• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Click here to download the  free ebook of Alberto Juantorena’s  detailed training workouts leading up to the 1976 Montreal Olympics

SpeedEndurance.com

Success in Track & Field ... and Life

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Track & Field
    • 400 meters
    • 800m & Mile
    • 1/2 & Full Marathons
    • Long & Triple Jump
    • Hurdles
  • Training
    • Weight Training
    • Abs & Core
    • Injury Prevention
    • Shoes & Spikes
    • Masters
  • Coaching
    • Freelap Friday Five
    • Interviews
    • Sports Nutrition
    • Sport Psychology
  • Archives
  • Shop
    • My account
    • Checkout
    • Basket

Is Bolt the Greatest Athlete Today?

You are here: Home / Track & Field / Is Bolt the Greatest Athlete Today?
0
SHARES
FacebookTwitter

December 5, 2008 by Jimson Lee 4 Comments

Last Updated on April 7, 2013 by Jimson Lee

Is Bolt the Greatest Athlete Today?

He may not be a decathlete, but Usain “Lightening” Bolt is hands-down the top male athlete in professional sports today. Yes I am talking about the best today – not five years ago, or last year or even potential for the future.

Why?

Besides the fact that the six foot, five inch Jamaican sprinter is a freak of nature in being able to run well under 10-seconds and 20-seconds respectively in the 100 meters (9.69) and 200-meters (19.30). It is not overstating the matter to say that Bolt threw down arguably the most dominant performances in the history of sports.

Not even Michael Johnson or Carl Lewis did what Bolt pulled off in Beijing. Three races. Three gold medals. Three world records. It was an astonishing culmination of performances to watch the 100, 200 and then the 4×100-meter relay victories come one after another.

Bolt is a lot like Michael Johnson in that he has the best physical tools and the most mental toughness, a combination that makes him a formidable opponent.

usain-bolt-jamaica.jpg

He shines the brightest among the biggest names in professional sports today.

In other sports, Tiger Woods and Tom Brady are both on the sidelines recovering from surgery. No matter how much overtime the Nike marketing machines work, LeBron James has yet to win a NBA title. While Michael Phelps may be the greatest swimmer ever, the real question is whether it would be possibly to achieve eight gold medals if he were running? Umm…it’s doubtful – please refer to Lance Armstrong’s running efforts for further reference.

Alex Rodriguez may be the youngest to hit 500 homers, but he’s questionable at best in the playoffs, and baseball has far too much standing around to be a serious contender.

Punching is the upper body equivalent to running, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has dominated boxing with scorching speed, strength, and the ability to endure pain. Boxing is a brutal, demanding sport, but Mayweather battles in the middleweight division, making him ineligible of winning top honors due to his size.

Winger Cristiano Ronaldo may very well be the best overall soccer player in the world and a prime time contender in this conversation. Last year, he won two titles- the English Premiership and the UEFA Champions League – a noteworthy feat in a sport packed with phenomenal athletes.

As it stands today, no one has even come close in 2008 to delivering the jaw dropping, “did he really just do that” moments that Bolt produced in Beijing.

Jay Hicks is a freelance writer and can be found at the popular track and field PreraceJitters.com.

See also  19 x 84m Mile Relay in Anchorage, Alaska

Category iconTrack & Field Tag icon100 meters,  200 meters,  4x100,  Jay Hicks,  Olympics,  relay,  sprinter,  top speed,  Usain Bolt

About Jimson Lee

I am a Masters Athlete and Coach currently based in London UK. My other projects include the Bud Winter Foundation, writer for the IAAF New Studies in Athletics Journal (NSA) and a member of the Track & Field Writers of America.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Fred says

    December 5, 2008 at 10:11 am

    Nice article and good points, Jay. I agree with you but I always slant in favor of sprinters to middle distant runners in general. While running is the by far the most basic of all athletic skills since the beginning of time it is also the most under appreciated and misunderstood talent by the public and those involved in sports commentary.

    Case in point: the very recent selection of Michael Phelps as Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year for 2008. Here’s a direct quote from their recent featured article, “Michael Phelps as the 2008 Sportsman of the Year was the easiest choice I have made,” Sports Illustrated group editor Terry McDonell said.”

    His statement is both frustrating and depressing on multiple levels. Maybe some of us should start our own Sports Based on Reality Magazine. I realize that these award matters are subjective but to state that it was the easiest choice makes me question his sanity and knowledge of sports in general. That said, Michael Phelps is one heck of an athlete.

    SI partially redeemed itself with an article written 2 days before by writer Tim Layden titled: My Sportsman: Usain Bolt
    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/magazine/specials/sportsman/2008/11/04/layden.bolt/
    He overstates himself a bit with his last sentences, “But for now the sport lives because of one young sprinter. For that achievement alone, Bolt deserves to be Sportsman of the Year.”, but the sentiment and understanding of accomplishment is there.

    The International Association of Athletics Federation further balances SI with their, “Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva confirmed that their generation remains the sport’s driving force after earning the World Athlete of the Year Awards for 2008.” They obviously are more in tune with track and field competitions and what it takes to reach that level. They conclude with a list of times for each. Usain’s times are beyond excellent.

    2008 competitions of the male and female World Athletes of the Year (finals only):

    Usain Bolt –

    100m –
    10.03 1 Spanish Town 8 Mar
    9.76 1 Kingston 3 May
    9.92 1 Port-of-Spain 17 May
    9.72 WR 1 New York 31 May
    9.85 1 Kingston 28 Jun
    9.89 2 Stockholm 22 Jul
    9.69 WR 1 Olympic Games 16 Aug
    9.83 1 Zürich 29 Aug
    9.77 1 Bruxelles 5 Sep

    200m –
    19.83 1 Ostrava 12 Jun
    19.97 1 Kingston 29 Jun
    19.67 AR 1 Athens 13 Jul
    19.76 1 London 26 Jul
    19.30 WR 1 Olympic Games 20 Aug
    19.63 1 Lausanne 2 Sep

    4 x 100m Relay –
    37.10 WR 1 Olympic Games 22
    (Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell)

    Yelena Isinbayeva –

    4.95i WR 1 Donetsk 16 Feb
    4.61i =2 Bydgoszcz 20 Feb
    4.61i 1 Aubière 26 Feb
    4.75i 1 World Indoor Championships 8 Mar
    5.03 WR 1 Roma 11 Jul
    4.85 Stockholm 22 Jul
    4.93 London 25 Jul
    5.04 WR 1 Monaco 29 Jul
    5.05 WR 1 Beijing 18 Aug
    4.88 1 Zürich 29 Aug
    4.72 1 Bruxelles 5 Sep
    4.60 1 Shanghai 20 Sep
    4.60 1 Daegu 25 Sep

    As much as I will always admire Tiger, Usain does not have the luxury of throwing away a few strokes here and there. Perhaps the burden of educating the public in the coming years ultimately lies with efforts and articles written by sprinters such as yourself and Jimson.

    Reply
  2. Jimson Lee says

    December 7, 2008 at 10:05 pm

    @Fred – also, Usain didn’t have the luxury to run several relays as in swimming.

    See my article:

    https://speedendurance.com/2008/11/27/comparing-100-meter-freestyle-and-400-meter-sprinting/

    Reply
  3. Jesse C. Brown says

    October 21, 2009 at 2:12 am

    I would like to say that Mr. Bolt without a doubt is an amazing athelete. For at 6’5″ his coordination and control of his feet, gait, and rotation of his legs is phonomenal. For most men his height, either have trouble keeping their feet going in the right direction that is striaht forward, or are knock kneed, or run with a slight lop or sort of gallop. Whereas he does not fall in either of these catgories. His gait is in picture perfect rotation, that’s key (1.); next his feet are in control (very important); next his arms and legs are in tune and cadence with each other, which allows him to pull with his arms and not break stride (almost all guys his height cannot master this). Although he still has some work to do on his start, it is mind boggling how fast he can uncoil that long body from the starting position out of the blocks and swiftly get into full stride, most normal tall guys just don’t do that.

    When I say some work to do on his start, I noticed a slight tendancy to rock from side to side, most of the time that is caused by a runner trying to maintain balance when coming out of the blocks to a upright position. As I seen in the recent world record setting 100 meters 9.58 he glanced over his shoulder to see where everyone was, that wether he knows it or not cost him one tenth of a second, and that is a mistake to correct for if you are woried about where the others are it is very simple all he has to do is “listen” and “feel”. In other words you can hear the footstep if anyone is close to you and also as a blind man will tell you ,you can sense closeness behind you, that is one of the bodies built in senses. I can say that when Usain gets a little stronger and he will, and lerns to use the senses I mentioned, plus the start problem he can easily do 8.5. I do recall Mr. Otto Bolton making the point about how many steps it takes him to reach the end of 100 meters in comparison to the other shorter sprinters which is less for him because of his heigth and long stride. But think also of this about his stride, there is trmendous spring in each step he takes!!! From here on all he has to do is stick with track, no matter what the media or anyone else says and stay far, far, far away from football, if he ever venture in that direction that will be the end of his speed, for the training is much different and will be harmful to his God given gifted body. I really urge him to remain humble and live the life of an uncomplicated man. Man I would like to see him in a 400 meter race, wow with that sride and agility I believe he would do an easy 42 something, the question is does he have the endurance and strength for that race.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Recommended

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbs-aWxyLk

Shop Our Store

  • Bud Winter (9)
  • Championship Productions (6)
  • Clyde Hart (2)
  • Derek Hansen (1)
  • Electrical Muscle Stimulation (2)
  • Jim Hiserman (6)
  • Jimson Lee (4)
  • Uncategorised (0)

Articles by Category

Products

  • Jim Hiserman - Developing 800m Runners: Identifying, Categorizing and Developing 400m-800m Type Athletes $42.99 $39.99
  • Private Coaching - Monthly Plan $600.00 $525.00
  • Jim Hiserman-Developing-Distance-Runnersv2 Jim Hiserman - Developing Distance Runners Volume 2: A Systematic Approach to Developing Individual Success within a Dynamic Team Culture $34.95 $29.95
  • Feed-the-Cats-Clinic-3-Pack-701 'Feed the Cats' Clinic 3-Pack $64.99
  • Tony Holler's Feed the Cats": A Complete Sprint Training Program Tony Holler's "Feed the Cats" Complete Sprint Training Program $49.99
  • Bud Winter and Speed City presents Arthur Lydiard 509x716 Bud Winter & Arthur Lydiard MP3 [Download only] $9.99

RECENT POSTS

  • Oregon22 Coaches Club now Online
  • IFAC 2022: The Return of In-Person Conferences (with Virtual option)
  • Here is our 400m Discussion Recording… over 2 Hours Long
  • The Best Free Coaching Book – post Beijing 2022 Olympics
  • The Ultimate 400m Track Webinar for Coaches & Athletes
  • NACAC Athletics Coaching Science Series 2022
  • Top Six 400m Predictor Workouts (Number 4 is my Favourite)
  • Best 6 Podcasts for 2021 (and Beyond)
  • Why Karsten Warholm’s 45.94 400mH WR is my Highlight of 2021
  • Sprinting: 10 Research Articles for Effective Sprint Training [Part 23]

Copyright © 2023. SpeedEndurance.com is owned and operated by Aryta Ltd. Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}