the news blurb that the station airing his (not sorry, but HER) cable show, "CALL ME CAIT", canceled it after a two-year run---while the Rio Olympics were taking place! How ironic.

---Brian Powell

Please don't EVER do that again! I almost vomited on my computer!

Edwin Moses
 

Edwin Moses won gold medals in the 400 m hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) and set the world record in his event four times. Really 122 straight victories, people!!