Holy See.  I never thought I would see that 200 record go.  This Bolt defies words.  Breaks the 100 and 200 world records within days in the Olympics.  That's one of the greatest achievements in the history of sports.

If Wariner breaks the 400 record, this is one whacky time.  And all the piss appears to be of the proper viscosity and texture, according to the tasters.

Riffhard wrote on Aug 20^th, 2008 at 10:32am:

Absurd application of the repudiated quantity v. quality doctrine.  Bolt is never going to be a footnote given the magnitude of what he just did.

Phelps won 8 medals because he competes in a sport where its possible, if not common, to compete in multiple events, which says more about the sport than it does about Phelps.  Two medals were in relays to boot.  I don't think its even logistically possible to compete in 8 events in any other sport.  That said, if there was a 200 meter run where the runners had to throw both arms over their heads every 5 meters, Bolt would win that in world record time too.

Swimming world records get broken on an apparent monthly basis, which also says a lot about the quality and infancy of the sport.  Being a world ranked swimmer at the moment is similar to being a great hockey player, tennis player, or golfer.  Blacks hardly participate, and the few, or even the single solitary ones that do are immediately world class.  If Usain Bolt's high school had an indoor Olympic size pool instead of a dirt track, you might not even know who Michael Phelps was.

Usain Bolt vs. Michael Phelps in terms of athletic ability and achievement?  Peel of the liberal American media hype that got you thinking the way you are, and its pretty clear who was shining in Beijing.

Riffhard wrote on Aug 20^th, 2008 at 12:09pm:

Which parts of what I said are wrong?

1. I can't think of any sport, except swimming, where its possible to logistically compete in 8 events.  Some of those swimming events are almost redundant to each other.  There is always some guy with a pile of medals in swimming.  Are there other sports where an athlete can compete in 8 events?  I know its impossible in track, beach volleyball, rowing, table tennis, baseball, diving, boxing, skeet shooting, and pontoon.  Maybe gymnastics?  I don't know of one.

2. Swimming commentators are remarking how silly it seems that every time any swim meet of any relative importance is held, record tumble.  That can only be an indication of a shallow talent "pool" in a relatively low profile sport.  I've seen one black swimmer in my entire life, Cullen Jones, and he is on the U.S. Olympic team.

3. Blacks do not compete in swimming.  Like golf, it remains a white sport - a wealthy white sport.  You need a high school, and probably junior high, with an indoor Olympic pool as a BARE minimum to get anywhere.  The vast majority of blacks, and even most non-California based whites don't have such a thing.  If and when blacks enter the sport of swimming, its absurd to believe that it won't revolutionize the sport, making Phelps look like some Bronco Nagurski relic from the chlorine era.

4. You vastly underestimate Bolt's achievement.  He didn't just run the fastest - breaking two world records in perenially, heavily competitive events like the 100 and 200, at the Olympic Games, is unheard of and hardly thought possible.  Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson, Jim Thorpe, Jesse Owens, none of those highly skilled athletes pulled that.  That is the greatest performance in track and field history, and maybe all of sports.

5.  Phelps is a media sensation.  He's American.  After Sunday, you won't hear the name of the fastest man on earth again until 2012.  He is not American, he's Jamaican.  In that capacity, he doesn't sell, not even right now on NBC.  That's the definition of liberal American media hype.

Which parts of what I said were so flat out wrong that you needn't say more?

[quote author=sirmoonie link=1218908735/25#27 date=1219251851]Absurd application of the repudiated quantity v. quality doctrine.  Bolt is never going to be a footnote given the magnitude of what he just did.

Phelps won 8 medals because he competes in a sport where its possible, if not common, to compete in multiple events, which says more about the sport than it does about Phelps.  Two medals were in relays to boot.  I don't think its even logistically possible to compete in 8 events in any other sport.  That said, if there was a 200 meter run where the runners had to throw both arms over their heads every 5 meters, Bolt would win that in world record time too.

quote]

correct

I bet phelps is a real tough asshole when it comes to playing sharks and minnows.

Hey, what Phelps did is great, there ain't no denying that.  But what Bolt did, and to win at the margin of victory that he did is nuts.  Bolt would have won 8 medals if there were an 80m dash, 90m dash, 110 m dash...you get my point.  He would have won some backwards dashes also.  What Phelps did is great, but swimming allows him to do what he did.  How Bolt blew the rest of the world away is mindblowing.

Some Guy wrote on Aug 20^th, 2008 at 7:33pm:


Rim

Some Guy wrote on Aug 20^th, 2008 at 7:52pm:


Sup bro...2 months.  Dude some serious shit happened here, things are looking better.

robpop wrote on Aug 20^th, 2008 at 7:30pm:



While a lot of what you say may well be true it still doesn't account for the fact that Bolt could have gone for more but he chose not too. For example, Carl Lewis not only got the gold in 1984 for the 100m and the 200m, but he took gold in the long jump and in the 4x100m relay. The 4x 100 m relay is not included in these Olympics, but there are other events that he could have competed in. Yet he didn't.


Riffy

robpop wrote on Aug 20^th, 2008 at 8:09pm:

Damn! He will be fine! Blitz on 3rd and anything.

NBC is going to show the 200 Bolt now.

robpop wrote on Aug 20^th, 2008 at 9:03pm:



It was a very impressive feat to be sure, but I still say it pales to what Phelps did at these games. I mean it's apples and oranges to be sure, but how much talent does it take to run fast? God given talent for sure, but where is the skill? Phelps can claim that he had to actually learn at least four seperate swim strokes and the ability to do that insane dolphin kick underwater. Not to mention the skill that he showed when he came to the walls. Bolt ran. Ran fast but just ran.


Riffy

Some Guy wrote on Aug 20^th, 2008 at 7:33pm:


Keep that back.  Ace in the hole.