Phelps hands down. Look at how he did in Athens. Bolt needs quite a bit more under his belt before he can be considered on the same level. As far as we know he could quit tommorow. If Phelps did he'd still have Athens and Bejing under his belt. Bolt, not so much.
Phelps has had the better Olympics. He is also the better athlete.
Phelps is able to master FOUR stokes.
Bolt, only one running style.
He cant do mid-distance, distance, or long-distance.
But what Bolt did is amazing. Just not as great as Phelp's accomplishments.
Moose Alan Webb wrote:
Bolt, only one running style.
He cant do mid-distance, distance, or long-distance.
But what Bolt did is amazing. Just not as great as Phelp's accomplishments.
I agree that mastering four strokes is impressive, but comparing long distance to short distance is idiotic. You didn't see Phelps contesting the 1500m free, did you? No. All Phelps races, while using a different stroke, were over similar distance. A better comparison might be saying Bolt isn't the best short hurdler in the world.
Anyone hear Bengals WR Chad Johnson seriously state that he could defeat Phelps in ANY swimming race?
Probably jealous he's not getting the same amount of attention.
Serious to you maybe. Most people with an iota of intelligence understood he was clowning. When the quarterback began choking him on camera during the same interview did you fear for his life?
If Bolt worked as hard as Phelps, he probably has the natural tools to win the long jump, triple jump, 100, 200, and 400 - and perhaps even the 110 hurdles. Considerning Bolt's antics, I doubt he has the discipline to do anything other than the 100 or 200 which is why I give Phelps the nod as being the better overall athlete.
Bolt is the greatest sprinter of all time, but he needs to come back to the olympics and win five individual events before I'll put him on a par with Phelps.
I would say Bolt.
Of course all events are dependent of great genetics but the muscle fiber composition of a sprinter doesn't represent the average man. Only men from a very limited pool can become world class sprinters. As a sprinter you got to have the right % FT or else you gonna be left behind. Events lasting 5-15 min are more likely to represent the muscle fiber composition of the average man. Making those races so much harder to win because there are more opponents and minds. In sprinting events like 100m the tactical element is out, the only thing you have to care about is the start and stay relaxed when you sprint. Bolt was pretty much born as an olympic champion, his parents deserves a medal too.
You're all just taking into account the physical side of these two athletes' achievements, not the mental. Bolt has run six races, Phelps did 17, in 8 events. You can't make any argument that Phelps isn't the greatest athlete in history, from a psychological standpoint. I don't know where I fall on this argument, but I think Phelps' determination, focus, and will power have to be taken into account, and he certainly beats Bolt in those categories.
itscalledkiddingaround wrote:
Serious to you maybe. Most people with an iota of intelligence understood he was clowning. When the quarterback began choking him on camera during the same interview did you fear for his life?
Well, considering that I HEARD the CLIP on the RADIO, I obviously did not SEE anything on CAMERA (are you getting this?).
Also, knowing Chad Johnson, I would not think he was clowning, seeing that he is an arrogant jackass.
And "iota?" Please, son. Put the thesaurus down and improve your self esteem so you don't have to attempt to put people down on a message board.
There's no question that Bolt is the best in the world at what he does. I can't say that about Phelps; there's still a guy named Thorpe out there who could have cut into Phelps' gold medal count had he not retired.