I stumbled across this article over on StraightToTheBar.com that brought my attention to the “Search for the Ultimate Athlete.“
Essentially, it’s a massive competition in Oregon next June, featuring 24 competitors (male and female) competing in 20 different sports to determine who is the best overall athlete IN THE WORLD (or something like that). Registration and preliminary rounds start in a few weeks. Honestly, I’m both excited to see how it pans out and also skeptical. Sure, the world’s best athlete is probably already making millions of dollars and won’t risk his career for this, but there will still be twenty-four elite athletes who probably aren’t great at one individual sport but pretty darn good at a whole bunch of them.
I started thinking about some of the best athletes that I know and whether or not they’d do well in this competition. This is all pure speculation, mostly because I would guess these guys have far better things to do than compete in such a tournament:
Lebron James – Could possibly end up as the best ever to play the game of basketball (he’s gotta start winning some Championships first though). What is certain is that he’s one of the most gifted athletes this world has ever seen. Lebron is 6’8″, 250 lbs, built like a freight train, can jump over tall buildings in a single bound, and run a 40 yard dash in 2 seconds. Okay the last two are a lie, but there’s no doubting how strong, powerful, and athletic he is. Many scouts believe that had he continued to play football instead of basketball, Lebron would be one of the NFL’s best wide receivers today.
Kelly Slater – 9-time world champion surfer, and scratch golfer. Ever tried surfing? you spend the entire time fighting Mother Nature, and she is NOT happy about it. By the end of a short surf session your arms are burning, your lungs are filled with water, and your shoulders are ready to fall off. If there are any games that require precision and accuracy like golf in this competition along with others that require strength and endurance, Kelly could turn some heads.
Georges St. Pierre – MMA fighter from Canada – One of the most athletically gifted and technically perfect athletes. Want to know how hard it is to be an MMA fighter? Former NFL player Marcus Jones is currently competing on the TV show “the ultimate fighter,” and he managed to get sick during the last episode from the intense workouts that MMA requires. “Afterward, he noted that he never had to work that hard in the NFL.” If GSP can make an MMA fight look easy (and he does), then I’d love to see what he can do with any other competition.
Makoto Nagano – One of the only two people to ever complete Ninja Warrior, one of my favorite television shows. If you aren’t familiar with the show, check it out on G4TV, you won’t regret it. Nagano is getting older and is only 5’3″ tall, which would lead me to believe that he could struggle with some of the challenges when competing with taller athletes. However, I’ve seen him do some absolutely amazing things, and he’s one of the strongest mof’s I’ve ever seen. His back, arm, and forearm strength is beyond insane.
Chuck Norris – has counted to infinity, twice. Also, he can sneeze with his eyes open.
Now, these are all hypothetical choices, and I would almost bet money that none of these guys end up on the show. Maybe if this first year competition becomes an annual, prestigious event will it start to attract truly some of the world’s greatest athletes.
Either way, I’m at least intrigued and I can’t wait to see what happens. Who are some of your favorite athletes, and how do you think they’d fare in this type of environment?
-Steve
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