Read the debate intro and Loyal Homer’s argument that Usain Bolt is the most dominant athlete ever.
In the time it is taking me to write this sentence, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has run from the World Championships in Berlin, Germany to The Sports Debates world headquarters in the US to call me an idiot, and then run back to Berlin. The guy is incredibly fast. No sports writer, fan, or even the most critical cynic doubts his speed. But, is Usain Bolt the most dominant athlete ever? Hardly.
While some celebrate Bolt’s “energy-saving” runs (you know, the ones where he is playing to the cameras and crowds while the race is still taking place), have we ever seen Bolt actually give everything he has in a race? I do not think we have. It is that air of potential that fills the heads of admirers and keeps everyone believing there is something more… something greater he can do that we have not seen yet. For me, that is one of a few reasons why Usain Bolt cannot be considered the most dominant athlete of all time.
Competition
Is Usain Bolt facing the best sprinters – the cream of the worldwide sprinting crop – during his brief streak of dominance? No. Arguably the two most formidable opponents Bolt has raced against are fellow countryman Asafa Powell and the USA’s best sprinter Tyson Gay. Powell runs the anchor leg in the 4×100 meter and has held down gold for his country twice in the last years. But Powell did not place in the 100 meter race at the 2008 Olympic Games in Bejing, China. In fact, the most recent World Championships in 2007 – where the stiffest track and field competition congregates – Powell is twice a bronze medalist. Gay swept to gold in the 100 meter, 200 meter and in the 4×100 relay race at the World Championships in 2007. However, those are easily the crowning achievements of his career, and though a hamstring injury complicated his training schedule, he claims it did not impact his below-expectations performance in the ‘08 Olympics. Thus far, those are the best runners Bolt has faced – and neither has put enough pressure on him to raise his game. It is truly Bolt versus the clock. Is Bolt facing the best track and field sprinters ever? Doubtful.
Regarding Bolt’s impressive margins of victory at the World Champions… the lack of a true competitor makes Bolt appear more dominant than he actually is. Using margin of victory to argue in favor of Bolt’s dominance is like saying the Florida Gator’s football team should be considered the most dominant of all time because they likely will beat Charleston-Southern by 73 points when the season kicks off. Using margin of victory as a primary metric for judging dominance is misleading.
Technology
“Which clock is Bolt racing?” you may be asking. It is the electronic one. The electronic clock that was not used to time races until 1968. The frustrating pace of technology, eh? We will never know if there was a more dominant runner because the time keeping devices were not as sophisticated then as they are now. Also, consider the technology of apparel. While Bolt would be fast in a lead coat and high heels, he is gaining the advantage of the lightest running shoes ever designed and specially designed aerodynamic clothing. My hunch is that a sprinter like Carl Lewis could have shaved a tenth off of his formerly impressive 9.86 100 meter run way back in 1991 with the advances in technology that have transpired since he last laced ‘em up.
Longevity
Bolt, basically, has had two really good weekends. To be considered the most dominant athlete of a sport ever, that dominance must be maintained over a long period of time. Consider USA sprinter Carl Lewis. Lewis won his first gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games – one of four he won at the event, three in running (the 100, 200, and 4×100 relay) AND one in the long jump. An impressive, truly dominant performance that goes beyond the confines of supposed specialized abilities in running. Four years later he again won the 100 meter race and the long jump, winning silver in the 200 meter race. In 1992 he again resurfaced to win two more gold medals in the 4×100 relay and the long jump. In 1996 – 12 years after he first won an Olympic gold – Lewis again takes the gold in the long jump. That is the picture of an athlete that dominated an era, at least. Lewis was a winner in multiple events over the course of 12 impressive years. Winning is great. To be considered dominant an athlete must win for many years. Bolt is not there yet.
Youth
Believe it or not, Usain Bolt is still a relative new comer to track and field. At just 23 years of age he has a bright future ahead of him. While he burst onto the scene in Bejing last year – winning gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and running the third leg of the 4×100 relay – the 2009 World Championships are just the second time Bolt has dominated the competition. At the World Championships in 2007 Bolt was defeated in the 200 meter race by USA’s Tyson Gay.
Renaissance Man?
Perhaps Bolt is a victim of the age of sports he lives in – the age of specialization. In a sports era that has berthed such oddities as the middle reliever in baseball, the third down back in football, and a defensive MVP in basketball, Bolt fits right in. He is very “now.” He might even be “next.” But he is not “context.” In an era of specialists and one-dimensional athletes Bolt is specialized in a way Carl Lewis was not. Lewis’ ability to branch out beyond his single defined capability – sprinting – vaulted him to dominant status.
Bolt is not even former US sprinter Michael Johnson, yet. Johnson’s excellence stirred up this same debate in the late 1990’s. Johnson, similar to Lewis, won a gold medal in three consecutive Olympic Games – an incredible feat (pun very much intended). But, for all the flash (remember those sweet gold shoes?) and the seeming dominance, history has put Johnson’s impressive accomplishments into context. He was a great runner, perhaps the finest of his era. But for all the dominance he exhibited during his time atop the sprinting mountain, he is simply the best of an era. Perhaps the same is true of Bolt… perhaps not. Bolt may be on the verge of writing an unprecedented chapter in history. Perhaps. Right now Bolt has a long way to go.
