Michael Phelps vs Usain Bolt

"I never knew how fast I was going. One aim was just to win and do what I have to do." --Usain Bolt after his 100m world record gold medal performance in Beijing

Usain Bolt entered the Beijing Olympics as one of the favorites in the 100m and 200m. The reigning world record holder in the 100m (9.72 at the time) and runner of the fastest 200m of the year (19.67 at the time) was expected to medal in Beijing. But...

At the time--people are probably forgetting this right now--Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay were considered to be nearly equal candidates to take the gold in these races. On top of that, Usain Bolt was a mere 21 years old, and didn't have any championship race experience. How would he handle the pressure?

Bolt gave the world its first glance in the 100m, when he dominated his prelims with ease and came out dancing for the final. With a decent--but far from great--start, he was equal with everyone after 40 meters and by 80 meters he had such a commanding lead that he put it in cruise control, pounded his chest, and still crossed the line in 9.69, a new world record. There is significant debate over just how fast Bolt could have run had he not eased up at the finish.

Four days later, after cruising through three more sets of prelims, Bolt came out for the 200 meters. The build-up to this race was a different story. There was no longer any doubt as to who should win the race. Now people expected a record.

But the only record to be taken was Michael Johnson's 19.32 run 1996 Olympic Final. That race was not only a 12-year old world record. It was the fastest race ever run by .28 seconds. Nobody had ever come close. But would the fans expect anything less?

When Bolt came out for the 200m final, he looked as relaxed as ever. He rubbed his head and pointed to the crowd when he was announced, and simply oozed confidence. It was clear then that he would win. The question was whether he would run through the tape.

At the gun, Bolt took off from lane 4 and halfway through the turn, had passed people in every lane. (He arguably caused two athletes to step out of their lanes and get disqualified by being so far ahead of them so quickly.) He had a massive lead by the half-way mark and never let up. He pressed to the line and clocked a new world record 19.30, making him the first man to set two sprint world record at the same Olympics.

The two-time gold medalist and two time world record-holder wasn't done, though. His team was still the favorite to win the gold in the 4x100m. He didn't run in the prelims, but Jamaica qualified easily for the final. With the US dropping the baton, Jamaica's likelihood of winning the gold went way up. But they wanted more than a gold. They wanted history.

Nesta Carter led off and handed to Michael Frater. Frater handed the baton to Bolt in the lead, and Bolt ran a smoking turn (clocked unofficially at 8.9 seconds!), to hand off to Asafa Powell who powered home to a Jamaican victory in 37.10, far surpassing the 16-year old world record of 37.40 set by the Americans in 1992. Bolt was now three for three for three: 3 Races, 3 Golds, 3 World Records.

Learn More about Usain Bolt

Wikipedia: Usain Bolt

Discovering Bolt: Who is Usain, and should we be surprised?

"I want to test my maximum and see how much I can do. And I want to change the world of swimming." --Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps entered the Olympics with the highest expectations of any athlete outside of Liu Xiang (the Chinese hurdler who won gold in Athens). He was entered in 8 races over 9 days, favored to win all 8, and had the potential to break the world record in most if not all of them. He did just that.

His 1st race was arguably his toughest: the 400m individual medley. All four strokes, 100m each, non-stop. It just so happens that this is also Phelps' most dominant event. He swam a brilliant race, winning by almost 2.5 seconds in a world record time 4:03.84.

Phelps' 2nd race was certainly the most dramatic, and will likely be his most remembered. The 4 x 100 freestyle saw the US facing a strong French team that included the 100m freestyle world record holder, Alain Bernard, who predicted the French would "crush" the Americans.

Phelps led off with a 47.51 second first leg, touching in second place. Garrett Weber-Gale and Cullen Jones slipped to half a second behind the French by the final leg. At that point, Jason Lezak swam the fastest leg ever (46.06) to come from behind on Bernard and seal the victory for the US in a world record, 3:08.24.

Phelps' 3rd race was the 200m freestyle. He went out hard and had the lead by the first 50m. No other competitor swam any portion of the race as fast as Phelps swam, and Phelps won the race by nearly 2 seconds in 1:42.96.

His 4th race was the 200m butterfly. Phelps touched the wall after 50m in 2nd, but moved into the lead after a solid second leg. 2nd place finisher Laszlo Cseh made an effort to catch up with the fastest 3rd leg of the race, but Phelps was too strong and kicked in to finish in a world record 1:52.03.

Phelps' 5th final came one hour after his 200m butterfly victory. It was the 4 x 200m freestyle. Phelps led with a blistering first leg, coming in a solid 2 seconds ahead of the next closest competitor in 1:43.31. Ryan Lochte then extended the lead, and Ricky Berens maintained it. Peter Vanderkaay finished off the race and brought the US home with a 6:58.56 world record victory.

Phelps' 6th race was the 200m medley. With a day off (well, no finals at least) Phelps was a little more rested than for his previous races. He took control early and was out-paced on only one leg, the backstroke (but by only one competitor). He swam consistently faster than his competition and won by 2 seconds in a world record 1:54.23.

Phelps' 7th race created the most intrigue. It was the 100m butterfly, and he made it to the turn far from the lead. He then flew down the lane and caught up to the leader, Milorad Cavic, and touched the wall .01 seconds ahead of him in an Olympic record 50.58. There was some controversy, and the race was protested, but the protest was thrown out. This was the only race in which Phelps did not get a world record.

In his 8th and final race, Phelps competed in the 4 x 100m medley. The team--Aaron Piersol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps, and Jason Lezak--got out to a commanding lead and went on to break the world record in a time of 3:29.34.