In stark contrast to Michael Phelps, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, crowned “The World’s Fastest Man” by winning the 100m last night, acted — quite frankly — like a total jerk. The 6-5 athlete clearly has a stride advantage over the rest of the field, and once he seemed definitively ahead, about 15m from the finish line, he smiled a huge smug smile and outstretched his arms in premature celebration. He finished in 9.69 seconds, a WR time to be sure, but how much faster could he have gone had he not started showboating before his victory was sure?
I mean, here’s an article about it that says it better than I have the energy for right now.
So I’m gonna take another person to task here, mainly because my emotions tend to be all over the map during the Olympics. They just do that to me. With the Olympics, I feel suddenly and surely and deeply. I will root like crazy and oppose like crazy; cheer like crazy and boo like crazy. I’m someone who doesn’t hide from gray areas in “real life”, but I have a hard time seeing grays — during the Olympics. And again, this situation has something to do with priorities — to me. Just like I don’t understand or embrace what appeared to be the priorities of Nastia Liukin’s mom, I don’t understand this guy at all.
Because, bottom line, I look at what he did like this:
He sacrificed even greater achievement for his own ego glorification.
Premature ego glorification at that. In that one act, he showed me that his ego was more important than his achievement. Bigger than his achievement. To me, he personifies the opposite of a champion. An even more astonishing result was really his for the taking, but he stole that time from sport and squandered it on himself. Basking, again, prematurely. As he was literally coasting to victory, God help me, I would have liked nothing better than for one of the other runners to pass him and steal the win from him — because I instantly became opposed to him. I was yelling AT him. Within 7 seconds. Seriously. I want anyone and everyone to beat him from here on out. Coasting his way to victory when runners behind him were giving their all, running their guts out, is a slap in the face to each of them. The gesture says, “I have contempt for you and your efforts.” It demeans other athletes. It demeans sport. The posturing, the chest-pounding, the flag-draping, the self-centered celebration. Sickening to me. Truly.
Usain Bolt may be The World’s Fastest Man, but, to me, he will never be a champion.
I go away for a couple of months and you get all obsessed with the Olympics! Now I have to catch up on that news before I can start keeping up with you again! 😉
Missed you. Wanted you to know I’m, you know, alive and stuff. And now I appear to have a lot of reading to catch up on!
Before we watched Bolt’s race, my husband and I were discussing a newspaper article which stated that swimming records were not as impressive as track records, due to the physical effects on a the body competing horizontally vs. vertically.
That led to a discussion about Michael Phelps’ humility in winning vs. a lot of track stars. Then as if to prove our point, Bolt sat by the scoreboard showing his WR time,(which should have been faster, if not for the celebrating) took off one of his his golden shoes and held it up for the picture. That small act truly showed the difference between someone who has simply won a race, and a true winner.
As I saw the hands raise I said a little prayer “Lord, trip him.” He is an A#1 Olympic class tool!
His mom should’ve slapped his face when he ran to her.
I was waiting for Don Beebe to come flying in out of nowhere and catch him.
Marisa! Hi! I was just about to email you. I’m so glad to see you back — I’ve missed your blog and YOU!