We were already treated to a much-hyped clash of the titans in the form of 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps racing a Great White Shark to kick-off this year’s Shark Week on the Discovery Network. But another unexpected, high-profile battle may indeed be brewing.
While at an ‘Optus Speed Of Bolt’ party event in Sydney, Australia over the weekend, Olympic icons Ian Thorpe and recently retired track star Usain Bolt were speaking to the crowd when Bolt decided to throw out his hypothetical racing predictions. The Jamaican sprinter and reigning fastest man in the world told the audience that he can swim faster than 5-time Olympic gold medalist Thorpe, the man who owned 3 world records at one time and still owns two Australian long course national records in the 200m and 400m freestyle.
“First of all, I can swim faster than you,” Bolt said. “Are you ready for this? Let me say something, let’s analyse this. First of all, I’m taller than him which means my legs are longer than his, my shoulders are broader than yours and my hand reach is longer than yours, that’s three things that prove I can swim faster than him.
“You can probably do freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, whatever, but I can run on water, easy.” (The Sunday Telegraph)
Thorpe, along with the 400 VIP guests in attendance, reportedly responded to the statements with silence, which led the MC to comment, “Ian Thorpe came here to interview Usain Bolt, but Usain Bolt ended up interviewing Usain Bolt.”
Really idiotic
Bolt is 6-4 Thorpe is 6-5 and has size 17 feet…so hmm no 😉
Thorpe’ reply should have been, “oh yeah? Let’s go. Right now.”
Let them race.
At least Thorpe and Bolt wouldn’t be CGI.
He was probably joking! LOL
It’s true. Long legs are essential to swimming fast. No one with short legs has ever done anything important in swimming. Usain Bolt has proven that he knows the true science behind swimming.
Ummm, that is the exact opposite. Short legs are better, long torso. Phelps was made for swimming, and he both.
Someone missed the joke…
Apparently quite a few people missed the joke
It wasn’t even funny. Didn’t sound like a joke
Sarcasm is hard for beginners to grasp
Sven was being sarcastic. Bolt? Who knows…
True, swimmers are tall but don’t have long legs for their height. Most elite swimmers have longer bodies than legs in relationship to their height.
we got it, Cynthia
I wonder if this varies by stroke, though. Is a long torso better for short axis strokes, and are long legs better for long axis?
I’ve always wondered about this. I’m 6’3” and have abnormally long legs for my height. My best stroke by far is fly, and then free and back. I’m atrocious at breaststroke. I’ve always thought that shorter legs help with turns and kick.
Long arms & relative shorter legs is handy for quite a lot of sports.. I love looking at gymnastic lineups to check the arm lengths . Hilarious but also very beautifully simian .
Don’t know why no one laughed. Bolt has always been a playful jokester, it’s impossible to imagine that was meant as any kind of serious insult.
Bolt literally said he could “run on water.”
Which is highly heretical, only Jeebus can do that.
Wrong. Jesus only walked.
That’s why he said Jeebus