The World's Best Athletes Are...

[IrishCanadian25]

And yes, YOU fill in the blank.

Which sport and/or activity boasts the world's best athletes? I was thinking about this the other day @ the gym in between sets and choking back puke. I read Muscle & Fitness at the gym, and it seems that lately, a WWE Superstar is appearing on the cover every other month. Next month is Brock Lesnar, last month was S(h)eamus, Triple H has been on there twice, The Rock 3 times, Cena, even Vince McMahon. Each year they do the NFL "all-body" team. Which sport / activity's athletes are the best conditioned / most athletic / most talented?

A few nominations:

1. Wrestling. Not pro wrestling, mind you, but college- and olympic-level wrestlers. These are some of the most well conditioned athletes the world over, and they are BALANCED. They aren't just packed with endurance like distance runners - they have to be in great cardio shape, be able to withstand long bursts of energy for prolonged periods of time, AND have to have the strength and balance to move another person who doesn't want you to move them. Keeping off of one's back to avoid a pin takes neck and core strength other sports just don't see.

2. Gymnastics. Male and female gymnasts are insane. The core strength is legendary, and balance has to be perfect, and the intensity is almost unrivaled in sports. The strength it takes to do the rings or uneven bars and move yourself with enough power to then activate your core to do flips and twists is hard enough, but to have the concentration and timing to wind up back on those bars or rings is magnificent.

3. Hockey. Most sports, you're running or walking, which we're taught to do at a young age. In hockey, you're on skates and on ice, which instantly makes it harder. Plus, you're moving faster than people can run and trying to hit / avoid being hit. Add to that the heavy pads you wear that weigh you down and you've got a recipe for SICK athleticism. You just don't see a fat 1st line Center.

4. MMA. Boxing plus wrestling. I'll still pick wrestling OVER MMA because though there is no boxing, in MMA you can (and in some cases want to) go to your back. Plus, in wrestling at the highest levels, there really is no "knock out punch" the way there is in MMA. A title fight could very well end in a KO, whereas in wrestling you rarely see someone get pinned at that level. But the conditioning to go 15-25 minutes in the Octagon is amazing at the very least.

 

[Big Sexy]

To me the best athlete is someone that has a combination of speed, strength, endurance, and the ability to play multiple sports. Right away that eliminates most sports. The answer to me is without a doubt American Football players. Just look at this list of NFL players who have excelled in other sports

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rican_football

Many NFL players get drafted into MLB before starting their NFL careers. There are many like Antonio Gates who were able to excel in basketball at the college level and some who could have had some success in the NBA as well. You have a couple guys like Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson who were able to play and excel in two professional sports at the same time. Both previously mentioned athletes played in the NFL and MLB during the same year.

Baseball, basketball, soccer, track, lacrosse, golf, MMA, these are all sports that American Football players have had success in and often great success in. There is no other athlete in the world as well rounded and versatile as American Football players.

 

[Positivity]

Going off what Big Sexy said, gymnasts have gotten just about everything on that list. They have to do a certain routine in a set amount of time so they're going to have speed, I don't even need to talk about the strength they've got, they're able to hold crazy poses for helluva lot longer than any of us and who knows? Some of them could and would definitely be able to play other sports if they so choose. I feel with gymnastics and stuff, there is a much larger emphasis on perfection. As a football player for example, if you mess up? Sure you'll get yelled at and you'll feel bad but ultimately, you'll have the next week to make it up to your teammates. Gymnasts? They don't always get that chance. In big competitions, you're either going to be perfect or someone else will be and they'll beat you out in a second. Wrestling definitely comes in second but again, I've always felt like gymnastics is still a lot bigger of a commitment. Because again, with wrestling, you'll always have that chance to prove yourself again. While it could be a year or two for a gymnast, it just depends. And with hockey? You don't have a whole team around you as a gymnast, well not usually. Everyone will be looking at just you when it comes to gymnastics, in hockey, as long as you're not the Captain or the goalie, you can usually get away with playing sloppy or taking penalties if you're other teammates are all playing really good games. It isn't like that when you're a gymnast, not at all. Bottom line is? In no other sport are things like balance, core strength and concentration so focused on. You have to be amazing at all of those things, there is never a one dimensional gymnast, never ever. You have to be ready to do beams, and then go and hang off bars and stuff like that within seconds. It isn't hard to see why you'll never find a fat gymnast, is it?

 

[The Best]

Mixed Martial Arts(I admit I am a little bias because I am active in this sport.)

Mixed Martial Artist's are not only the best but the smartest athletes in the world in my opinion.

They are the best athletes because you need to perfect your skill in more than one or two ways. There's wrestling, judo, striking, jiu-jitsu, and conditioning mainly, along with other small parts. I really can't think of a sport where you have to be perfect in more 5+ aspects of the sport. As you said IC they need conditioning, and take it from experience it sucks. Conditioning is awful, it is complete hell for me, and when I look at guys at my gym(our top guys are amateur muai thai champion and small level professional mixed martial artists), and I see how amazing their skill and conditioning is, I think to myself and say wow these high level pro fighters must be more than human. The athletic skill that goes into this sport just is completely amazing to me.

Now onto the smarts. My main trainer has always said that fighters are the smartest athletes/people in the world. He says this because you have to scout out your opponent like no one else. For example if your game plan for a fight is to take a guy down, and just lay on top of him with some strikes here and there(i.e. Jon Fitch), and the guy is stuffing your take down's, than you have to adjust. You have to think to yourself, how am I going to use a combination of my skills to execute my game plan, or should I just adjust my game plan, and just try to strike with this guy. As a mixed martial artist, you have to master all of the elements in the sport, and you also have to know/remember completely everything during your fight.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

American Football players are usually really skill oriented, like most other sports.

The best pure athletes are either decathletes, triathletes, or wrestlers.

Decathletes have to be good at 10 things. Triathletes have to swim, bike, and run further than I could go (and I'm not a slouch) in a day at just one of them. Wrestlers, olympic level, are freaks of nature. Speed, explosiveness, strength, endurance. Ridiculous.


the thing about MMA is ridiculous. Peyton Manning gameplans more than any MMA fighter. Most great hitters (Albert pujols) or pitchers gameplan more too. Back in the day a large part of the reason Greg maddux could carve guys up with 90 MPH was because he scouting umpires, hitters, everyone. MMA fighters don't game plan any more than the average successful athlete.

 

[leJobz]

Well there a plethora of superhuman athletes out there but I'm going to have to agree with TWJC and say olympic wrestlers. They excel in every fitness component and combined with some hitting they can go on to become ridiculously tremendous MMA fighters. I've seen fights where a fighter of a wrestling background would just manhandle the opponent and throw him all around the octagon. Very impressive.