I think he is a great athelete however I think there were much more dominant players. What about Jordan? Woods? Steve Young, Joe Montana? Wayne Gretzky? Lance Armstrong?

 

Usain bolt is an amazing sprinter, that's given and everyone knows this. He has lost in the past, but only recently, and just shortly before the Beijing Olympics, did Bolt really grow into his phenomenal speed.

Being American we can be considered somewhat biased; however, it's undeniable at what a great an athlete and swimmer Phelps is. He succeeds best at the Butterfly stroke, but he also excels past the majority in other swimming styles.

They're both intense competitors with, I'm sure, the same intensity in their focus and determination to win. At that level, all competitors in sports have the same intensity, (even if some are influenced by salaries) but the great ones excel in part to their higher ability.

The original question: This question is ambiguous, and the responses are predictable in that respect.

 

Well, everyone has their own opinion, but to me, Bolt is more dominant than all of the aforementioned.

Ok, so Bolt has lost in his early career, but recently, his full potential has developed and none of his competitors/opponents could come close. Each time he races, he would leave them far behind.

Regarding Phelps' Olympic gold medals, I never felt it was fair to compare the number of medals because in some sports, athletes were able to only achieve a max number of 1 or 2 gold medals; whereas in swimming, there were so many individual and team events that eventually gave Phelps that many medals. For example, in boxing, you could beat everyone and that gets you only 1 medal. Regardless, Phelps is a great athlete, no question about it.

Every time I watch Bolt, I'm just amazed at the level of beating he would put on his opponents.

 

if there's one thing I hate more than comparing athletes from different sports, it's comparing athletes from the same sport but from a different time....

 

Is Usain "BOLT" his birth name? what a god damn coincidence if it is.

 

I think it was Boltensteinbergawitz. He shortened it so it wasn't as "ethnic."

 

See Below.
Usain bolt has been good for 5 years, and dominant for maybe 2.
Michael Phelps has been DOMINANT for 8+ years.

maybe after the next Olympics, IF UB wins everything, can we compare the two (if it even is worth our time to do so)

Phelps will also compete in the next Olympics as well to increase his legacy.

Dave


---Michael Phelps
Phelps has won 16 Olympic medals: six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008. In doing so he has twice equaled the record eight medals of any type at a single Olympics achieved by Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games

Phelps holds seven world records in swimming.

Phelps's international titles and record breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008 and American Swimmer of the Year Award in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. He has won a total of 48 career medals thus far in major international competition, forty gold, six silver, and two bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award.

 

I had no idea Usain Bolt was a Jew

 

Yeah. He was strict orthodox but then saw the movie cool runnings and became a reformed jew. It's a really good read if you can find it.

 

x2.

usain is a beast at running. phelps is a beast at swiming. schumi is a beast at driving.

you simply can't compare them.