MJ on Usain Bolt

Spock is dead on. This could have been his last race for all he knew. A bird in the hand...

You guys must be the life of the party!

Usher wrote:

I remember seeing an analysis of one of the 100m world records (I think it was Lewis) where they broke down the race into 10m segments; I think he was covering 10m in 0.83 sec when he was running his fastest. I'd love to know what kind of speed Bolt was showing in mid-race.

Here you go:

RT 0.165

10m 1.85

20m 2.87 (1.02)

30m 3.78 (0.91)

40m 4.65 (0.87)

50m 5.50 (0.85)

60m 6.32 (0.82)

70m 7.14 (0.82)

80m 7.96 (0.82)

90m 8.79 (0.83)

100m 9.69 (0.90)

Speed maintenance nothing short of amazing, and he maybe could have gone 9.64.

Remember, Bolt (like Dix) is going to double in the 200. Also, he gets nothing in terms of money for a WR in the games. He will be far better off breaking it again in Zurich or Rieti.

my take on the subject is that this race is more memorable than if he would have ran through the line and clocked an amazing time.

This race is something of a tale tail. You know when someones says they caught a 5 pound fish and that turns into 15 pounds and they struggled for hours. Well everyone can say

this dude was running the 100, started thumping his chest at 80 meters and still beat everyone by 2 tenths of a second and set a WR.

Which story sounds better to you

Usain ran a fast time

Usain ran a fast time while whistling dixie and it be true?

I think if I was Usain, I would prefer:

Breaking the WR in the Olympics while whistling dixie for 20 meters.

Breaking the WR at Zurich (grab the bonus) while whistling dixie for 15 meters.

Breaking the WR at Lausanne (grab the bonus) while whistling dixie for 10 meters.

Breaking the WR at Rieti (grab the bonus) while whistling dixie for 5 meters.

Breaking the WR at the WAF (don't know if they'll have a bonus) while laughing all the way to the bank.

it's funny how so many people are concerned about the money part of sports... aren't sports supposed to be about more than that? yeah, i know money's great and all, and i wouldn't be complaining either if it was me, but the fact is that being an athlete is supposed to be about more than money. it's about loving the sport. i found this site by googling "bolt is an idiot" because i don't really agree with his little celebration with still 20+ meters to go. yeah i agree with spock because, for all bolt or any of us know, this could have been the last race of his life. who knows right? who knows what will happen? but anyways, when spock says "he should stick to business" i believe he's talking about sticking to the honor of the games and sport he's in, instead of making the last place runners feel even worse then they already do by purposely slowing down in a race. it sounds kind of funny to say actually, "purposely slowing down in a race." well either way, i didn't agree at all with it, but i guess if he wants to gloat, then we can't really stop him. I hope that future athletes don't take the same action, and instead focus on what's important... which is the finish line. gloat and celebrate as much as you want afterwards, but during the race just makes it feel kind of demeaning. but i guess in the end, Bolt was just damn fast, and showed impressive ability. we hope that he will be able to compete again, and, as some of you say "get the bonuses associated with breaking records." but not in the olympics, which is the most impressive place to do it. but oh well... oh and who ever made this quote...

"Which story sounds better to you

Usain ran a fast time

Usain ran a fast time while whistling dixie and it be true?" (end quote)

that's inaccurate... it should say...

which story sounds better to you

Usain ran a fast time

Usain ran a slower fast time by whistling dixie and it be true?" or however you said it... and the answer is "the first one" :)

Mr. Spock wrote:

Bolt's an idiot for all the theatrics before crossing the line. He could have done so much better.

He knew he won. He didn't give a shit if he had a WR or not. He was just enjoying the moment and the emotions were pouring out. You know what? THE GENERAL PUBLIC LOVES THAT! I was watching it with some non-runners and they couldn't stop talking about it. Theatrics and emotions and etc. make it more interesting to someone who has never raced.

worldsevolving wrote:

Can see your point, and there is something about shattering a WR like Beamon did, but Bubka made a lot more off breaking the WR than Beamon did.

Usain IS all business, until he's won, then he's just having a good time. He won about 65m in the race and after that he was just dancing in celebration, let him have it.

I doubt he knew how fast he was running.

Comparing Bubka to the other record breakers is not applicable. In the PV you have the luxury of setting the bar at whatever height you choose so you can raise the record by 1cm (2cm?) at a time. You cannot do that in the long jump. It is not like you can say "I am going to jump 1 inch longer than the record" in the long jump or say "I am going to break the 100m WR by 0.01 sec so I can do it again in a few weeks".

Beamon is making a good living and it was harder to make money as a track athlete in Beamon's day.

yeah he was definitely running like naruto for the last 20 meters. seen here http://www.flickr.com/photos/21477117@N02/2083343574

Musouka wrote:

He knew he won. He didn't give a shit if he had a WR or not. He was just enjoying the moment and the emotions were pouring out. You know what? THE GENERAL PUBLIC LOVES THAT! I was watching it with some non-runners and they couldn't stop talking about it. Theatrics and emotions and etc. make it more interesting to someone who has never raced.

just like the dude who won the silver. he was going nuts!

"yea no one is coming close to 9.69 for a very long time."

Nobody is coming close to 9.69 until the next drug comes around. I have always been a genuine supporter of the sport of track and field, I never questioned a result, but after this Olympic final I was furious. As soon as Bolt stood up at 80m celebrating, my heart of hearts knew there was something amiss. I will wait the 8 years that the blood samples are held to find truth in this "WR," as science, unfortunately, will never be on par with drug use. It will be a glorious day when Asafa Powell regains his title as the world's fastest man.

Bolt's theatrics were what made the performance great. I wouldn't have changed a thing except for his shitty start.

IMHO, his theatrics were disrespecting to the Games and his competitors. He simply did not do his best - and he did it on purpose. How much further from Olympic ideals can one get? He is young, and I won't hate the guy, but I was disappointed.

I remember Bolt in a post race interview saying that he is at the olympics too become a double gold medalist and he does not care about times. So for that reason I do not blame him for all the theatrics at all. Yes he could have gone faster and I do not blame you people for wanting too see that but he would rather enjoy himself and that is sweet in my opinion.

He wasn't disrespectful. Direspectufl was the U.S. hurder who made the taunting hand gestures in Sydney. Celebrating is not disrespectufl.

The irony of your post is that everyone is pretty much in agreement that Mills is a good, honest and likable man. The other guy, by comparison...

I bet that after Chad Johnson defeats Michael Phelps in a swimming race, he can take down Bolt in a 100 meter sprint.

iflyboats wrote:

He wasn't disrespectful. Direspectufl was the U.S. hurder who made the taunting hand gestures in Sydney. Celebrating is not disrespectufl.

Must disagree. Celebrating *after* the event is not disrespectful. Showing off *during* the event is. What he did is little different than if he'd turned around and egged on his competitors while staying just ahead of them. Sure, he's a better runner. But his actions during the race were, IMHO, immature. Must be a generational thing.