More Talented: Seb Coe or Usain Bolt?

here now wrote:

Who possessed more talent?

Alan Webb

Bolt is 6'5" and may never be beaten. His times may never be beaten. Coe always had some competition, he rarely dominated as convincingly as Bolt. And Coe had to work very hard. Bolt parties hard.

Answer: Bolt

Obviously Coe. Bolt is a product of a state-sponsored doping program.

You can't really compare the 2. Different eras, different events,

Bolt is what 23? It's hard to know how the rest of his career will pan out.

Certainly when he was at his best, 1979 & 1981, Coe was equally dominant at 2 different events as Bolt, but Coe was a more fragile runner, especially after the illnesses of '82/83.

Another thing that makes it hard to compare is the nature of the 2 events. With the 100 & 200m, they're aren't really any tactics involved. If you are the fastest and best in the world, then barring a false start its pretty difficult to lose.

With the 800m, as we've seen in recent years, it can be a lottery, and the best in the world doesn't always win. Coe was by far the best 800m runner in Moscow 80, and had he been at the front at the bell and run for home as he could, he would have won. He didn't and was beaten because of poor tactics.

With Bolt, at the moment, it seems much more obvious that he's going to win every time he steps on the track. But he will get beaten in the future.

Taking away the 4x100m; as let's face it, if they had such thing as a 4x800m at major champs, Coe as part of a UK team would probably have won a few golds in his time; then I think it's a harder task to win the 800 & 1500 at the same Games than the 100 & 200m. But then Bolt won them both, twice and by huge margins.

In terms of natural talent, I'd say both were freaks of nature.

Bolt obviously has exceptional pick up and leg speed for someone with such long legs.

Coe had a 28bpm heart rate and an exceptional VO2 max.

I think we should just be grateful we've had both to watch in our life times.

Bolt with out question he broke records that no one could have dreamed of and then he smashed them again all while annihilating some of the best 100 and 200m fields ever assembled. If you look at Coe's Carree you see a lot of silver in there. He was a great runner no doubt but not nearly as dominant as Bolt.

Neither. Ditka could take 'em both, at any distance.

just saying dude wrote:

Bolt with out question he broke records that no one could have dreamed of and then he smashed them again all while annihilating some of the best 100 and 200m fields ever assembled. If you look at Coe's Carree you see a lot of silver in there. He was a great runner no doubt but not nearly as dominant as Bolt.

I take on board what you're saying, and on the face of it, it seems obvious that the answer is Bolt, but then a few things need to be remembered.

1) If you want to win a global 100 or 200 title, you've got to run, basically, as fast as you can, thus near to or below world record performances. There are many instances of world records going at Major Champs over 100 & 200. When was the last time a WR was broken at a Major Champs at 800 or 1500m?....1976. It almost never happens, and certainly not in the last 30 years. Also, there's so many more variables at work in the middle distance events and tactics (which is not the same as talent) are a problem (sometimes a lottery) which just don't come into play in the 100/200.

2) Coe broke 3 WRs in '79 over 3 different distances. To break the 800, 1500 & Mile in a season is more difficult IMO than the 100 & 200, as there is quite a difference in terms of aerobic/anaerobic breakdown in training for the 2 longer events. Remember Coe broke another 4 in one season in '81 and 9 outdoor records in total. Two of those lasted almost 20 years and almost 30 years after they were set, have only been improved slightly by one man in each event. Then again, perhaps Bolt will still be No 2 on the all time list at 100 & 200m in 2037!?

Having said all this, I don't believe Coe is more talented than Bolt. In fact I think it's an impossible question to answer.