[Roland Garros]

Of course he is. Whether or not there's someone out there with the potential to be faster, until they beat him in a race, he is the fastest.

[Zombie James]

After the 1996 olympics, The 100m race World Record Holder, Donovan Bailey, raced Michael Johnson(200m and 400m Olympic winner) in a 150m race to see who was the fastest man on the planet. Here is the result: At the olympic stadium in Montreal.

Ahh, I remember this. Probably the only time I can think of where the "World's Fastest Man" title was being argued against the 100m winner. A world record setting 100 meters.

[Ninja Beagle]

Ahh, I remember this. Probably the only time I can think of where the "World's Fastest Man" title was being argued against the 100m winner. A world record setting 100 meters.

Looked like Michael Johnson new he was gonna lose and faked a hammy injury.

[ihearthawthats]

They never look that fast on TV, but he thrashed the other guys. I wish they showed how fast they are actually running, so then I could put it into perspective.

according to some wikianswers page, his top speed in beijing was 43.93 km/h. some of the local school roads in my city have 40 km/h speed limits, so he's fast enough to get a speeding ticket.

[theignoramus]

yeah but he won't be able to compete with the next generation of sprinters at 29 Blake almost beat him today (and has beaten him before) and he's going to be where Bolt is now.

what? he did no such thing.

[EatinOlives]

Well, his name is Bolt...

Maybe he Kim Dotcom'd his last name.

[Bulbo Urethral Baggins]

what? he did no such thing.

He had the potential to beat him today.

[ajim]

He had the potential to beat him today.

Anyone who lined up against Bolt had the 'potential' to beat him, but on Bolts best day they just won't be able to.

[DarkHeartedKill]

I see it more as the fastest known man in the world. You can't say he is the fastest man in the world when not every single man has run it.

[Bombadil]

Later that day, OP contacted People Magazine to petition against the title of "Sexiest Man Alive."

[Sky Chief]

I see it more as the fastest known man in the world. You can't say he is the fastest man in the world when not every single man has run it.

Yes you can.

[duderon]

yeah but he won't be able to compete with the next generation of sprinters at 29 Blake almost beat him today (and has beaten him before) and he's going to be where Bolt is now.

That's a huge assumption. Four years is such a long time that any scenario could play out. If Bolt plans on running he will show up barring injury.

[-COOLIO-]

I see it more as the fastest known man in the world. You can't say he is the fastest man in the world when not every single man has run it.

it's implied, just like how having 'in my opinion' is implied after everything you say without you actually having to say it.

[Schweini]

He is, until proven otherwise. That's what the sporting world is all about, really.

[Sky Chief]

yeah but he won't be able to compete with the next generation of sprinters at 29 Blake almost beat him today (and has beaten him before) and he's going to be where Bolt is now.

Well Linford Christie won the 100m Gold when he was 32, many sprinters have had long careers

[IceCold]

Currently he is the fastest human on Earth. There's no doubt about that. Even if there was a person with the genetic potential to beat him, they wouldn't, since they don't have his training.

[duderon]

They never look that fast on TV, but he thrashed the other guys. I wish they showed how fast they are actually running, so then I could put it into perspective.

27.78 mph / 44.72 km/h

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usain_Bolt#Average_speed

[-COOLIO-]

Currently he is the fastest human on Earth. There's no doubt about that. Even if there was a person with the genetic potential to beat him, they wouldn't, since they don't have his training.

there could be some crazy mutant with additional thigh muscles. you never know

[Dreams-Visions]

They never look that fast on TV, but he thrashed the other guys. I wish they showed how fast they are actually running, so then I could put it into perspective.

as one who ran the following in high school on a damn good team:

100
200
4x100
4x200 (when we had it)


they look fucking fast. lol


edit: on a side note, Madison (one of the 3 US female 100m runners) is from my High School.

[duderon]

as one who ran the following in high school on a damn good team: 100 200 4x100 4x200 (when we had it) they look fucking fast. lol edit: on a side note, Madison (one of the 3 US female 100m runners) is from my High School.

That's cool dude, she ran really well.

[DarkFlow]

25 and yes.

He might but at 29 he sure won't win. 100m is a young man's event.

[Windu]

Nbc finally show the 100m just now. I was already spoiled though thanks to this thread.

[Pimpwerx]

If there was someone faster than Usain, and they've demonstrated that level of speed to anyone worth a damn, they'd be in the Olympics. He's the fastest man on the planet. Few people with his length have the fast twitch muscles to compete. That what makes him unique. Tall and fast is a deadly combination. PEACE.

[Sky Chief]

Nbc finally show the 100m just now. I was already spoiled though thanks to this thread.

Yeah, pretty much

[flippedb]

what? he did no such thing.

Yep. Bolt killed it today. He wasn't even trying.

[Pimpwerx]

yeah but he won't be able to compete with the next generation of sprinters at 29 Blake almost beat him today (and has beaten him before) and he's going to be where Bolt is now.

Your idea of almost beat him is not applicable to sprints. The margin Usain beat the field by is significant in this field. There have been auto races with closer finishes than that. PEACE.

[Sky Chief]

Your idea of almost beat him is not applicable to sprints. The margin Usain beat the field by is significant in this field. There have been auto races with closer finishes than that. PEACE.

He ran the second fastest time in history!!!

[Quick]

I'm pretty fast, too.

[Aesius]

There might be a handful of people on the globe with the genetic potential to beat Bolt. Sprinting is such a basic athletic endeavour that it's hard to imagine that kind of talent goes unnoticed and undeveloped.

On the other hand, I would imagine that there is a massive amount of undiscovered talent for any athletic/artistic discipline that has a relatively high barrier of entry.

[KingKong]

He's the fastest right now but I'm sure there will be someone faster in 10 years

We're pretty close to reaching peak speed possible though, no one is going to be running 100m in 9.00 without cyberlegs

[DarkHeartedKill]

it's implied, just like how having 'in my opinion' is implied after everything you say without you actually having to say it.

I suppose it's implied, but the way the OP stated it was if they were saying, and meaning that he is the fastest man. Or maybe I'm just looking too much into it I dunno.

[PastorOfMuppets]

He is as far as we know.

But I'm going to put this theory out.

The best athletes in the world do not compete in track and field unless they are women. Reason being is if you can run a sub 10.00 in the 100m without any pro training like Usain Bolt, it makes much more financial sense for you to be playing baseball, basketball, football or soccer where you will have a much more lucrative career. The guys in track you see now are in track because they have no other avenues of making money on their athletic abilities. Women don't have this issue since there are no lucrative avenues for female pro sports so the fastest woman in the world likely competes in the 100m dash.

[KingKong]

check out this graph:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...n_100m_men.svg

now, you can see that we've been improving over the last 100 years and yet the difference from 1910 and 2012 is about a second, but if you look at Bolt's 2009 time, it's so much further ahead that I don't know if even he can replicate it

[industrian]

Yes he is, because "potential" doesn't mean shit. People don't realize how much hard work and dedication it takes to reach that level.

Especially for sprinters as I would argue that out of pretty much every sport it wears your body out the most (due to it's emphasis on just going all-out in a single motion and resulting impact.) One serious knee injury at a young age and all that potential goes down the drain.

[KingKong]

He is as far as we know. But I'm going to put this theory out. The best athletes in the world do not compete in track and field unless they are women. Reason being is if you can run a sub 10.00 in the 100m without any pro training like Usain Bolt, it makes much more financial sense for you to be playing baseball, basketball, football or soccer where you will have a much more lucrative career. The guys in track you see now are in track because they have no other avenues of making money on their athletic abilities. Women don't have this issue since there are no lucrative avenues for female pro sports so the fastest woman in the world likely competes in the 100m dash.

uhhh no one can run sub 10.00 without pro training, you don't know how crazy fast that is

[Ninja Scooter]

i am the greatest basketball player ever I'm just lazy.

[yogloo]

Is goku faster than superman?

[Sky Chief]

check out this graph: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...n_100m_men.svg now, you can see that we've been improving over the last 100 years and yet the difference from 1910 and 2012 is about a second, but if you look at Bolt's 2009 time, it's so much further ahead that I don't know if even he can replicate it

He came very close today

[Windu]

i am the greatest basketball player ever I'm just lazy.

pfft i could beat your ass but i dont feel like it.

[King Boo]

My ex-girlfriend would say that I'm the fastest man in the world. But don't you be listening to her foolishness.

you have made me laugh, thank you.

[PastorOfMuppets]

uhhh no one can run sub 10.00 without pro training, you don't know how crazy fast that is

Adjust it then, 11 seconds is fast enough to give up on track and try out for the NFL or NBA and make those millions. Deion Sanders ran 10.26 100m dashes, not great for Olympic times but he didn't have people fixing his running technique.

[duderon]

Adjust it then, 11 seconds is fast enough to give up on track and try out for the NFL or NBA and make those millions. Deion Sanders ran 10.26 100m dashes, not great for Olympic times but he didn't have people fixing his running technique.

High Schoolers run in the low 10s. 10.26 is nothing special. It takes years to go from low 10s to 10 flat and beyond. If the athlete is even capable of going below 10.

[KingKong]

Adjust it then, 11 seconds is fast enough to give up on track and try out for the NFL or NBA and make those millions. Deion Sanders ran 10.26 100m dashes, not great for Olympic times but he didn't have people fixing his running technique.

well for the NBA you have to be tall. Usain is unnaturally tall, but Yohan Blake (2nd place) and Justin Gatlin are 6ft and under

for the NFL you need all kinds of other skills other than just being super fast to make it to the pro level

not to mention that you have to start young (at least high school), Bolt wasn't going to be playing ball in Jamaica (I think he even said his favorite sport was cricket or something growing up), and if you are at their level you're going to be making millions of dollars which is probably more than you could earn in the NFL

[Sky Chief]

High Schoolers run in the low 10s. 10.26 is nothing special. It takes years to go from low 10s to 10 flat and beyond. If the athlete is even capable of going below 10.

According to Wikipedia only 82 people have ever broken 10s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10-second_barrier

[PastorOfMuppets]

High Schoolers run in the low 10s. 10.26 is nothing special. It takes years to go from low 10s to 10 flat and beyond. If the athlete is even capable of going below 10.

But what I'm saying is that anyone with the potential to run sub-10 times would be an idiot to pursue a track and field career over the NFL or NBA if there was a chance they could make it.

[PastorOfMuppets]

well for the NBA you have to be tall. Usain is unnaturally tall, but Yohan Blake (2nd place) and Justin Gatlin are 6ft and under for the NFL you need all kinds of other skills other than just being super fast to make it to the pro level not to mention that you have to start young (at least high school), Bolt wasn't going to be playing ball in Jamaica (I think he even said his favorite sport was cricket or something growing up), and if you are at their level you're going to be making millions of dollars which is probably more than you could earn in the NFL

That's what I'm saying. Bolt has no other avenue to use his athletic skills. The Americans who are in track are likely not good enough to be playing any other sports, that's why they are in track and field. Same goes for Michael Phelps, he's a swimmer because he literally has no other skills to be elite in anything else. ESPN did a profile on him and he basically admitted that on land, he couldn't even dribble a basketball.

[duderon]

But what I'm saying is that anyone with the potential to run sub-10 times would be an idiot to pursue a track and field career over the NFL or NBA if there was a chance they could make it.

It's a fair argument, but that still doesn't make anyone else faster than Bolt. If every person in the world was trained exactly as Bolt would he be the fastest? Probably not. In reality he is the fastest human and there is no disputing that other than asking what ifs.

[Ninja Scooter]

didn't some team try taking a top track guy and turn him into a wide receiver and fail miserably?

[Sky Chief]

That's what I'm saying. Bolt has no other avenue to use his athletic skills. The Americans who are in track are likely not good enough to be playing any other sports, that's why they are in track and field. Same goes for Michael Phelps, he's a swimmer because he literally has no other skills to be elite in anything else. ESPN did a profile on him and he basically admitted that on land, he couldn't even dribble a basketball.

That is a fair argument. RG3 was the fastest Junior 400m hurdler in the world but now he is all football. Who knew what he could have done if he focused on Track? However, if he was to race in the Olympics he would be destroyed, training is so important. Therefore, this argument makes me feel even stronger that Usain Bolt is unequivocally the fastest human being on Earth.

[KingKong]

That's what I'm saying. Bolt has no other avenue to use his athletic skills. The Americans who are in track are likely not good enough to be playing any other sports, that's why they are in track and field. Same goes for Michael Phelps, he's a swimmer because he literally has no other skills to be elite in anything else. ESPN did a profile on him and he basically admitted that on land, he couldn't even dribble a basketball.

ok but that's just a what if scenario that could be made for any sport and any country. who's to say anyone is the best at what they do?

also you need to be a genetic freak to be like Usain Bolt, it's not just something you can train to be since it's such a specific skill. It's not comparable to any organized sport