Bolt, Definitely

I'm interrupting a heated debate with a co-worker to write this: Usain Bolt's triple gold medal, triple world record performance is a bigger deal than Michael Phelps' 8 golds.

She hoots at the notion, but I am arguing that what Bolt just did, and the way he did it, trumps Phelps' epic effort.

Understand: I do not dismiss the magnitude of Phelps' accomplishment. But those who say it was bigger than Bolt's feat because he won 8 medals instead of 3 miss the point. Track athletes have fewer events in which to win medals than do swimmers (or gymnasts).

Phelps was good--but Bolt owned his competition. His win in the 200 was one for the ages. The Jamaican 4 x 100 relay broke the world record by 3 tenths of a second, which boggles the mind. If only he hadn't gone into early-celebration mode in the 100 meters...who knows? And he still set a world record!

Phelps was terrific in Beijing. I'm not sure we have the word yet for what Bolt did.