Why is Non-American Usain Bolt getting so much coverage in the U.S.?

Question

We wouldnt be celebrating a Russain athlete like this..Why is there hardly mention of all the American atletes who won..We have more medals in Track and Field than Jamacia.

Answer 1

He not only won but gap with opponents was huge, world and Olympic records. I  enjoy great achievements in sports, U.S. and otherwise.

Answer 2

Because he's awesome and America likes to recognize awesome athletes from all over the world.

Russian athletes have gotten this publicity in the past as well.

Answer 3

b/c he's better then the usa team

Answer 4

Here is what Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports had to say in his Olympics Winners & Losers column:

WINNER – Usain Bolt

Track seemed all but dead a couple weeks ago. Then along came this flamboyant speedster out of Jamaica.

He won three gold medals and set three world records, all while electrifying fans around the globe. He wasn’t just fast; he was flashy, a personality, a 6-foot-5 game changer who simply gobbled up track with each stride.

There hadn’t been anything in track like him in years, and coming off an era of extreme doping, he couldn’t have come at a better time.

LOSER – Jacques Rogge

If you wonder why everyone calls the International Olympic Committee out of touch, consider that while most of the world was celebrating Bolt, the organization’s president decided he should use his considerable bully pulpit to rip him for supposed showboating.

Rogge is a classic stiff-collared bureaucrat. His organization has made billions off athletes such as Bolt for years, yet he has to find someone to pick on.

He’s deathly frightened of criticizing any major nation – such as China, which broke a hundred promises to him in staging these games. He wouldn’t dare mention any of the dozens of athletes from big countries whose celebrations were just as bold.

A single sprinter from a small, impoverished, powerless island nation? Sure, hammer away.

Fortunately, Bolt came back and didn’t change his act at all in winning his third gold in the 4x100 relay. Rogge will soon fade into obscurity for a while.

- End of article -

As an American I think Bolt was/is a story that I would want to see. An uncensored version of reality is what I prefer. For those of you (like you) who want to go through life with blinders on, you can choose to read the papers and watch television or you can choose to stick your head in the ground while reality passes you by. It's your choice.

Answer 5

Because he is an awesome athlete. I do believe Sergei Bubka was famous in the USA for his pole vaulting. Usain Bolt is doing the 100M and 200M which I think Americans can more closely relate to as well.

Michael Johnson performed outstandingly on these two distances so I understand why there is so much focus when Usain Bolt betters his times.

Edit. I'm having difficulty combining these two statements.

"We wouldnt be celebrating a Russain athlete like this"

"The media is only shoving foriegn athletes in our faces.."

Are you against the US media showing too many foreign athletes in general or just the Jamaican ones?

Answer 6

man quit hating. in each event he was in, the man not only won gold, but broke olympic and world records doing it. and he has also put track and field back in the spotlght.

Answer 7

Usain Bolt is making history and shattered the previous records held by americans.

Usain is as cordial as Micheal Phelps, who is enjoying international celebrity.

Answer 8

umm we do have Jamaican people living in this country

stop being so biased and closeminded

Answer 9

its because Bolt is the fastest man alive right now. he CRUSHED the 100m and didnt even try the whole time. he also broke the world record in the 200m which NOBODY thought it cold be broken. and helped set another WR and another gold medal in the men's 4x100m

i think regardless of where he is from he deserves all the coverage he is getting

Answer 10

Because he is AMAZING! and he trained in the US.

Answer 11

thanks to you the rest of the world hates us

Answer 12

he made history breaking 3 world records ummmm and u think he doesnt deseve it? he did a clean sweep of the mens sprinting events

Answer 13

First Bolt trains in the US like most of the Jamacans.

Second, his performance was incredible and Americans can appreciate that level of performance from any athlete. We did the same thing Nadia Cominche (I can't spell that name!) and Olga Korbut

Answer 14

Because he is AMAZING! and he trained in the US.

*************************************

HE TRAINED IN JAMAICA.

Why si it so hard for some Americans to understand that he did not train in the US.  HE IS JAMAICAN, BORN, BRED AND TRAINED the US can not claim victory for his success.

Answer 15

The 100-meter is a very high-profile event, and its winner is traditionally said to be the World's Fastest Man. He set a new record in this event, as well as the 200-meter.

Furthermore, he speaks English, is from North America, and is from a non-world power, so it makes him an interesting story to an American audience.

I can't tell you why those other stories you listed are not getting more attention, only why Bolt is getting the attention he is.

Answer 16

Because he is the fastest man in the world. That is a huge feat. The track and field sprint events are the bread and butter of the Olympics. The US didnt do anything  in these events, so you have to talk about fastest man in the world that smashed the 2 world records.

Answer 17

I'm a Jamaican and in my opinion they have been doing a good job at showing different athletes from all over the world the point of the Olympics is to promote unity . Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world and has shattered records that have been around for years. Micheal Phelps has been getting tons of recognition and many others. Us magazine had aa full spread of Bryan Clay if you bothered to read it!

Answer 18

what kind of ignorant question is this?

Usain Bolt is getting coverage because he is the fastest man in human history. He smashed 2 WORLD RECORDS...records that nobody thought would ever be broken within this generation.

Also, so what if they cover foreign atheletes? the olympics is an INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION! Obviously there would be athletes from other countries present, and the US cant win in EVERY competition so if someone else gets the gold, why cant they get they shine? If other countries decided not to show american athletes we would be in an uproar of anger!

Answer 19

Lol

He broke two world records in the Olympics getting two gold medals in the process of course thats something to put in the media.

You also dont like the Caribbeans now also.

You lot did great in your relays we all saw it but the ones before them lol.

Yeah two world records of course its gonna be a better story to sell

Answer 20

After NBC monopolized broadcasting rights, they pretty much had the responsibility to be less biased in their coverage.  I still think they were way too biased, but any more biased coverage would have been absolutely inexcusable.  They did show everything you mentioned, you just had to watch at the right time.

Usain Bolt gets all the coverage he does because he's the biggest breakout athlete in Beijing 2008.  He's the biggest name that was not known before.  Everyone knew about Michael Phelps, Liu Xiang, and Guo Jing Jing before these Games, but Usain Bolt was a relatively obscure name.  Now he crushed the world record and the competition in both the 100m and 200m with the wind in his face, which, in my mind, puts him up there in the top 5 best athletic competitors of all time.  Remember he even didn't run as hard as he could for all 100m either.

It's not all about Americans, especially when the biggest new name of the Olympics is Usain Bolt.