2016 Brazil Summer Olympics Thread

[vuduchile 1,941]

The difference is (1) in the technique and (2) in his competition. In each different event he's facing off (and winning) against event specialist - guys who train for that event. It's the equivalent of U. Bolt winning all the sprint races and the 1500m and the 5000m.

It's really not. The longest distance Phelps is awimming is 400 M. Most of what he does is 100 and 200 M races.

 

To my knowledge, he's never competed in distance swimming in the Olympics.

[cyclone24 1,814]

It's really not. The longest distance Phelps is awimming is 400 M. Most of what he does is 100 and 200 M races.

 

To my knowledge, he's never competed in distance swimming in the Olympics.

We'll compare apples to apples then. It would be more like bolt winning his 100 Sprint but then also winning the four hundred hurdles the four hundred and the 200 hurdles.

 

Don't get me wrong bolt is great but he's winning at the 100 and 200.

[Drizzay 646]

That Mustafina chick from Russia has it goin on!

[RaiderHaters Revenge 3,590]

That Mustafina chick from Russia has it goin on!

 

link

[JTB 52]

Just read the payout for US medalist

 

Gold $25.000

Silver $15,000

Bronze $10,000

 

I think the payout is piss poor. How about you?

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2016/08/15/olympics-victory-tax-gold-medal/88587636/

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

Just read the payout for US medalist

 

Gold $25.000

Silver $15,000

Bronze $10,000

 

I think the payout is piss poor. How about you?

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2016/08/15/olympics-victory-tax-gold-medal/88587636/

 

 

You should see what the asian countries pay out. I saw what the Philippines pays, is pathetic.

[Cruzer 1,992]

Just read the payout for US medalist

Gold $25.000

Silver $15,000

Bronze $10,000

I think the payout is piss poor. How about you?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2016/08/15/olympics-victory-tax-gold-medal/88587636/

I thought they were "playing for their country"? Shouldn't be getting paid at all.

[penultimatestraw 473]

The point is Usain also competes in multiple events and has a higher winning percentage than Phelps. Not sure why my point would be difficult to understand.

 

My point is he isn't the only guy with multiple medals and a 100% win percentage.

[Cruzer 1,992]

My point is he isn't the only guy with multiple medals and a 100% win percentage.

Exactly... Granted it was in the early 1900's - but Ray Ewry won 8 Gold Medals and had a winning percentage of 100%.

 

There is only 1 person with 23 Gold Medals, next closest is 9.

[Cloaca du jour 2,064]

Nice hold up at gunpoint. They must have thought it was an old lady cuz of Lochtes' hair. Sounds like the cabbie was in on it.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

My point is he isn't the only guy with multiple medals and a 100% win percentage.

Nor would he be the first person ever to sweep 2 individual events in 3 straight Olympics. Something Phelps has already done.

[Reality 2,710]

My point is he isn't the only guy with multiple medals and a 100% win percentage.

 

3 consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 100, never been done. I hear never is a long time.

 

Bolt is the greatest sprinter of all time, he is also on the extremely short list of greatest Olympians of all time.

 

Yahoo sports had some decent commentary on the subject.

 

Definitively comparing athletes across sports is impossible. It’s also the quintessence of sports debate, tying in various tangential questions of how to quantify athleticism, skill and sporting greatness, and how to consider the merits of different games, competitions and achievements. And, most importantly, it’s wildly entertaining.

 

With Michael Phelps capping off a historic Olympic career with gold medal No. 23 on Saturday, and Usain Bolt gliding past Justin Gatlin for No. 7 on Sunday, one of these comparisons stares us in the face: Who is the greater Olympian? Phelps or Bolt?

The debate rages on in bars and offices and cafeterias and sports talk radio studios across the United States on Monday. It might spread its way around the world too.

Strictly speaking, the answer is Phelps. His 23 golds are more than twice as many as any other Olympian. Phelps has more than three times as many as Bolt, though that could change if (when) Bolt gets his eighth and ninth in the 200 and 4×100 relay in Rio.

But the argument is deeper than those simple numbers, even if medal counts are the most apt quantification of Olympic greatness.

Phelps has competed in 30 Olympic events. His medal conversion rate is a remarkable 28/30, or 93.3 percent, and his gold medal hit rate is 23/30, or 76.7 percent. Bolt is even better. He missed once, as a 17-year-old in 2004. Since, he’s stepped into the blocks seven times at the Olympics. He’s won seven golds. He could make it 9/10, and 9/9 since his 18th birthday, within the week.

Bolt is also 3-for-3 in world records. He — and his Jamaican relay team — holds the best-ever marks in the 100, 200 and 4×100. Phelps, who has competed in and medaled in nine Olympic events, holds world records in six, though three are as part of relay teams.

Bolt has never not been the greatest since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Phelps, on the other hand, has been challenged in some of his events. He’s only won one gold and one bronze in the 200 free. He finished fourth in the 400 medley in 2012, and didn’t compete in the event in 2016. He got pipped for gold by Chad Le Clos in the 200 fly in 2012, and by Joseph Schooling in the 100 fly this past Friday.

Phelps has the longevity and the multifariousness. Bolt has the indubitable dominance.

So what do we value? Do we value Bolt winning the title of “fastest man alive,” then doing it again, and again? Or do we value Phelps not only being the world’s best swimmer four Olympiads in a row, but swimming to that title by mastering four different strokes over three different distances?

One subjective argument says Bolt’s title is superior because of the elemental nature of running. Phelps does something that only around half of Americans can do: swim. The percentage is probably lower in other countries. The talent pool above which Phelps has to rise is thus significantly smaller.

Bolt, on the other hand, does something that the majority of the world does, or can do: he runs. He runs just like a high school soccer player does in competition, just like middle-aged men and women do to stay fit, just like 6-year-olds do on playgrounds. And Bolt does it better than anybody in the world ever has.

But Bolt does that one thing. He’s never stretched himself beyond the 200-meter race at an Olympic level. He’s never done the hurdles or the long jump. His agent even admitted that Bolt has never run a mile in his life. Some of this is out of his control, of course. The 400 and the 100 were run on the same night in Rio; Bolt wouldn’t be able to be at his best for both.

[RaiderHaters Revenge 3,590]

I thought they were "playing for their country"? Shouldn't be getting paid at all.

 

agree, why are they getting paid?

[edjr 5,567]

Bolt > Phelps.

 

Tiger > Jack

 

don't need totals to tell me that

[Mookz 1,287]

Very simple solution. You put Phelps in the pool, you put Bolt next to the pool. Phelps swims, Bolt runs alongside. Whoever reaches the other side first is the true fastest man in the world, and the greatest Olympian. I'm sick of hearing that Bolt is the fastest man in the world without the qualifier "on land".

[cyclone24 1,814]

Bolt > Phelps.

 

Tiger > Jack

 

don't need totals to tell me that

Wrong on both but whatever. Heck bolt even admits he doesn't even run a mile.

[Cruzer 1,992]

Wrong on both but whatever. Heck bolt even admits he doesn't even run a mile.

Using ed's math:

 

Ray Ewry > Bolt.

[edjr 5,567]

Using ed's math:

 

Ray Ewry > Bolt.

 

who?

[edjr 5,567]

also they don't they have running backwards and the hop skip and jump 100 meters?

 

why only running normal? yet they have all these silly pool events.

 

is it Bolt's fault he doesn't have 10 events of the same length to run in?

[Cruzer 1,992]

is it Bolt's fault he doesn't have 10 events of the same length to run in?

He's a freakish, once in a generation athlete.. He could always find another to do - there are plenty out there.

 

Bo did it.

[vuduchile 1,941]

also they don't they have running backwards and the hop skip and jump 100 meters?

 

why only running normal? yet they have all these silly pool events.

 

is it Bolt's fault he doesn't have 10 events of the same length to run in?

Exactly.

[vuduchile 1,941]

We'll compare apples to apples then. It would be more like bolt winning his 100 Sprint but then also winning the four hundred hurdles the four hundred and the 200 hurdles.

 

Don't get me wrong bolt is great but he's winning at the 100 and 200.

Phelps has to swim over hurdles?

[TimmySmith 2,782]

Very simple solution. You put Phelps in the pool, you put Bolt next to the pool. Phelps swims, Bolt runs alongside. Whoever reaches the other side first is the true fastest man in the world, and the greatest Olympian. I'm sick of hearing that Bolt is the fastest man in the world without the qualifier "on land".

Ridiculous. You need Bolt and Phelps to each swim 100 meters than get out and run 100 meters.

[Reality 2,710]

Ridiculous. You need Bolt and Phelps to each swim 100 meters than get out and run 100 meters.

 

Moonwalking, sideways.

[Cruzer 1,992]

Phelps has to swim over hurdles?

If this is your criteria for determining the GOAT Olympian - than you shouldn't be selecting anyone who's not a Decathlete.

[vuduchile 1,941]

We'll compare apples to apples then. It would be more like bolt winning his 100 Sprint but then also winning the four hundred hurdles the four hundred and the 200 hurdles.

 

Don't get me wrong bolt is great but he's winning at the 100 and 200.

There really isn't a true apples to apples comparison. That's why this argument is unwinnable.

 

There's no equivalent to the butterfly or breast stroke when it comes to sprinting.

 

Every sprinter's legs move basically the same way.

 

A distance runner'a form is slightly different and they're built for endurance. But the act of running is still basically the same.

[vuduchile 1,941]

Ridiculous. You need Bolt and Phelps to each swim 100 meters than get out and run 100 meters.

Why you wanna drown a brutha?

[edjr 5,567]

If this is your criteria for determining the GOAT Olympian - than you shouldn't be selecting anyone who's not a Decathlete.

 

Catelyn Jenner won a gold. WHat do we know?

[vuduchile 1,941]

If this is your criteria for determining the GOAT Olympian - than you shouldn't be selecting anyone who's not a Decathlete.

Decathletes are great all around athletes, but not necessarily the greatest Olmpians.

 

Besides, I say Jesse Owens was the greatest.

[edjr 5,567]

Why you wanna drown a brutha?

 

[NorthernVike 2,080]

Olympic boxing...The fix is in. This Irishman is pizzed. http://larrybrownsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Conlan.jpg

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/olympics/olympic-boxer-michael-conlan-flips-off-judges-says-fight-was-fixed/ar-BBvGPzj?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCDHP

 

He's not the only one who has questioned the judges this time around.

[RaiderHaters Revenge 3,590]

Jeezus NBC. If I wanted to watch this much soccer I would follow one of the 800 cups each year or move to a 3rd world country. I'd rather watch extreme rowing disentary edition. Or diving into an empty poll. Enough with soccer

[Cruzer 1,992]

Our D. Muhammad just opened up a serious can of whoop ass in the 400m.. She's rather pretty too.

[Reality 2,710]

Bolt, pure dominance.

[Cruzer 1,992]

Bolt, pure dominance.

It's a shame he's never really been pushed. I bet he might could run a sub 19second 200m.

[gocolts 300]

Was watching some of this stuff and the women's 400 M relay came on. Freaking USA blows it by dropping the focking baton when trying to pass it. She tried to throw it, not just hand it to her teammate. She did get bumped by another runner right before, but on the replay, you could clearly see her try to throw it. FAIL

[Chronic Husker 85]

Was watching some of this stuff and the women's 400 M relay came on. Freaking USA blows it by dropping the focking baton when trying to pass it. She tried to throw it, not just hand it to her teammate. She did get bumped by another runner right before, but on the replay, you could clearly see her try to throw it. FAIL

You evidently didn't watch past that moment.

 

[Mike Honcho 4,039]

Was watching some of this stuff and the women's 400 M relay came on. Freaking USA blows it by dropping the focking baton when trying to pass it. She tried to throw it, not just hand it to her teammate. She did get bumped by another runner right before, but on the replay, you could clearly see her try to throw it. FAIL

It's a fail, but it's not as easy as you think, especially at the higher levels. The passing zone isn't that long, you have one person at the point of exhaustion, muscles on fire, trying to maintain any speed left, the other fresh and trying to accelerate and to top it off, you have to do it with 8 competitors trying to do the same thing. Add to that Olympic pressure, it's a tough race.

 

Can't believe I missed it though, love the 400 races.

[cbfalcon 824]

You evidently didn't watch past that moment.

 

[Reality 2,710]

Was watching some of this stuff and the women's 400 M relay came on. Freaking USA blows it by dropping the focking baton when trying to pass it. She tried to throw it, not just hand it to her teammate. She did get bumped by another runner right before, but on the replay, you could clearly see her try to throw it. FAIL

 

Felix was hit because the other runner was out her lane. The US protested, rightfully so, and won. They were able to rerun their race, alone, and ran the fastest qualifying time. Was pretty damn impressive considering the strange circumstances.