Usain Bolt and the "Mad Genius" Effect

Usain Bolt is unequivocally the fastest man on the planet. In fact, he is the fastest man in the recorded history of the planet. At the track and field world championships this week in Berlin, the Jamaican sprinter shattered his own world records in the 100 meter and 200 meter dash pushing the sport to new heights with previously unconscionable times.
9.58 seconds in the 100 meters. 9.58. For track and field enthuisiasts that number is “insane.” 9.58? I can remember when breaking 10 seconds in the 100 was a feat.
And 19.19 seconds in the 200 meters? Insane. I can still see Michael Johnson in the hot Atlanta air in summer of 1996 coming around the curve in the 200 meters, smoking the field and crossing the line in 19.30 seconds. The world thought that record would stand for a very, very long time. It was brilliant. But what Usain Bolt has done in the last 12 months is “mad genius.” It’s “insane.”
Truly, the physical feats are remarkable, but what I am finding most fascinating from a behavioral insight perspective is the field’s reaction to Bolt. His primary competitors are simply left in shock and awe of his genius:

American Sprinter Shawn Crawford: “He’s a gift to this earth…He’s a blessing to the track game. … I’m just waiting for the lights to flash ‘game over,’ ’cause I felt like I was in a video game. Even us in the field, we think there is going to be something phenomenal from him.”
American 200 Sprinter Wallace Spearmon: “Even if I run the best turn of my life, I’m still going to be behind.”
Former World Record holder Michael Johnson: “Anytime Usain Bolt steps on the track, a world record is possible.”
American Darvis Patton: “He’s like a created game person.”
Bolt’s top competitor Tyson Gay: “I’m happy he did it, it showed a human can take it to another level.”
Spearmon again: “Insane Bolt. That’s what we call him.”

This level of lavish praise on Bolt from the world’s top sprinting class is unheard of in a field traditionally filled with huge egos and smack talk. (Does anyone remember the smack talk and “run-off” between Micheal Johnson and Donovan Bailey at 150 meter distance to establish who was “the world’s fastest man?”) This unbounded praise from today’s top sprinters has made me think that we’re witnessing a manifestation of what psychologist’s call the “genius effect” among the top athletes of the world.
The genius effect, a term coined by social psychologist Mark Alicke in 1997, refers to a psychological phenomenon wherein people make comparisons of their performance to a person who has outperformed them and conclude that the individual must be a genius. This upward comparison allows for the preservation of the outperformed individual’s ego. Essentially, it’s akin to the thought “yes, I lost, but that guy who beat me is a genius so I can still feel good about my performance.”
The presence of these upward comparisons in our society is not in question. What is so remarkable here is that it is occurring within the restricted range of the world’s top athletes – this is the cream of the crop, the “geniuses among genuises” in their field. And the fact that we’re witnessing the genius effect among the best athletes of our time, emphasizes the true magnitude of Bolt’s achievements. Even the best in the world can only stand back in awe. (And for the social psychologists reading, this is a great example of how the genius effect can manifest even in the most restricted range of cases.)
It’s truly insane: it’s “mad” genius.