Best Athletes & Bodies
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Amory
There's all sorts of exciting things going on in the world of non revenue sport/fitness/athleticism (call it what you will). The 2012 Olympics are about the kick off and there has been significant TV coverage of the Olympic trials for track & field, gymnastics, swimming, etc. The CrossFit Games just came to an end which featured some interesting tests of fitness ie: a triathalon, standing long jump, and a Camp Pendleton obstacle course (among other things). The athletes in each sport display amazing abilities-it's fascinating to see people perform at the highest level who are masters of their craft.
You can't help but notice how many different body types there are in sport and particularly how a certain body type seems to correspond to it's specific sport. Is it the body type that helped allow the person to excel in his/her sport? Or was it the hours and years of practice and competition that created the body?
Another thought that lingers is can the difficulty of one sport be compared to another? I watch the gymnastics trials and think "that looks crazy! I could never do that." But perhaps that same gymnast would think the same about Olympic weightlifting, or a decathalon.
What type of athletes body most appeals to you? And what sport do you find to be the most amazing? Please post to comments.
Workout of The Day
Strength-
B.Squat 86%x2x5
Conditioning-
5 Sets
50m Sled Trip
2 Rope Climbs
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Reader Comments (5)
It's hard to say that biology is on-par with training, yet, there is undeniable truth therein. At the most elite levels of competition, gymnasts cannot be 6' tall - just like top basketball players can't be 5' tall - and no amount of training can change the physics. However, watching the IronMan this year, a woman who previously weighed over 300lbs and a man with no legs finished the race.
As an ancillary issue, the best thing about sports competition is that athletes compete against themselves. Each person wants to be the best and they want to compete against other people who are also at their best. No one wants to "win" because someone else "fails". In gymnastics, every competitor applauds their competition and feels compassion when someone falls. At the CrossFit games, Annie Thorisdotter and Annie Sokomoto comforted another competitor who was struggling because heckling another person, kicking someone while they're already down, is the worst kind of unsportsmanship. True athletes cheer each other on.
I love fit bodies! But I most admire those with strong minds, discipline, and will. Those are the folks who are going to achieve high goals.
I appreciate all high level sports and the athletes who do them, however, I have to say that gymnastics is the most amazing to me because the difficulty of the skills requires such incredible strength and focus. The athletic build I admire most is that of the runner...I love the lean, tall build that most runners have, for no reason! I just like it :)
I've bumped into Alex Honnold a few times now in Yosemite and had a chance to hang out a bit the day before he and Hans Florine broke the speed record on El Capitan last month. Alex is well known for climbing some of the hardest routes in the world without a rope (Google, "The Ascent of Alex Honnold" for a glimpse). From a mental strength perspective, I just don't know what compares. If I even have a little more slack in the rope than I'm used to, I get completely spooked. He gets freaked out halfway up Half Dome and needs a minute to regroup.
Swimmers also amaze me in terms of technique, efficiency, etc. It's not like they have different feet than I do, but I need my body boarding fins just to make it from one end to the other. And they can swim 50m in like, two seconds? What the heck is that about?
It doesn't get a lot of press, but Tai Chi completely amazes me. Non-rest-home-recreation, legit tai chi takes soft style martial arts to a new level. Check this out (3:00-3:45 if you don't want to watch the entire thing): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBvF6r6DOvc I think the Tekki Shodan katas are as awesome and as impressive as anyone else, but I had to learn something very similar to this for my third brown and it took half a year simply not to look arthritic.
In terms of bodies, I'd be happy to look like my body's version of Mikko, Josh Bridges, or Rich Froning any day.
In terms of complete awe: any video currently available of Pyrros Dimas.
I find almost all sports amazing, but I especially like watching the less conventional sports such as strong man, competitive eating, or sumo wrestling.