Sihine vs Powell?

ecoli

Two great careers, both amongst the greatest athletes in there disciplines, both lacking in Global titles but which one was the better " Non Champion"

If you look at Powells career it is simply phenomenal, 88 sub 10 100m and could very well be the first man to run 100 sub 10s. A former WR holder yet the man never managed better than a bronze individually at a global championships (unless you count Commonwealths)

Compare that to Sihine. 5 Silvers and a bronze in global track championships (double silver in Helsinki), not to mention a stellar Cross country career (again overshadowed by Bekele) Simply a case that he happened to be around at the time of the greatest distance runner to every live

downthemiddle

ecoli wrote: »

Two great careers, both amongst the greatest athletes in there disciplines, both lacking in Global titles but which one was the better " Non Champion"

If you look at Powells career it is simply phenomenal, 88 sub 10 100m and could very well be the first man to run 100 sub 10s. A former WR holder yet the man never managed better than a bronze individually at a global championships (unless you count Commonwealths)

Compare that to Sihine. 5 Silvers and a bronze in global track championships (double silver in Helsinki), not to mention a stellar Cross country career (again overshadowed by Bekele) Simply a case that he happened to be around at the time of the greatest distance runner to every live

Only one athlete can be champion at any given time. They are both superbly talented athletes who in all probability fulfilled their potential. 99.9% of athletes would love to have had their careers.

ecoli

downthemiddle wrote: »

Only one athlete can be champion at any given time. They are both superbly talented athletes who in all probability fulfilled their potential. 99.9% of athletes would love to have had their careers.

Completely agree and I think if Sihine had been 5 years later even his career may have got more recognition

Likewise Powell is one of the greatest 100m sprinters of all time but just so happens people will not remember as much simply because this became the bolt generation

myflipflops

ecoli wrote: »

Likewise Powell is one of the greatest 100m sprinters of all time but just so happens people will not remember as much simply because this became the bolt generation

The thing that always amazes me about the best 100 meter sprinters is their ability to perform under unbelievable pressure. Jerry Kiernan once described the tactics in a 100 meter race as 'wait for the gun and then go like the clappers". It was maybe the biggest load of b*llox Jerry ever spouted on TV and it annoyed me an enormous amount. I always considered the start line of a 100 meter final one of the most intense moments of pressure in any sport. Your season, your Olympic cycle or even your career is defined by your reaction to the gun. I have just always thought it to be incredibly tense and the greats of the sport perform time after time.

Powell has been to 5 World Champs and 3 Olympics as one of the main contenders and has a return of 2 individual bronze medals. He has failed to deal with that pressure time after time. Even after the arrival of Bolt when nobody was looking at Powell anymore, he still froze.

Screw the times, he is nowhere near being one of the greats.

Sihine would have a couple of world championship titles and probably an Olympic gold if he showed up in nearly any other era. No comparison between the 2 athletes.

Pisco Sour

Agree with MFF. Powell had ample opportunity to claim a global title before Bolt came on the scene so Usain Bolt can be in no way used as an excuse for his lack of success. It is as much down to Asafa Powell as it is to Usain Bolt.

Times are all well and good but athletes at that level are judged on their performances at major championships. I don’t think Powell would rate among the all-time greats of sprinting. However his longevity is certainly extremely impressive.

Superb athlete but when I think of him I can never help but think of a guy who doesn’t run through the line!