CrossFit Oakland

Womens beach volleyball. For obvious reasons.

As for what sports produce the best athletes you can add that to religion, abortion, gay rights, and global warming as arguments that will never be solved.

Most amazing athelete

This cat is amazing - Shane Hamman - former US Olympic lifter, did the greatest recognized squat: 457.5kg

Can also do a standing backflip, dunk a basketball with 2 hands (he's 5 9, 350lbs), hit a golf ball over 300 yards.

Strength, agility, explosiveness, balance....that is Crossfit!

Favorite to watch - gotta be gymnastics. Actually kinda tired of watching the two volleyball players.

I am all over this post.

The finest athletes (aesthetically speaking): Female Sprinters - end of discussion.

The finest athletes (pure athletic skill):

1. Basketball- Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, etc. No one at the olympics can match their combination of size, speed, quickness, explosion, ability to change direction, or their fine motor skills.

2. Decathletes - Bryan Clay - he runs a 10.36 in 100, a 47.78 in 400, has a long jump of 7.96 and throws the shot put 16 feet for Christ's sake.

3. Gymnasts - How often do we see such a ridiculous combination of strength and explosive ability wrapped-up in the bodies of midgets?

738. Olympic lifters - their athleticism ranks just above rec league baseball catchers with Halley's Comet tattoos on their left infraspinatus fascia.

> Which of the Olympic sports do you think produce the finest athletes, the most well-rounded athletes?

I would guess gymnasts and decathletes. The gymnasts are so strong, flexible, and graceful. The decathletes have to do so many things. I think they wing the well-rounded contest.

> And also, which of the Olympic sports do you find the most interesting or fun to watch?

I am really digging Phelps lay the smack down on the rest of the world in the pool. However, I think I like the rings the best because it is just so freakish. I haven't watched any judo yet. However, given that I will probably be at home for much of tomorrow clutching my throbbing skull in pain, I probably will. Sentimental favorite for me is weightlifting. It is most like what I do in my spare time and it makes me realize just how weak I am. However, watching the sickos in our gym humbles me pretty well, too.

You do realize that end of the world cannot be far behind when one of my comments sparks a post on the main page. Chad just bought a crate of MREs when he saw today's topic.

Brandon -

Gotta give you a nod on the hoopsters. Have you ever sat courtside at an NBA game? It's amazing. Dudes are monster size large, constantly moving, extremely strong. But what shocked me was how quick they are.

I sat courtside at a Knicks/Miami Heat game years ago. Glen Rice (remember him?), would come across baseline, past a double screen, catch the pass, square up, and shoot. Ball was in the air to him prior to getting to his spot. Set play. Catch and shoot.

Just amazing.

Gymnastics question - how high to they get on the floor exercises? Always wondered if they can dunk. They look like they are 10ft in the air.

Easiest sport - that bow/arrow thing, what is it? Archery?

I have to agree with Nabil, being strong or fit does not make you a great athlete. I think we use the word athlete too loosely in the crossfit world. There are a lot of one dimensional competitors who are good at what they do but they are not athletes. My vote would possibly go to gymnastics, volleyball or basketball. Those sports require speed, strength, coordination, and mental toughness. I don't think the sport determines what an athlete is, either you have it or you don't. Most pure athletes are born with "natural" talent who greatness is determined by their mental drive and dedication. The rest are people who have to give 110% just to stay about average.

I must say, for a compulsive overtrainer, and under eater Brandon is on to something here. Those basketball players he listed definitely have sick skills, and can probably excel at other sports as well. More athletic I think are guys like Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and even Brian Jordan (sorry I'm from Atlanta)... guys like this who excelled at two completely different profesional sports (so maybe Michael Jordan didn't excel in baseball, but he was ok).

I've been training athletes for many years now and as for gymnasts I firmly believe they clearly have the most control of their body and can do insane things with their body... but also they have the ability to aquire new skills (in regards to their controlling their body, not necessarily external implements... but I've actually watched them learn O-lifts in no time... but then again that's a super specialized non-athletic skill.... I digress) far quicker than any other athletes out there.

I believe the decathlete is in another, slightly different category that is a balance of skill, strength/power, and "fitness". These are the guys that would crush the CrossFit world with a bit of training.

So in conclusion;

You've got multi-sport pro athletes that can adapt to completely different skills and various demands of multiple sports.

You've got the gymnasts, these are the body weight athletes that can propel, jump, climb, balance and support their bodies above and beyond any other athlete... as well as the most body awarness and best skill aquisition.

And finally you've got the decathlete who has a nice blend of skill, strength/speed/power, and overall fitness (see 400m time above)

So who's the best athlete? Like Brad S. stated, this is probably a question that can never be solved. By the way, there are too many Brads now. CFO should have a Brad cap... maximum of 3. What's next, two more Nabil's? Just a heads up, if there does happen to be 3 Nabils under one roof, the Department of Homeland Security will be all over CFO like Mike is all over Gas Buddy since he purchased his new truck!

Gas Buddy? F'in amazing. Under-eating, low blow.

The greatest athletes in the world all have one thing in common: they eat McDonald's chicken McBuiscuits for breakfast. I guess they must be zone friendly?

Anyway, that's what I've learned from watching the Olympics so far.

Oh, and I want one of those new swimsuits that make you break world records without even trying.

That would be great if my hour+ time had really been first, but I believe Robyn was C2B and snakey the whole time and was on the road to start her day long before I finished my 3rd set of pullups.

I know we are talking about Olympic sports here but there is one person that everyone is forgetting about who is the true benchmark of athleticism:

Ray Barneveld

Boxers?

Former Olympic boxer Floyd Mayweather was just named one of the worlds greatest atheletes.

I don't think it would be possible for us to actually hit him. I'm serious, tie his hands behind his back, get in the ring and just try to hit his dome. Can't do it. He's that fast.

He was also the victim of one of the worst scoring decisions in Olympic history.

Quickness, strength, endurance, hand/eye cordination, balance, speed and the will to take punishment.

In a boxing match between him and LeBron James - it wouldn't even be close. Despite giving up 13" and 100lbs, Floyd would destroy him.

I will agree with some of you that basketball does produce some amazing athletes in terms of size, speed, the ability to change directions, etc. However, these athletes would get DOMINATED at the lowest levels of sports like swimming, gymnastics, weight lifting, and baseball (Michael Jordan is a fine example of this).
With few exceptions most athletes cannot compete at a high level in anything except "their sport." Basketball players can't lift, swimmers can't run, lifters can't do the pommel horse, sprinters can't snatch, and so on....
Is athleticism the ability to do a multitude of things good, or is it the ability to do one thing better than anybody else in the world? Lance Armstrong probably can't do 2 pull-ups but nobody is going to say that he isn't an athlete!
In my opinion athleticism is both. The best athletes have the ability to dominate the world in one sport and yet are still able to pick up a new sport and be “good” in a short period of time. In this sense, I believe that the best athletes would be decathletes and gymnasts. For example: Only a gymnast would be able do the iron cross….and also be able to dunk.
If you were to make a team to compete in a winner-takes-all athletic competition but you didn’t know what the events or sport was going to be, who would you choose first? I would choose this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOdModXc69k

and one more thing....

Brad,
Before you go saying that "the bow & arrow thing" is easy...go try it. While probably not athletiscm...it ain't easy.

Ok...I'm done now

Oh, Sierra, your passionate love for me makes you blind - my pull-ups were barely Ch(Chin)2B and I didn't even finish that last round...

BTW, those "snakey" extensions BURN, but if C2B pull-ups are the standard, then so should the snake extensions, imho...

Which olympic sports produce the best athletes? I suppose it depends if/how you define 'finest athletes'. Aren't they all the best in their sport by definition?

Most fun to watch? Men's swimming, for obvious reasons...

The best athlete is some construction dude that digs ditches and pours concrete and then goes home and drinks beer.

Hands down the best athletes are the gymnasts. Everything is relative, so when one sees the amount of force, speed, agility, strength and skill that the gymnasts put out relative to their size and weight, the question is answered in convincing fashion.

Also, for those to aim to hate on the olympic lifters: i agree that if you look at the super heavy class of 105kg+, guys like Hosein Rezazadeh, you don't see a whole lot of athleticism, you only see a really, really fat Iranian guy who is good at two lifts. He's freakishly good at these lifts but he also dropped out of the olympics because he couldn't get himself in shape to do these two lifts.

On the other hand, when you start looking at the lower weight classes, you see where the athleticism comes in: case in point was the womens 48kg class. Chen XiaXie who is 47.5kg (~104.5lbs) was snatching 93kgs (202.6lbs). That is sick. Relative to body weight, she is stronger than world record holder Rezazadeh.

basketball players are excellent athletes as well but you can make up for a lot of physical deficiences with a sweet shot.

I also think that unless one has attempted to use the equipment or play the sport, one has little to no context for gauging how hard it really is or isn't. I know that i gained an exponentially greater appreciation for the gymnasts after i tried to just stabilize myself on the rings. When you see the chinese mens team perform flawless ring routines and execute multiple iron crosses without a single tremor, you gotta give it up.

But my top pick for best athlete has to be the pistol shooters. that air rifle is heavy and the kick is like 800 mosquitos biting your shoulder.

btw..shoutout to Abhinav Bindra, first indian athlete to get a gold--for which sport?

Air Rifle

Daniel -

I hope you are kidding? When the actress Geena Davis can pick up archery and almost qualify for US team in less than a year.....

A steady hand and great vision is all it takes.

Daniel,

1. Paul Hamm got dominated during his attempts to compete on Ninja Warrior. See: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1426997002256080563

2. If Lebron James (or even Allen Iverson) dedicated his life to Olympic lifts - he would dominate all of his competitors.

3. Sprinters and Snatch - Again, I would bet money that they excel at Olympic lifts. In fact, it's likely that Olympic lifting is part of their training regimen.

I will agree with you that, in general, basketball players lift weights like little female dogs.

Brandon,
You are right. Kobe and the rest of the Dream Team are so close to olympic lifting domination that it is not even funny..look how intense Kobe's workout is. I always wondered how he had such bada$$ triceps....but now I know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1d5AHYvLRU&feature=related

Read what I said
"The best athletes have the ability to dominate the world in one sport and yet are still able to pick up a new sport and be “good” in a short period of time". Why are you trying to argue with me when we agree? It is just like a lawyer to read one thing and totally misconstrue it into something totally different. Take off your lawyer suit and go do some cable pull downs!

Gymnasts are great but these guys are unreal.
and they don't eat McDonalds either:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V-2NKUlzns

These guys do eat McDonalds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnmaUxukLlE&feature=related

Brad-
Of course Mayweather would dominate LeBron in the ring.. just as LeBron would dominate Mayweather on the court, with one hand tied behind his back, literally.

Brandon-
Although LeBron and Iverson are super athletic and explosive, even if they were wards of the state like in China, and were raised to be Olympic Lifters they would get owned! Simply put they don't have the correct body type for it... just as gymnasts are super explosive they could never make it in the NBA, wrong body type. As for sprinters, I'm sure many of them do have snatches as a major part of their training regimen... but football players do a ton of cleans, that doesn't mean they are worth a shit at them.

I agree with Daniel. The best athletes can dominate their sport AND be able to pick up various other sports/skills in the shortest amount of time. I'm going w/ gymnasts or decathletes.

I think we need a CFO eating contest.

JP,

Priceless.

I think Daniel touched on a key point. Anyone who dominates at their sport is by definition specializing. While most professional and Olympic athletes would probably do ok at a lot of other events/sports, that's not their thing, but that's why they're so good at what they do, because they're specializing. At the CF level I cert, Tony Budding said it took 20 minutes for Casey Burgener to do 'Fran.' But met-con isn't his thing. That's why he's so good at what he does. Cause he's big and strong.

Anyway, as a former BMX'er, I defy anyone to try what those guys are doing and not injure yourself horribly or feel like a p***y for wimping out. BMX is new to the olympics this year, but if you get a chance, watch. The explosiveness out of the gate, the speed at which they fly over 30' doubles or pedal through a section of whoop-de-do's is amazing. Plus you have to be a little nuts to be really good.

I finished my Love/Hate WOD today and left it to Mr. Mini to possibly destroy my time on Friday. My “Hate” (C2B pull ups) put a serious beat down on me today. But it’s definitely good motivation to move my C2B relationship from hate, to dislike, to annoyance, to indifference and maybe eventually my domestic partner.

20 squat clean & jerks or squat clean & thruster 165#
40 C2B pull-ups
60 burpees

10 squat clean & jerks or squat clean & thruster 165#
20 C2B pull-ups
30 burpees

5 squat clean & jerks or squat clean & thruster 165#
10 C2B pull-ups
15 burpees

60 burpees right to 10 C&J was a new and interesting sensation. I look forward to your Love/Hate attempt on Friday Mike, and I wish you luck with a side order of pain.

Hands down, the best Olympic sport to drink beer by is Curling!

robyn and sierra,

i miss a few weeks and you guys are off doing C2B pull-ups. nice.

lance and connie, thanks for waiting today and helping me through yesterday's WOD thing.

Most fun to watch: Gymnastics. Powerful, elegant, amazing strength and body control, and works for short attention spans.

Most athletic: you could argue about this for days, but gymnasts, basketball, and decathletes are all up there I guess. No one has mentioned water polo, but that is pretty hardcore too...

Joe - it is so nice to have you back!

Badminton is the true test of an athlete, anyone who has the hand-eye coordination to repeatedly smack a shuttle cock out of the air will destroy the competitive field of peers in other sports. The strength it takes to even say out loud that you play badminton professionally is testimony to their incredibleness.

How does Gena davis being good at archery make it an easy sport? Daniel's point still stands Brad. Especially when your target is running towards you! it aint easy

Loren -

I'm picking on Geena Davis because she saw archery on the olympics, said "that looks easy, I bet I could do that" And within a year she was competing at nationals. In her 40's without ever showing any athletic prowess prior.

And the targets are stationary!

Brad Gilliatt,

I think it is time that you pick up a bow and arrow and show everyone how it's done. If one or two years from now you are a national-level competitor in archery, you will have gone a long way to proving your hypothesis.

As I mentioned in a comment yesterday, I was blown away by Chen Yanquing's performance in women's weightlifting. I found an article in the Wall Street Journal about her. It is a very worthwhile read and it provides some insights into China's sports school pipelines and just how much these athletes sacrifice in order to be the best in the world.

It would help if I spelled her name correctly. It's Chen Yanqing.

Geez Tom, quit Yanquing her Chen...she's been through enough already!

;)

Very interesting article...I had no idea what they go through...

Tamara I can guaranty that 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place winner at the games did not hit it as hard as you today. You put in some work on those WODs today!

'I worked out with a dumbell today. I feel VIGOROUS!'

TomC -

That sounds a little like Col Jessup in A Few Good Men to Tom Cruise. "Son, have you ever served in an infantry unit? A forward position? Ever put your life in another man's hands and had his life in your hands?"

.......until then, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand post.....

and no, I'm not going to pick up a bow/arrow and practice for 5 hrs a day for a year like Geena Davis did. Bu