Usain Bolt and Simone Biles: Athletes of the Year (2016)

http://www.bbc.com/sport/38976144

It looks like Usain Bolt has officially secured his fourth Athlete of the Year award, while gymnast Simone Biles takes home the prize for female athlete of the year following her incredible four gold medals at the Olympics.
With this win, Bolt actually ties him record with Roger Federer for the most awards ever received. It’s worth keeping in mind that since this honor hasn't been handed out since 2000, we're really looking at the definitive icons of the 21st century here. Also, Michael Phelps managed to snag the comeback of the year award.

bzv, I wouldn't give it to him. He’s already accomplished everything he set out to do by pulling off another medal triple, but Usain Bolt is the textbook example of a modern athlete managed by a crew where the bottom line is the only thing that matters. In his mind, just showing up to the Olympics is enough to check all the boxes.
You rarely see him competing throughout the year because nobody is willing to foot the bill for his entry fees upfront.

In my opinion, this should have gone to Andy Murray or LeBron James. Even if LeBron couldn't care less about the Laureus awards, he was still the most deserving pick for the honor.

I don't really follow basketball, but I'm a bit confused about why they mentioned Andy Murray. He only managed to grab one Grand Slam, didn't he? Usually, when players win those kinds of awards, they've typically secured at least three Grand Slams during the season.
The whole point is that nobody else reached that level of absolute dominance in their respective sports back in 2016 quite like Usain Bolt did, even if his actual times weren't his absolute fastest that year. He definitely ran faster at other points in his career.

Look, I’m pretty sure there are people out there who deserve the title more than Usain Bolt when you look at how the entire season played out, but man—defending all three titles in a row? That is seriously impressive. 🙏

Simone Biles was absolutely incredible at the Olympics, but honestly, I just don't follow her much outside of

It’s actually quite fascinating to think about how the top athlete of the year (according to Track & Field News)
doesn't turn out to be Usain Bolt, but instead goes to the 400m world record holder, Wayde van Niekerk 🤣

Harold Anderson3 said:I don't follow basketball, but why Andy Murray? He only won one Grand Slam. Usually, tennis players take home those awards after winning three Grand Slams in a single season.
The point is that nobody dominated their sport quite like Usain Bolt did in 2016, even if his times weren't actually at their absolute peak that year. He’s run much faster before.

Personally, I think these multi-sport awards are pretty pointless. They just don't make sense.
It feels wrong to compare someone like Usain Bolt, who might win eight 100m races in a season, to pro tennis players battling through Grand Slams and Masters tournaments.
If you want to give Usain Bolt that kind of weight, he'd need to compete way more often. Three wins in a season just isn't enough to crown an athlete of the year. Comparing him to top-tier tennis pros—who rack up about 50 wins a season and grind through twenty matches lasting over three hours—is just a bad comparison.

The very nature of certain sports makes it impossible to put them in the same category. You can't judge athletes across different disciplines using the same yardstick.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Personally, I’ve always felt that multi-sport awards just don't make much sense.
It feels wrong trying to compare someone like Usain Bolt, who might run the 100m eight times in a season, to a pro tennis player picking up Grand Slams or masters titles.
If we want Bolt to carry that kind of weight, he’d need to be competing way more often. Just three wins in a season doesn't really cut it for an athlete of the year. Trying to lump him in the same category as elite tennis players who rack up fifty wins a year and play twenty matches lasting over three hours just seems a bit off to me.

The very nature of certain sports makes it impossible to compare them fairly, so judging athletes across different disciplines based on the same criteria just doesn't sit right with me.

I see this sports award much like the oscar for film—some people will swear by it, while others will argue it's totally arbitrary. It’s essentially the same debate we have with the oscar.
There is definitely a level of subjectivity involved since you can't accurately measure every single sport through a simple vote. That said, the jury members are actually quite respectable, consisting of former pros and genuine legends of the game. It also helps to consider that this past year was a bit weak, as there weren't many truly dominant athletes in any single discipline. For instance, back in 2009, Bolt took home about 90% of the total votes, whereas this year the margin was much tighter.