ITH Poker Forum

[Dogs]

Watching the Aussie Open final yesterday, I was rather awestruck by the two guys on display. Not so much because they kept at it for almost 6 hours, but because the quality of play at the end was so high - there was no limping over the finishing line here. The only glimpse we really got of just how spent they were was when they had problems standing during the rather pointless speeches of the awards ceremony, and was glad someone had the sense to bring them a chair and bottle of water.

Afterwards I was wondering what other sports have athletes on this level. Lots of comparisons between apples and oranges. The main contender I could think of was cycling, where in showpieces like the Tour de France they're in the saddle for several hours almost every day for 3 weeks. Ironman triathletes also popped up, but I found harder to evaluate in the same way - when they compete they do one super tough day, but won't be returning a day or two later to repeat.

Anyone care to put forward other nominations?

[mconstab]

The only obvious one to me is someone like Mo Farah who runs at a blistering consistent pace for thousands of metres and then throws in his fastest lap on the last lap. I do think you can apply the ultimate athlete to a lot of sports though, they're perhaps not just as obvious.

[darvon]

It depends how you define "ultimate athlete". You are really talking about endurance to some extent, but mitigated that you do it every two days for a couple of weeks in a major.

Probably swimmers have a comparable caloric output in a multi-day tourney.

And NBA players also. But their games are shorter.


But does a 4 hour exertion every 2 days for 10 days make the Ultimate Athlete?

Marathoners do a deep caloric burn.

NFL does maximum impact.

MLB pitching probably does most muscle tendon damage as a matter of course.

Sprinting does most intense burn, as do swim sprints.

Soccer has sustained caloric depletion.

Probably the NBA produces athletes that could do best in other sports, because most sports give a benefit for stride length and wing span.

[nsidestrate]

Cycling events like the Tour de France are probably the ultimate test of endurance athletes where they do it day in and day out for my money. The amount of effort those guys put out day in and day out is superhuman. I think that elite level performances in the Ironman require some pretty incredible effort on a daily basis even though they don't race every day, but I don't think it compares to the sustained effort of a major bike tour. The only other event that may demand more is cross country skiing. I know that a key measure of fitness is something called VO2 Max which basically measures your bodies ability to deliver oxygenated blood. Elite runners and bikers have been tested at 85-88. Cross country skier Bjorn Dahlie recorded a VO2 max of 96.

You'd probably also have to consider water polo and rowing. There are also ultra-endurance runners who probably merit consideration.

[darvon]

About cross sports.

There used to be a show called Superstars, where athletes competed in tests. The athletes were from all varied sports. They could not compete in their own sport and the tests were selected to showcase different attributes, strength speed hand-eye, etc.

The people that always did best were the Field guys, like pole vaulting or high jump.

[darvon]

Endurance is a big part of "athlete" but is it the biggest.

Consider same question for dexterity, or hand eye coord. Which is the sport requiring the highest Dex? And is agility the same as Dex?

[mconstab]

Endurance is a big part of "athlete" but is it the biggest.

Consider same question for dexterity, or hand eye coord. Which is the sport requiring the highest Dex? And is agility the same as Dex?

Formula 1 has to be right up there for hand eye coordination.

[darvon]

F1 and Nascar. I don't know how to figure that.

From the stick sports, I think NHL goalie is max hand/eye, even over MLB batter.

[Llanlad]

Novak bothers me somewhat ..

Where has this form come from ? ..all of a sudden he can outlast everyone .. no matter how many long matches he plays .

Can someone tell me what he ate against Murray ? .. he tried to hide the fact he was putting something in his mouth ... why would he do that ?

Im not saying hes on PEDS or anything .... but hes doing something differently compared to over a year ago.

[mconstab]

F1 and Nascar. I don't know how to figure that.

I'd personally say that F1 requires more hand eye coordination than Nascar but obviously you're going to need decent awareness and reaction times when driving 3 wide and in a pack. I think the age of the drivers is a good indicator with F1 drivers seemingly getting younger and younger now as opposed to the older Nascar driver. To me the real debate would be F1 and Indy Car.

[mconstab]

Novak bothers me somewhat ..

Where has this form come from ? ..all of a sudden he can outlast everyone .. no matter how many long matches he plays .

Can someone tell me what he ate against Murray ? .. he tried to hide the fact he was putting something in his mouth ... why would he do that ?

Im not saying hes on PEDS or anything .... but hes doing something differently compared to over a year ago.

I'm by no means an avid viewer of Tennis but I've never seen a player move as quick as Djokovic.

[leofric]

Endurance is a big part of "athlete" but is it the biggest.

Consider same question for dexterity, or hand eye coord. Which is the sport requiring the highest Dex? And is agility the same as Dex?

Not as much physical effort maybe but I've always considered trying to hit something the size of a baseball with a mallet no bigger than the ball whilst riding a horse to be "rather tricky"

So my vote would be polo

[leofric]

Re the tennis I'm not sure we've had an era where there are four players who can play such a consistently higher standard than everyone else. There have been dominant individuals but the standard in both semis and the final is something on a different level.

Assuming tennis players are subject to drug tests the same as everyone else I can't see how they would be taking anything illegal.

[Piemaster]

Actually as well as having ninja reflexes, F1 drivers are also *extremely* fit.

http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews ... /9277.html

[mconstab]

Actually as well as having ninja reflexes, F1 drivers are also *extremely* fit.

http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews ... /9277.html

Yep an F1 driver has to be considered the ultimate athlete imo, I think that would be my choice.