In Viral Video Race, Bolt Beats Phelps

By Daisy Whitney

Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt generated more viral videos related to his record-setting races in the Beijing Olympics than did American Michael Phelps, who swam away with a record eight gold medals.

Online video measurement firm Visible Measures said the Jamaican sprinter had logged more than 10.5 million views of related viral videos on the Web by the end of the Olympics, compared to 8.3 million views for Phelps-related videos.

Prior to the Olympics, Visible Measures said it was able to identify only 32 video clips related to Mr. Bolt, and that they had earned fewer than 650,000 views online. By comparison, Mr. Phelps had logged 92 placements and nearly 1.9 million views before the Opening Ceremony started.