And I'm quite sure not one person on your list would be giving Usain the shit that people here are giving him.All I keep hearing from all the sports superstars and commentators at the Olympics is just how amazing his performance was and how much they are looking foward to the next few years.I'm pretty sure Usain will not give a toss about what anyone but his peers,his family and his country think of him.I say bring on the 200 so he can do it agan!

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So if an football team is up by 35 points with 1:00 left - it's bad sportsmanship for the quarterback to take the knee instead of trying to throw more touchdowns?

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Go that way really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.

I'm saying he ran the fastest race of his life. I'm saying he ran faster than any human ever has. I'm saying it was awesome to watch. I'm saying he could have dropped his shorts and mooned the other 7 guys with 15 meters to go and it still would have been worth the price of admission.

Noboby disputes any of that. How many times do I have to agree that his running was incredible? It's not relevant to the question of his poor sportsmanship.

Why don't you just answer the question, Matt? I'll tell you why- because everyone knows the answer. He didn't run his best race. He won the 100M Olympic race, and instead of running his best, he decided it was more important to show off.

These objections that others have celebrated before the finish line are transparently specious. There's a difference between celebrating and showboating/swaggering.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Out of curiosity, just how do you tell the difference between celebrating before the line and showboating/swaggering before the line?

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I have two eyes, and a brain behind them.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

In Reply To

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Winning by that far, that easily. I have to say it reminded me of Ben Johnson...[/reply]
Certainly reminded me of Johnson.

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Not even close. As Dev said this guy is a "genetic freak".

Fred.

These objections that others have celebrated before the finish line are transparently specious. There's a difference between celebrating and showboating/swaggering.

I seem to recall a particularly difficult race where the person in the lead actually drinks champagne well in advance of crossing the finish line! But I guess that is a different kind of pre-finish celebration so it is ok. Hmmmm.....

Vitus for the fifteenth and final time. He was there to win a gold medal. Mission acomplished. If it didn't require his best race to do so, big friggin whoop.

Did Tomescu run her best race to win the marathon? she was waving and celebrating with 400m to go. Why are you not upset with her?

Kenenisa Bekele jogged the first 2000m en route to his god medal and certainly didn't give his best race. Why are you not upset with him?

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

My issues are particular, and when combined, is why I'm a bit dissapointed.

1) It's not that he celebrated, either before or after the race, it is that he was doing it while breaking the WR, and thus cut the WR short of what it could have been.
2) The celebrating in particular...there are degrees of what is acceptable celebrating. Thumping your chest and posturing b/f the race are NOT the same as putting your hands in the air and cheering excitedly.
3) Put the above two happening together, and it compounds the issue.

Steve, maybe the reason huge egos/attitudes go with sprint racing versus the longer distances, is that we allow it to happen, and excuse the behavior. I see no other reason. Sprinters are not better or worse, or different than any other world class atheletes. We the public excuse the bad behavior, and it is allowed to propigate. I'll even throw the media in there as culprits, by giving these gals and guys so much more attention than other atheletes.

Back to the original beef about the WR. Let's put it in perspective, and you guys tell me if your reaction would be any different under these circmstances.

1) A WR marathon time is being broken, but the athelete stops 10 yards from the finish to celebrate by thumping his chest for 1 and a half minutes, and the clock is running.
2) A WR 10K time in being crushed at the olympics, and the runner pauses for 30 seconds before the finishline to thump his chest and pose...all the while the clock is ticking.

The above are equivilent times to what .1 second is in relation to the 100m WR. It is estimated that this is the minimum he gave up by standing up and the antics.

As a fan, the Olypics are special to me. If Bolt bests his WR in Europe next year or at the Pan Am games...guess what, I won't be watching, b/c I'm just a casual spectator of all these sports. As I sat on the couch with my kids, I wanted to see him put down his best effort, and obliderate the WR as much as possible. The fact that he pulled up and didn't do his all with a WR time at stake, makes me sad.



.

Ah, the "I'll know it if I see it" line... nice...

Seriously, why is it that Bolt was showboating and say, Simon Whitfield in 2000, was celebrating? or was he showboating too?

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actually drinks champagne well in advance of crossing the finish line! But I guess that is a different kind of pre-finish celebration so it is ok. Hmmmm.....

I'm now expected to place both professional bicycle racing and the traditions of France in the context of good sportsmanship?

Nothing like insisting on the impossible.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

hey I answered your question when are you going to answer mine.

Gebresellassie? Ovett? Lewis? Tomescu? Bekele? all gold medal winners...all bad sports in your eyes?

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

You didn't, really, but it's OK. Everybody knows he didn't give his best race.

No, those others are not all bad sports in my eyes. Because, as I already said in answer to your question, there is a self-evident difference between celebration and showboating.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

I dont' think the difference is "self-evident", otherwise we wouldn't be having this argument. A lot of people on this tread feel like Bolt's actions were a "celebration" and not "showboating".

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Go that way really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.

Chrissie Wellington slowed in Frankfurt to celebrate with and thank the crowd. If she would not have done so she would have bested PNF's world best (for at least a week:-)). My personal opinion is that she is a joy and pure class.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

This is Slowtwitch. "Self-evident" does not mean "inarguable."

I'll put it this way: If this was the NFL, instead of the Olympics, Bolt A) would have fit right in, and B) been at possible risk of a taunting penalty.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Nothing like insisting on the impossible.

I do my best.

It seems to me that most of us would agree that there is a difference between celebrating and showboating. The difference is not that a line is being drawn but where to draw it.

For example, I would hope that had Bolt turned around and finished the race backwards while holding his fingers up in the "Loser" sign, we could all agree that would be inappropriate and disgraceful. How much short of that others would draw their lines is an open question.

Good point - what is or isn't good sportsmanship does seem to vary from sport to sport, and within the track world for different distances.

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Go that way really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.

Wait I'm getting confused. So it no longer matters if an athlete gives their best effort or not?

You think there's a self evidend difference between showboating and celebrating???? well I 'd have to say that since this particular sample group is pretty evenly split on what constitutes shoboating versus celebrating I'd have to disagree with you that the difference is self evident....or even important for that matter.

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

Vitus,

I like you, really. Sometimes you make good points, but on this one, as far as I am concerned, you're full of crap.

I couldn't have said it any better. I just can't believe he left time out there, I can't believe it. If anyone says WRs don't matter to sprinters you are crazy. That is all they care about in between Olympic years. A 9.5x time could have been a record that stood the test of time. I just don't see anyone ever being able to break 9.50 in the 100m. It took 100 years to shave 1 second off of the first noted record. We are probably reaching the very end of the rope in this sport. Its a shame to me that we all could have witnessed a human being run faster than anyone has ever or will ever do again. He couldn't wait 1 more second to start celebrating? If he runs through the tape, he could have thumped his chest all the way back to Jamaica and I probably wouldn't have cared. It just makes me sick to my stomach.

I'm cool with that. We can agree to disagree. I think he showed poor sportsmanship. I don't think he's the antichrist, or should be stripped of his medal, or tarred and feather, or anything.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

showboating or praising jesus?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HOZuqVxps4

Ryan Hall broke the olympic trials record as he loped through Central Park high fiving spectators and pointing to god a lot. He no doubt could have smashed it by a lot more if not for the celebration/showboating/religious ceremony. I don't recall a similar reaction from Vitus or anyone else after that performance.

Weird.

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

I give this thread a:

""


rating.

Well thats what we hope.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter