Usain Bolt: Greatest Athlete or Greatest Ego? - Joe Chacon's Blog

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Joe Chacon's Blog

Usain Bolt: Greatest Athlete or Greatest Ego? Stuck

Posted on August 10, 2012 at 11:55 AM.

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As the 2012 Olympic Games wind down, we now start to take a look back and highlight some of the greatest accomplishments that have taken place.

We've discussed everything here at OS from Michael Phelps, to the USA Basketball Team, and from Women's Gymnastics to the Asian Badminton teams.

What about Usain Bolt, the self-proclaimed "greatest athlete to live"?

Following his 200M gold medal finish, Bolt had this to say about his performance:

Quote:


	"I'm also the greatest athlete to live. I am in the same category as Michael Johnson. I'm honoured. It's all about Michael Johnson for me. I grew up watching him break world records. He's a great athlete."

Is there anything wrong with Bolt proclaiming he is the greatest ever? Well, not entirely, but that would lead us down a very blurry road.

Bolt states he's the greatest athlete to live. Not the greatest sprinter or runner, but rather the greatest "athlete". When one states "athlete" that then opens the floodgates for comparison to every participant to ever play a sport.

We're no longer comparing Bolt to Michael Johnson. We are now comparing him to LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Walter Payton, etc.

Is Usain Bolt the greatest sprinter of all-time? Based upon results alone, I can agree with that. But to say he is the best athlete that ever lived? I don't think so.

OS Voice: Usain Bolt says he is the greatest athlete to have ever lived. Do you agree with him?

Joe Chacon is a staff writer for Operation Sports and a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.

Comments

# 16 wisdom less13 @ Aug 12

I think dude is awesome. I'm a huge supporter of him. He works his tail off at what he does, and is the best at it. The ego part is for the birds, too. No one seemed to mention how he shouted out his fans from other countries that support him. Usain Bolt is the man...

# 17 gausec @ Aug 12

Without a doubt he is the greatest athlete. What qualifies as an athlete. When I think of athlete I think of someone fast or can jump. Like in college you say oh he's a great athlete not a real position player. Al Davis said Bolt was the greatest athlete when he was alive. Granted it was from Al davis...

# 18 Kentucky_Wildcat23 @ Aug 13

You have to show you can do more than run to be the greatest athlete ever. For example he could beat LeBron in a race, but could he beat him in a game of hoops or could he beat Phelps in the pool.