is Usain Bolt a top 5 athlete of all time?

[Chalkmaze]

I hate when people try to say one type of athlete is superior to another.

They each have chosen their lane, and that's that. How is a marathoner more impressive? If that marathoner chose, in the beginning, to dedicate themselves to maxing out their speed, chances are they wouldn't get close to Bolt and vice versa.

We should all be paying homage and respect to this man who has pushed the limits for human speed. He's truly an explosive specimen for the ages.

I do wonder how fast Bo Jackson could have gotten if he dedicated himself to the 100 Meters though.

I actually agree with you for the most part. I'm not really choosing anyone as best athlete, but usually people pick the muscle bound guys first. I think the best marathoners are just as incredible as the top sprinters. One guy only has to sprint for 10 seconds, the other guy has to run at a near sprint for over 2 hours, and to me that's at least as good of an athlete as a sprinter, in fact it's more impressive to me. But the top marathon guy usually looks super thin and small, and a marathon isn't as exciting so people will naturally want to pick the HULKS of the sports world where all the excitement is crammed into a very brief moment of time. In other words, sprinting is way more exciting than a marathon race to most people, so they are going to naturally like those athletes more.

[HardwoodLegend]

I actually agree with you for the most part. I'm not really choosing anyone as best athlete, but usually people pick the muscle bound guys first. I think the best marathoners are just as incredible as the top sprinters. One guy only has to sprint for 10 seconds, the other guy has to run at a near sprint for over 2 hours, and to me that's at least as good of an athlete as a sprinter, in fact it's more impressive to me. But the top marathon guy usually looks super thin and small, and a marathon isn't as exciting so people will naturally want to pick the HULKS of the sports world where all the excitement is crammed into a very brief moment of time. In other words, sprinting is way more exciting than a marathon race to most people, so they are going to naturally like those athletes more.

I hear you... I'm one of those sprint-biased people, but I've learned to appreciate the endurance events more in recent years.

David Rudisha and Mo Farah really impressed me in London and were unsung heroes. They didn't get enough shine.

I liked how Bolt paid homage to Farah though by doing his arm gesture after Jamaica won the 4x1 relay.

[KG215]

David Rudisha and Mo Farah really impressed me in London and were unsung heroes. They didn't get enough shine.

This. Bolt and Phelps rightfully stole the spotlight at the Olympics, but Farah and Rudisha did something pretty remarkable, too. Obviously Farah was incredible, but he got his share of attention. I'm a mid-distance/distance fan (meaning I'm a little biased) but Rudisha is on track to completely own the 800m. He's 23 and already has something like the 3 fastest times ever, and 10 of the 20 fastest ever. Then he comes out at the Olympics and becomes the first man ever to run a sub 1:41 and does so unrabbitted.

Obviously, if he wanted to be in the same discussion as the T&F athletes in the GOAT discussion he'd not only have to continue his dominance at at least one more WC and Olympics, but he'd need to add the 400m or 1500m to his resume and win some hardware there, too. I think if he added a second event it'd be the 400m. I believe he has a PR in the mid-45s but he's never seriously trained for it, and I don't think he's ever ran the 400m in a competition in 2 or 3 years. Still, he's on pace to dominate a single T&F event at an unparalleled level.

[Swaggin916]

I hear you... I'm one of those sprint-biased people, but I've learned to appreciate the endurance events more in recent years.

David Rudisha and Mo Farah really impressed me in London and were unsung heroes. They didn't get enough shine.

I liked how Bolt paid homage to Farah though by doing his arm gesture after Jamaica won the 4x1 relay.

Love that picture

[RedBlackAttack]

I agree with you that Ali isn't the greatest heavyweight of all time, but that's not the argument I'm making.

I'm just saying that although this way of thinking has become ingrained in fighting disciplines over the years, this whole pound for pound way of judging fighters is silly and not based in reality. If a boxer is better pound for pound, but not better face to face: that means he's not a better fighter.

Of course the only reason SRR isn't a better fighter than Ali are his physical limitations, but that goes for every other sport too though. Maybe my sprinting technique is better than Bolt's, but my physical limitations prevent me from competing with him. Does that mean I'm a greater runner than Bolt? No. Silly way of thinking.

No... THAT is a silly way of determining the greatest boxers of all-time. It is also the reason why no one gives a sh!t about the heavyweight division these days and two welterweights are today's most recognizable boxers by miles and miles. They are the best in the world at their craft.

At the end of the day, boxing is a sport, not a street fight. It really isn't about who can beat up whom if you give a guy a humungous enough weight/height advantage. It is about which guys are most dominant against their peers.

The same thing goes for virtually all combat sports... MMA, collegiate style wrestling, greco-roman, karate, kickboxing, etc.

Weight divisions exist for a reason. Boxing really is a science. Those who have mastered that science are considered the best in their sport, not the guys who rely on ridiculous weight advantages.

[LJJ]

Weight divisions exist for a reason.

Yes. First of all to broaden the sport's participation. Which is fine, everybone should be able to enjoy sports regardless of their build. And of course for business reasons. More classes = more fights = more champions = more revenue. Doesn't mean we should take the lower classes as seriously though.

It's still not any different from making different classes based on physical limitations in other sports. You also have special basketball leagues for short people, it's the exact same principle. But the only form of the sport that truly matters and is truly taken seriously is the "no restrictions on participants" form. As it should be.

If you can't hack it in the "free weight" class of boxing: by any means become great in a class where the participants are heavily restricted to be homogeneous. But you can't really call yourself the best fighter if you can't come close to beating all the true natural opponents.