How hard is your sport?

[SpugFab]

No need to wonder where it ranks in comparison to other sports now, because it has been decided for you:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills

We sized them up. We measured them, top to bottom. We've done our own Tale of the Tape, and we've come to a surprising conclusion. Pound for pound, the toughest sport in the world is . . .

Boxing.

The Sweet Science.

That's the sport that demands the most from the athletes who compete in it. It's harder than football, harder than baseball, harder than basketball, harder than hockey or soccer or cycling or skiing or fishing or billiards or any other of the 60 sports we rated.

[ninearms]

Wow. Apparently distance running requires more speed, agility, flexibility and nerve than weightlifting...I don't think anyone can even begin to comprehend the shame I now feel. Running, slowly, is harder than weightlifting.

Great experts though: one coach, one athlete, and a bunch of journos...

[SpugFab]

Running, slowly,

I thought distance runners ran as fast as they could?

Maybe I've misunderstood the sport.

[ninearms]

You've been doing that quite a bit recently.

Stay out of the running forum. Nothing good will come of it.

[baldy]

Spug can I point out Badminton Vs Martial Arts?

[SpugFab]

Spug can I point out Badminton Vs Martial Arts?

Yes, badminton does require much more agility and hand-eye coordination.

When you combine those attributes with my amazing power and endurance, it's easy to see why I am the ultimate athlete.

[puppydog]

no way cheerleading is harder than curling
they didnt take into account that when curling you only have the use of one hand (the other is holding a beer) and visual impairment (the cigarette smoke in your eyes)

[Konstantin]

There are so many assumptions and interpretations that make this very easy to argue against. It's impossible to make rankings, they had a go, they aint gonna be perfect. There is some very 'soft' boxing training going on, and most sports have people doing it at very different levels of impact.

[emm7]

Running, slowly,

I thought distance runners ran as fast as they could?

I do run as fast as I can!!!!! give us a chance ninearms I've only been running for a year

[ninearms]

Running, slowly,

I thought distance runners ran as fast as they could?

I do run as fast as I can!!!!! give us a chance ninearms I've only been running for a year

You don't! If you ran as fast as you can you'd only manage about 40m before slowing down. You only run at the fastest speed you can maintain over the prescribed distance, not the fastest you can run.

[SpugFab]

You only run at the fastest speed you can maintain over the prescribed distance, not the fastest you can run.

And a weightlifter only moves as fast as he can with the prescribed weight, not the fastest he can, hence the lower score.

[ninearms]

You only run at the fastest speed you can maintain over the prescribed distance, not the fastest you can run.

And a weightlifter only moves as fast as he can with the prescribed weight, not the fastest he can, hence the lower score.

Incorrectomundo. The weightlifter's speed actually increases because of the weight on the bar, so he's actually moving faster than he can.

[ultra_whippet]

Apparently distance running requires more speed, agility, flexibility and nerve than weightlifting...

Sounds about right to me

[bronco]

Wow. Apparently distance running requires more speed, agility, flexibility and nerve than weightlifting...I don't think anyone can even begin to comprehend the shame I now feel. Running, slowly, is harder than weightlifting.

This is weird indeed.

As a sidenode, since when is fishing and rodeo sports ?

[fredrikw]