Quote :

"comparing two athletes who compete in completely different sports is stupid"

8/15/2016 3:57:18 PM

maybe the olympics should have power walking sprints, one legged hopping sprints and backwards running sprints. then we could compare sprinting to swimming.

but seriously, phelps is good, but he doesn't make swimming look nearly as effortless or easy as bolt does running.

8/15/2016 4:07:12 PM

why is it stupid?

they're both the Greatest Olympians of their time

the title of Worlds Fastest Man is way better than being the Worlds Greatest Swimmer

8/15/2016 4:08:54 PM

To you, maybe. Who really cares? They both went above and beyond and achieved their dreams and accomplished incredible things.

8/15/2016 4:15:35 PM

god forbid there's a debate about athletes

8/15/2016 4:28:26 PM

there is no debate if you want to talk about who the best Olympian in history is.

8/15/2016 4:34:53 PM

Individually, Phelps only has one more WR than Bolt.

Bolt is also batting 1.000 with his golds records in the events that he competes in. Phelps has come in 2nd and 3rd a couple times. So there's that.

8/15/2016 4:35:24 PM

I think Okra >>>>>>>> Broccoli. Would you like to argue with me about it?

8/15/2016 4:38:03 PM

Phelps has 13 individual golds. Bolt has 5. Let's not let math get in the way of this retarded argument though.

8/15/2016 4:39:06 PM

it's absurd to me that some turn into babies over the idea of a debate over Bolt v. Phelps

8/15/2016 4:44:54 PM

what debate? the one you're trying so hard to invent?

8/15/2016 4:45:39 PM

yeah man

I'm killing myself trying to invent a debate that is completely nonexistent

8/15/2016 4:49:00 PM

UJustWait84 thinks Eli Manning is twice the quarterback that Aaron Rodgers is

8/15/2016 4:50:22 PM

so far, this is your argument:

Quote :

"the title of Worlds Fastest Man is way better than being the Worlds Greatest Swimmer "

very compelling and not at all based on your own personal opinions or anything.

8/15/2016 4:51:22 PM

I would've said Bolt 4 years ago, but for some reason since the 2012 Olympics I realized that swimming is hard as fuck. Advantage Phelps.

Like, I can run 100 meters. I might only hit like 10 mph and not 28mph like Bolt. But I'd look like a huge moron if I tried to swim a 100m Butterfly or something.

[Edited on August 15, 2016 at 4:52 PM. Reason : .]

8/15/2016 4:51:24 PM

a highly specialized sport like swimming isn't as impressive as someone being the best at something that literally every able bodied person can do

8/15/2016 4:55:41 PM

i have a feeling you've never swam a competitive race in your life. i'd also wager you've never participated in a track meet. but your opinion on the internet is super well-informed nonetheless.

8/15/2016 4:58:48 PM

Well 100 meters is pretty specialized. There's a different fastest man in the world if you're talking about the 400m or 800m or 1600m.

8/15/2016 5:00:34 PM

Quote :

"There are significantly less events for Bolt to compete in than there are for Phelps, and Bolt has completely dominated his sport in a way that has never been done before: winning every race with ease and setting world records while celebrating before the finish line."

Quote :

"if Bolt could run 100m a half-dozen slightly different ways each olympics i'm sure his medal count would be higher"

Bolt should run the 110 hurdles, the 400 meters, and the 4x400 relay if he wants to be as great as Phelps.

[Edited on August 15, 2016 at 5:50 PM. Reason : Oh yeah don't forget the 400m hurdles]

8/15/2016 5:43:43 PM

That is an interesting point though. I have always wondered why super fast sprinters don't just cross over to hurdles.

I mean, super fast marathon runners cross over to speed walking.

[Edited on August 15, 2016 at 6:35 PM. Reason : second edit]

8/15/2016 6:34:28 PM

because running hurdles sucks ass. I did it one season during track and it's just not worth it if you're trying to stay healthy.

8/15/2016 6:47:33 PM

(I was being sarcastic, hence the speed walking reference.)

8/15/2016 6:52:44 PM

There is no comparable swimming event to hurdles. That would kind of be like saying Phelps should do diving because it also involves swimming.

8/15/2016 7:14:23 PM

Bolt should do pole vault and shotput

8/15/2016 7:16:38 PM

steeplechase

8/15/2016 7:44:22 PM

synchronized sprinting

8/15/2016 7:46:18 PM

Hurdles is as close to sprinting as Freestyle is to Butterfly. It's 90% sprinting with a few jumps involved. Meanwhile the comparison with diving is way off since people could win gold in diving without even knowing how to swim.

And you didn't address my distance comment. If Phelps can win gold in 100 and 400, why can't Bolt?

[Edited on August 15, 2016 at 8:00 PM. Reason : ]

8/15/2016 7:51:36 PM

phelps is american so he's the best duh

8/15/2016 7:54:11 PM

Quote :

"a highly specialized sport like swimming isn't as impressive as someone being the best at something that literally every able bodied person can do"

Except Bolt is way more specialized than Phelps. He basically only competes in the 100 and 200. Carl Lewis got 9 golds doing the 100, 200, and Long Jump. So track diversity can be done.

You can argue that running is more impressive than swimming (which is subjective), or even that swimming offers more opportunities to medal, but you'll never make up the difference in the medal gap between the two athletes with that argument.

8/15/2016 8:04:49 PM

god damn some incredibly dumb arguments on both sides here

you can't just compare sheer medal counts, however the well rounded argument has to go in phelps favor no doubt with the different relays, distances, strokes of swimming, def more variety than just sprinting

the world record argument is interesting however which may be in usain, maybe sheer dominance in his favor too

Quote :

"a highly specialized sport like swimming isn't as impressive as someone being the best at something that literally every able bodied person can do"

uhh I mean swimming can be pretty essential to life... a lot o water on this planet, and I'm much better at running than swimming and I admit that

8/15/2016 8:05:45 PM

.... Again.. If he wanted too bolt could run the 100, 200, 400 the 4x100 4x200 and 4x400. That gives him 6 shots at a medal each olympics... Not quite the 8 phelps has , but close.....

8/15/2016 8:10:05 PM

More dominant athlete.... Bolt in the 100 or Ledecky in the 800... That's the real question.

8/15/2016 8:11:54 PM

I mean if we are talking about the purist expression of human athleticism that we evolved to do, then it would probably be the 10,000m and the marathon, as humans are natural persistence hunters since we (and I'm talking as a species, definitely not me) can chase down faster African animals by just running after them until they collapse from exhaustion, which is likely the most common way we hunted before we figured out things like tools.

8/15/2016 8:12:08 PM

I'd be interested to see what bolt could do in the long jump

I think he's just relatively lazy

8/15/2016 9:06:28 PM

i'd be interesting to see bolt chase down antelope

8/15/2016 9:20:33 PM

^^ completely selfishly that's always been my problem with Bolt.

He races to win and always does... but even in Beijing... I'm always left with a What if feeling. What if he'd ran all the way through. What if he ran and didn't slow up and celebrate?

like I said, completely selfish, and it doesn't take away from him, but I wish he "tried" harder

8/15/2016 9:30:03 PM

Quote :

"More dominant athlete.... Bolt in the 100 or Ledecky in the 800... That's the real question."

Get back to me when she's done it at 3 consecutive Olympics.

And lol at 10,000m/marathons being what humans evolved to do. We evolved away from that. That's why people drop dead at marathons all the time. Shit ain't natural.

8/15/2016 9:45:16 PM

we evolved to kill each other and other beasts. bring back the gladiator games. Maybe there is a modern, safe way to do it with fake weapons and force sensors on suits. You get hit with a certain amount of force and you are out.

8/15/2016 9:47:34 PM

Quote :

"We evolved away from that. That's why people drop dead at marathons all the time. Shit ain't natural."

you think in a few 1000 years we evolved away from a few 100,000 years of evolution?

8/15/2016 9:59:43 PM

Quote :

"Get back to me when she's done it at 3 consecutive Olympics. "

Oh over all sure.... I mean comparing his bejing 9.68 to her 800 this year..... I think hers -might- have been more impressive. Both were insane

8/15/2016 11:24:15 PM

Shaun White is the worst. A bone fide dick.

That assessment is based 60% on "The Crash Reel" and 40% that interview I just watched with Costas.

8/16/2016 12:22:21 AM

you should not be able to win a race by diving across the finish

Quote :

" you think in a few 1000 years we evolved away from a few 100,000 years of evolution?"

it could happen quickly with extreme sexual selection. basically, how long has it been since marathon bodies were considered attractive? i think they are universally perceived as unattractive in men. evolution happens with a lot of jerks as opposed to linear progression.

[Edited on August 16, 2016 at 1:20 AM. Reason : miller]

8/16/2016 1:20:08 AM

to that dutch gymnast that beat simone (or her sister), a HUGE medal for the netherlands too it looks like

8/16/2016 1:28:01 AM

Quote :

"you think in a few 1000 years we evolved away from a few 100,000 years of evolution? "

Hey man, I love marathon running just as much as the next guy, but saying that humans are natural born distance runners is like saying that people like Phelps are so good at swimming because we evolved that way. You are just using the end as a means of justification.

No human being can just wake up and go run 13 miles (hell or even 10 miles) without running out of energy and passing out. It takes the proper training and a diet regimen to make it work. It has nothing to do with our primal instinct, that is just shit that runners say to justify their lack of strength conditioning. It is just like how every meat head says that "skinny legs are a genetic problem" because they don't focus on their lower body.

[Edited on August 16, 2016 at 4:33 AM. Reason : a]

8/16/2016 4:33:05 AM

Actually, human evolution has sped up A LOT over the last 10,000 years. Faster than ever before.

( http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071211-human-evolution.html )

And those Netherlands twins were quite attractive

8/16/2016 8:49:59 AM

Quote :

"USELESS WITHUT PICS"

8/16/2016 9:46:01 AM

Quote :

"Again.. If he wanted too bolt could run the 100, 200, 400 the 4x100 4x200 and 4x400. That gives him 6 shots at a medal each olympics... Not quite the 8 phelps has , but close...."

The 400 is nothing like the 100/200. Michael Phelps gets extra medals for moving his arms differently at the same distance.

Bolt >>> Phelps

8/16/2016 12:56:26 PM

^this brings up the hurdles argument once more. If you're dumbing down different swimming strokes (each of which entails unique starts, arms, kicks, turns) to "moving arms differently" then it wouldn't be unreasonable to dumb down hurdles to "moving legs differently."

[Edited on August 16, 2016 at 1:18 PM. Reason : .]

8/16/2016 1:17:07 PM

No, its more like if Phelps had to jump out of the water like a dolphin at regular intervals.

8/16/2016 1:18:53 PM

Even if you were to limit Phelps' medals (which is a stupid thought exercise, but whatever) to just the freestyle 100 and 200 plus relays, he'd still have 7 Gold, 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze. Bolt (100, 200, and relays) would have 7 Gold as of today.

[Edited on August 16, 2016 at 1:33 PM. Reason : ]

8/16/2016 1:22:04 PM