I’m no sprint and field expert, but what makes the analogy silly is that almost every able bodied person will sprint at some point in their lives, while a tiny, tiny fraction will ever attempt the pole vault. So being exceptionally good at such a contrived, niche event is totally lame compared with being the fastest sprinter of all time.
This exactly. I’m fairly certain that given 2-3 weeks of preparation Christian Coleman would be the Usain Bolt of pole vaulting
Not gonna argue Mondo's greatness. Silly to do so. And he's a showman. He brings eyeballs to a sport desperate for attention. But, I think many are getting carried away with some of the comparisons:
Mondo Social Media: Instagram 547k, Twitter/X 35K
Bolt Social Media: Instagram 14mil, Twitter/X 4.8mil
Bolt is WAY more famous, and thus WAY more influential and impactful. There is no comparison here.
For a "contrived, niche" event, pole vault takes incredible technique and athleticism. The reason most don't try is they can't do it, Mondo is field's greatest superstar right now much like Bolt was track's greatest star
Crouser and Rojas are just as great, arguably better.
I agree with Crouser if you are looking for the Usain Bolt of all field events. The shot put is a much more commonly contested event and Crouser is physically a freak, even amongst throwers, like Bolt.
Never mentioned pole vaulting as less popular/niche event/more or less athletic.
Bolt is the best-ever sprinter, they're basically saying Mondo is the best-ever pole vaulter. Hard to argue with that. If anything, Mondo has been more dominant.
When people compare others to Usain Bolt, they're simply saying they are the best ever.
It's a more than fair comparison. I'd even go as far as saying it doesn't give enough credit to Mondo. Bolt's youth records have been largely surpassed. I can't conceive of a 10th grader going as high as Mondo did as a 10th grader (or any other age record Mondo has). Calling Mondo the Tiger Woods of Pole Vault might be the best analogy.
It doesn't matter that the pole vault and 100m are different events, attract a different level of competitiveness etc. It's why the phrase "of pole vaulting" is included. It's why one can say a person is the Michael Jordan of a niche sport. It's still a fair analogy, even if it is way less competitive sport than basketball. Including "of that sport" serves as the qualifier.
I’m no sprint and field expert, but what makes the analogy silly is that almost every able bodied person will sprint at some point in their lives, while a tiny, tiny fraction will ever attempt the pole vault. So being exceptionally good at such a contrived, niche event is totally lame compared with being the fastest sprinter of all time.
I disagree. I think the comparison is apt because, among the few top athletes in their respective events, both Mondo and Bolt are/were essentially unbeatable. We're comparing them with their competition, not the general public.
Bolt was the sport. (In fact, I'm still mad that he retired so early but I'm selfish like that.) Bolt was the reason people paid to come. BUT Mondo clears the bar by 20cm in his WR jumps. By comparison it is like Bolt stopping to walk the last 5m in route to his 9.58 when he could have run a 9.38 time.
Everyone runs, few people vault but both are icons. Nod goes to Bolt.
For a "contrived, niche" event, pole vault takes incredible technique and athleticism. The reason most don't try is they can't do it, Mondo is field's greatest superstar right now much like Bolt was track's greatest star
Nah the first commenter was right. No one said that what he’s doing isn’t hard as $hit butttttt vs the fastest man alive there is no comparison.
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