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Usain Bolt
Already discussed in the other thread, but this guy is seriously a freak of nature; he has to be the best athlete in generations.
I come from a strong athletic background and was a good middle distance runner myself; I've watched hundreds of sprint races at any number of levels from young amateurs to the Olympics, both in person and on television, and I have never, ever, ever, seen anyone win so easily in a 100 or 200 race, which are usually so short that any distance gained is minute and any significant slowing down will see you swamped by the field.
His 200m heat performance was supernatural, far more so than his 100m; he literally jogged from 80m out; almost half the race.
If you look at the other competitors, their arms were pumping hard and in straight lines perpendicular to the body, with knees high and relatively small amount of heel flick, which is characteristic of sprinting. In the last 80m Bolt was completely relaxed, with arms running more so at a 45 degree angle to the body, slowly swinging, a low knee lift and a huge amount of heel flick; he looked more like an 800 or 1500m runner would look in the first lap of their race.
Unbelievable.
This guy is going to smash records in the next five years, and not by .05 of a second. I think it's entirely possible he could be the first man to break 19 seconds for the 200.
I'd be interested to see him against America's Jeremy Wariner, a Texan who is currently unbeatable over 400m, holds the third fastest time ever and who claimed in a press interview I saw him at here in Australia that he thinks he can run a sub 42 second lap, which is pure crazy talk.
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