I am always awed by The Olympics. Yes, it has become over-commercialized and over-sensationalized, same as most sporting events, but all the same seeing athletes from all over the world come and compete in events that we don’t normally see (at least here in the US) is so much fun. My favorites are the swimming and diving competitions, but I also enjoy the sprinters and gymnastics. We don’t have cable any more so our evenings, starting at 8pm, were tuned to NBC.

The Olympics are fun, I love to learn, I love history and I love technology. So when I find something that melds all these pieces together, I just have to share. The New York Times produced three amazing visualizations focusing on different areas of The Olympics. These are well worth the 5 minutes per to watch:

1. Usain Bolt is fast, but how much faster is he than every other 100 meter sprinter in history?
2. How does this year’s gold medal 100 meter freestyle swimmer match up to every medalist that came before?
3. Is athleticism helping medalists fly farther in the long jump?

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(via The Verge)