Who's The Real King Of Beijing?

Leave it to the always outspoken Donovan Bailey to throw down this gauntlet.
The American media has been falling all over itself in trying to define the greatness of swimmer Michael Phelps, who's got a record-tying seven Olympic gold medals in the bank at the Beijing Olympics. With No. 8 on deck tonight at the Water Cube.
Greatest Olympian ever. Greatest athlete in the world. We've heard them all.
Wait till they all catch word of what Bailey had to say about Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who destroyed the field in the men's 100 metres at the National Stadium (a.k.a. the Bird's Nest) this morning in an astounding world-record time of 9.69 seconds.
"The 100 metres is still the biggest single event of the Games," said Bailey, the 1996 Atlanta Games champ in that event, who's in Beijing as a track commentator for the CBC. "Michael Phelps is the star of the Games but Usain Bolt is absolutely the king of the Games.
"You're crowned king when you win the Games. I know that."
Now, you might recall back at those Atlanta Games, when Bailey won the 100 for Canada on U.S. soil, that NBC made a rather feeble attempt to declare American Michael Johnson (the 200 and 400-metre gold medallist) the "world's fastest man" (a title that traditionally goes to the 100 winner).
We can only imagine how NBC will react to Bailey's boasts (you know, after they show the race on tape tonight). Bolt, however, wouldn't be drawn into the argument when interviewed by the CBC's Elliotte Friedman.
"I don't think I can equal that," said Bolt of Phelps' achievements. "That guy is great. I've been watching all his races. He's an inspiration (to me)."
Bailey might be more than a little biased, though. He's known Bolt for years and shares the new sprint king's Jamaican heritage. After the semi-finals, he had predicted "you are going to see something special" in the final from Bolt, who began celebrating his victory with 15 metres to go (Bailey believes he could have gone perhaps as fast as 9.58 seconds if he'd run full-out to the finish. CBC's Michael Smith suggested 9.40 was even possible).
Amazingly, Bolt became the first-ever Olympic 100-metre champ wearing the colours of Jamaica, a country with a strong sprinting heritage. Bailey knows what this will mean to the tiny island nation.
"At some point in the next few years, (this day) will be a national holiday in Jamaica," said Bailey, whose previous Olympic-record time of 9.84 seconds lasted for 12 years. "Usain Bolt is that special. Most 6-foot-6 guys are playing basketball, football, whatever. He's doing things no human being has ever done."
More than reason enough for an Usain Bolt Day back home, to be sure.
(Prime-time update: Bailey said he thinks Bolt's face will appear on Jamaican currency, too).
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Bad timing award: CBC's Mark Lee gave us an interesting look underneath the stands of the Bird's Nest, taking viewers into the area where track athletes wait before they're called into the stadium for their events.
The report was taped, which became even more obvious when Lee said "imagine what it will be like watching Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay and Usain Bolt sitting side-by-side here" before the 100-metre final.
A nice thought except for one thing: Gay, the reigning world champ and big American hope, had already been eliminated in the semi-finals. Oops.
Lee, by the way, hit all the right notes in calling the race. Here's the way he described Bolt's triumph: “Look at Bolt, holding nothing back now. Big strides, full speed, stopping the clock in a new world record — 9.68. No man has ever run that fast in the planet. Sensational.”
That about says it all, doesn't it?
(the 9.68 was later rounded up to 9.69, if you're wondering).
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Their homeland had three sprinters in the 100 final but Jamaica's television crew was relegated to working from a trailer outside the Bird's Nest for a race that no doubt had the entire island glued to its TV sets.
CBC gave us a look at their call of the event, in which the announcer — working off a monitor in the trailer — said "Bolt has destroyed the field." The pride in his voice was unmistakable and understandably so.