olympics

Rank me among sport's greats, says Bolt

15 Comments

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15 Comments
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No need for false modesty, but surely there's no need for him to boast, either.

He must be pretty insecure if he thinks that journalists might not call him the greatest sprinter ever, given his record...

At least the 100m and 200m should be a bit more interesting in Tokyo.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

He must be pretty insecure

Really? I doubt it.

In ten years he'll be a footnote in history.

Only insofar as any athlete is ever a footnote in history. He'll definitely be remembered as one of the greats for years and years to come.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

A little humility wouldn't hurt though.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

"Can't compare that with Phelps"

I see it as the same thing. With all due respect to both men, Phelps won more golds but he just swam faster than anyone else and Bolt ran faster than everyone else.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@goldorack

I see what you mean but for me it still amounts to moving through water faster than anyone else. I see riding a bicycle faster than everyone else in a similar way.

As for rugby players, I like rugby but I'm not as impressed with people who hit the heights in sports which are played in very few countries. To be an all-time great in worldwide sports like football and boxing ( sports not limited to the rich ) is more impressive to me.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

He' been at the top for 8 years and counting. How many athletes ever held a title that long? The list is not that long. No man has ever won the 100-meter race in 3 consecutive Olympics and held the double-double (100m. &200m.) I may be biased as I am Jamaican-born but the man is correct. He is one of the greatest of all time. Bolt dominates during the Diamond Leaugue races around the world also. It is not just during the Olympics.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I think he is one of the greats.

He's also made athletics interesting for lots of people who were a bit bored of it. I remember Sebastian Coe criticizing Bolt for not running through the line in his most famous victory, but his performance was a spectacle. Pure box office, what spectator sports are supposed to be about. David Rudisha also put in an incredible performance at the London games, but the reality is that most people will have never heard of him because they are not very interested in athletics.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Of course he is one of the greats. To reign over 8-10 years as a sprinter is phenomenal.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The man deserves it, but modesty and integrity demands that he shouldn't ask for it.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Rank me among sport's greats, says Bolt

I can't provide any argument to that statement. The man is a beast on the track.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I prefer this to false modesty or irritating repeats of 'I did my best' or 'I just took it one race at a time and thanks to my team/Jesus/ my mum etc. I could make it'.

Up there with Pele and Ali? Maybe. I just can't get my head around running extremely fast ranks up there with the range of skills needed to be an all-time great footballer or boxer.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Best 100/200m runner of all times, that's what he is. Can't compare that with Phelps, Pele, Merckx, Federer, Ali, Lomu or McCaw's achievements or athletes who dominate their sport week in week out.

Have to say there are hundreds of athletes i admire more than Bolt perhaps because being the fastest over 100m doesn't require as much/ any endurance, courage, technical skills etc. Sorry to be the party pooper, never been a Bolt groupie and will never be, too much of a showman for my liking.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

@ jimizo, phelps excelled at crawl, butterfly and medley, over distances ranging from 100m to 400m. Reckon that makes him a more complete athlete.

Plus the 10 or 20sec aspect of Bolt's achievements imo 'diminishes' the achievement itself. You need sweat and guts to win a 400m, a tour de france, a boxing bout, rwc etc. Much less to win a 100m.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

For me, he'll never attain the greatness that he should have had because of all his clowning around on the racetrack. He could have shattered his records even more had he not decided to pull up in the last 10m or so to mug for the cameras , raise a "No.1" finger etc...

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

In ten years he'll be a footnote in history.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

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