Usain Bolt should not be crowned the 'Fastest Man in the World'

It is my belief that, although Usain Bolt is an exceptional 100 and 200m he should seen as the fastest man in the world. It's not that I think there are others better at the 100m metres that deserve the ceremonious title, Usain has shown himself to be the king of the shortest races. I believe that the 100m (or even 200m) race should not be what decides who the fastest man in the world is. It is my contention that the winner of the 400m or 800m should hold the crown. I will look at why I think this is the case soon, but I would first like to acknowledge the reasons why multiple running lengths are included in any athletics meet. First of all it caters to different types of athletes. Some people are simply born with more fast twitch fibers in their muscles which make them move faster and be more accustomed to sprinting. Some people are tall and skinny and while there top speed is not great, they excel at maintaining it. Because of this it is impossible to compare the attributes of say a 3000m runner to 100m sprinter and compare them in terms of racing. However, because the 400m race is still short and is often considered a sprint, the comparisons between a 100m runner and a 400m runner are not all that unreasonable. The first reason why I believe that the 400m race is a better way of naming the fastest man in the world than the 100 or 200m is because it is a much harder race to run. The winner at London, Kirani James from Grenada, ran the race in a time of 43.94 seconds. To make this easier lets round it off to 44s. We then divide this by 4 and we come to 12s. So, on average, James had to run just under 12s for each of his 4 hundred metres or two 200m's of just under 22s. [1]Now, when you compare these times to Usain Bolts' 9.58s world record in the 100 and 19.19s record in the 200, it does not seem that close. However a 400m runner, not only has to be able to run fast, but maintain that pace over a longer period of time, essentially Usain bolt only has to run flat out for 19.19s at the most while James had to do it for 43.94s, making the 400m race not only a test of speed, but a test of willpower and endurance. [2]Similarly to 800m race, won in London by David Rudisha in a world record time of 1:40.91, you have to have the perfect mix between elite speed, and the ability to maintain this speed. Lets say that Rudishas' time was about 100s Divide this by 8 and you get 12.5s for every 100m of the race or 25 seconds for every 200. The ability to run 8 100m's in a row with an average time of 12.5 seconds is remarkable. First of all to reach that speed in the first place is not something that most people are able to do, but to sustain it 8 times over is a Herculean effort. [3]I would also like to add one last point to my argument, and perhaps this is more important than times or distances, but making the winner of the shortest races the fastest man in the world reflects badly on our culture an the things we value. Ultimately it is the perception of the media and the public that the winner of the 100m race is the 'fastest man in the world' there is no trophy with this engraved on it or anything like that. By saying that a man who only has to run for a brief period of time and then stop is the worlds best runner, we are saying that we value efforts that are short lived an unsustainable. In a time where we need to develop sustainable ways of living more than ever if we want any chance of being able to save out planet from destruction. Would it not be better than to shift our focus to runners like David Rudisha and Kirani James, who not only satisfy the criteria by being fast, but also must be able to sustain this speed. If we placed as much focus on these athletes as we did on Bolt then it would send a more positive message to the next generation of leaders, we don't want an effort that sparks for 19 seconds then finishes, we want a solution that takes this initiative but is able to carry it through and maintain it. We need more thinking like this, especially amongst the people who will grow up to be leaders, and what better way to do it than to stop glorifying athletes like 100m runners and teach kids that it better to be a more like a 400m runner. A person who is not only capable of achieving great things, but of continuing it as well. Over to you Con Sources: [1] . http://www.london2012.com...[2] . http://usainbolt.com...[3] . http://www.london2012.com...