Jacques Rogge Drawing More Heat For Comments About Usain Bolt

Rogge Receiving Criticism Over Comments About Bolt

FEELING IRIE! In Toronto, Steve Simmons writes of Bolt, "This is a young man bringing breathtaking brilliance and child-like joy simultaneously to the Games. Rogge should be bowing down and thanking him instead of taking shots." There is "no need for the fastest man in the history of mankind to change, we like him just the way he is" (TORONTO SUN, 8/22). In DC, Tom Knott writes, "Bolt is having way too much fun in a discipline that measures greatness by hundreds of a second. He is the sunshine to [U.S. swimmer Michael] Phelps' primal scream. Both exude an air of goofiness" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 8/22). IOC Athletes Commission Chair Frankie Fredericks said, "You can't tell a guy who has run 9.69 [seconds] how to react." Fredericks added of Bolt's behavior after the 100m final, "It's difficult for me to tell you I would not have done it. It was a unique moment for an athlete who has worked very hard" (GUARDIAN.co.uk, 8/22). In L.A., Jerry Crowe writes Bolt is the "type of outsized talent and engaging personality that could lead a track and field revival in the [U.S.], but it's probably too late" (L.A. TIMES, 8/22).

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