You won't like my greatest Olympians but they are Tommie Smith, John Carlos and Cassius Clay because they used their sporting success to help to change the world. Though Smith and Carlos looked sinister on the podium and were ostracized for their beliefs they demonstrated that their achievements on track could not be divorced from life outside sport.
The world has now changed so much that a black man like Usain Bolt can be universally loved for the joy he brings to his races. We have come so far that a stick-thin black man who arrived as an eight-year-old with not much more than an infectious smile can be acclaimed across the country as the soon-to-be Sir Mo.
Sir Steve Redgrave also deserves consideration for having to put up with John Inverdale for more than 2 weeks .... but he's used to doing the same thing over and over, rowing. And Phelps ...... well isn't there a clutch of medals available if you are good? If you could do up 200 meters very fast at three different strokes you'd have at least thirteen individual medals available to you at one Olympics. Usain Bolt has just three ......
The world has now changed so much that a black man like Usain Bolt can be universally loved for the joy he brings to his races. We have come so far that a stick-thin black man who arrived as an eight-year-old with not much more than an infectious smile can be acclaimed across the country as the soon-to-be Sir Mo.
Sir Steve Redgrave also deserves consideration for having to put up with John Inverdale for more than 2 weeks .... but he's used to doing the same thing over and over, rowing. And Phelps ...... well isn't there a clutch of medals available if you are good? If you could do up 200 meters very fast at three different strokes you'd have at least thirteen individual medals available to you at one Olympics. Usain Bolt has just three ......