Usain Bolt!!!

[Tastethesoup]

Have the 100m finals been televised? I heard the results earlier on the radio, but only saw the qualifying rounds last night

 

[lee_44106]

What a talent. I read that he won the Gold in the 100M already.

I did catch one of the qualifying rounds last night. It looked like he was just jogging fast, and still broke the 10 seconds mark. What a remarkable specimen of a man.

 

[whacked]

Another thing I really like about the 100m final (other than Bolt) is the generally festive mood among participants and/or how flamboyant they were pre-race. No real anxiety to be seen, just guys having a great time.

Unlike gymnastics or even swimming events.

 

[Artisan Fan]

Wow. 9.68. Lightning indeed.

 

[Artisan Fan]

It seems the record was 9.69.

 

[King Francis]

Oh, and having just watched the NBC primetime coverage of the men's 100m dash (I watched a blurry YouTube video of it this morning), I have to say that Bolt was beyond incredible, but he seems like an arrogant douchebag.

I don't like false modesty (sometimes the interviewers annoy me by asking "How did you win?" when the answer is simply, "I was stronger than everyone else&quot, but it's possible to acknowledge your own achievement without indulging in excessive self-love before a worldwide audience.

 

[Saucemaster]

That was one of the most phenomenal things I've seen in the Olympics thus far. Absolutely unreal.

 

[King Francis]

Originally Posted by Saucemaster

That was one of the most phenomenal things I've seen in the Olympics thus far. Absolutely unreal.

Despite what I said about his attitude, yeah, +1. How much faster can these new generations of athletes get? I mean, what's the human limit for the 100m dash? 9.50? 9.45? Everyone was stunned when Bolt got 9.72 a while back.

 

[Margaret]

Originally Posted by Texasmade

If only he ran his fastest all the way through so we could really see how fat he can clock in.

Reading the blurb online, what I was left with was that the guy, though ripe for the obvious nickname 'Lightning', was a bit of a douche for dogging it at the end and celebrating prematurely because he'd already beaten the field. Shouldn't you try to beat the clock regardless? But maybe I'm being unfair; I can accept that in a team sport or certain individual sports, once you know you've won, no need to kill yourself and humiliate the opponent... but T&F strikes me as different somehow. Am I off-base?

 

[Saucemaster]

Originally Posted by King Francis

Despite what I said about his attitude, yeah, +1. How much faster can these new generations of athletes get? I mean, what's the human limit for the 100m dash? 9.50? 9.45? Everyone was stunned when Bolt got 9.72 a while back.

I kind of like athletes who are a little arrogant sometimes, though too much of that gets old really, really fast. But yeah, the most amazing thing to me is that he beat (his) world record while actually decelerating for the last 20m. That's just unreal. What's his ceiling (or should we say floor)?!

 

[benecios]

Originally Posted by King Francis

Oh, and having just watched the NBC primetime coverage of the men's 100m dash (I watched a blurry YouTube video of it this morning), I have to say that Bolt was beyond incredible, but he seems like an arrogant douchebag.

I don't like false modesty (sometimes the interviewers annoy me by asking "How did you win?" when the answer is simply, "I was stronger than everyone else"), but it's possible to acknowledge your own achievement without indulging in excessive self-love before a worldwide audience.

This is a joke right?
I was probably a douchebag at 21 and I wasn't the fastest man on the planet. The guy is just supremely confident and he has every right to be.
He is a young carefree guy just having fun but I suppose people will find fault with anyone successful.

 

[King Francis]

Originally Posted by Saucemaster

I kind of like athletes who are a little arrogant sometimes, though too much of that gets old really, really fast. But yeah, the most amazing thing to me is that he beat (his) world record while actually decelerating for the last 20m. That's just unreal. What's his ceiling (or should we say floor)?!
More amazing is that his record of 9.72 seconds was set with a strong tailwind, while his medal-winning 9.69 was achieved with no tailwind at all. I'm sure he could break 9.60 at least. And his body is probably still maturing. Who knows what times he'll be posting by 2012.

Originally Posted by benecios

This is a joke right? I was probably a douchebag at 21 and I wasn't the fastest man on the planet. The guy is just supremely confident and he has every right to be. He is a young carefree guy just having fun but I suppose people will find fault with anyone successful.
I understand what you're saying, and confidence is certainly a necessary ingredient to that kind of success, but I'm of the perhaps unpopular opinion that a guy should display some class no matter how gifted he is, especially when he's representing his country before the watching eyes of the entire world. And frankly, I think his country deserves for him to give it his all against the clock, even if everyone else trips on their own shoelaces and he can jog to victory. Not to sound like I'm up his ass, but Phelps won, what, six golds at the age of 19? Younger than Bolt, and he didn't bang his chest and strike cocky poses repeatedly for the cameras. I'm a young guy myself. It isn't about age; it's about maturity. Of course it's easy for elite athletes to be cocky. And maybe I'm being too hard on him. But arrogance and narcissism aren't essential ingredients; it is possible to be a great athlete while being also a great man, and that means practicing restraint and humility when you could do otherwise.

 

[GTR]

Originally Posted by King Francis

Not to sound like I'm up his ass, but Phelps won, what, six golds at the age of 19? Younger than Bolt, and he didn't bang his chest and strike cocky poses repeatedly for the cameras. I'm a young guy myself. It isn't about age; it's about maturity.
You're a joke. Bolt won one of the premier Olympic gold medals. Have you ever watched a 100m final before? All the winners behave that way.

 

[Hard2Fit]

Couldn't disagree more.
Phelps and Bolt are both great (young) men.

Both should feel free to celebrate their victories how they feel fit though.
I suspect years from now Bolt will look back and wish he'd not 'eased up' at the end.
(In life one only gets so many chances.)
That's his perogative and his right to learn life's lessons on his own time.
Only time will tell and only he will know for sure.
Btw, no one died, was maimed or left financially less secure by his 'celebration'.
I think no less of him.

 

[audiophilia]

Originally Posted by King Francis

I understand what you're saying, and confidence is certainly a necessary ingredient to that kind of success, but I'm of the perhaps unpopular opinion that a guy should display some class no matter how gifted he is, especially when he's representing his country before the watching eyes of the entire world. And frankly, I think his country deserves for him to give it his all against the clock, even if everyone else trips on their own shoelaces and he can jog to victory.

Not to sound like I'm up his ass, but Phelps won, what, six golds at the age of 19? Younger than Bolt, and he didn't bang his chest and strike cocky poses repeatedly for the cameras. I'm a young guy myself. It isn't about age; it's about maturity.

Of course it's easy for elite athletes to be cocky. And maybe I'm being too hard on him. But arrogance and narcissism aren't essential ingredients; it is possible to be a great athlete while being also a great man, and that means practicing restraint and humility when you could do otherwise.

You seem so conflicted. LOL

Back to Bolt. He obliterated that field. Outstanding. Now, let's hope he doesn't pull a Ben Johnson. The public's confidence in Olympic track and field, especially the sprints, is at an all time low.