World's Greatest Athlete - Ever

Discussion in 'Videos' started by herzalot, Aug 31, 2017.


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  1. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

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    You can debate this all you want. I am right.

    EDIT: If you click on this, you will be offered a recent 19 minute video that profiles surfer Kelly Slater at Jeffrey's Bay South Africa and some footage of street urchins in Durban using surfing to stay off the streets and out of trouble. Please click with caution and sound reasoning.



    Can't embed, but just click the link.
     
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  2. MrGreedom

    MrGreedom Well-Known Member

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    Absolutely the most accomplished and dominate of his sport. And no one else has preformed as well and consistently in their sport.
     
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  3. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

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    He's rather attractive as well.
     
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  4. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

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    Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if they are wrong...:cool:
     
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  5. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

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    Uh... a surfer? I would almost call surfing an art form. I don't know of too many surfers doing six hours a day of cardio... just sayin'

    When you said "greatest athlete" it meant something completely different to me. The first person who came to mind was Michael Phelps. 23 Olympic gold medals, including 13 in individual events. He still holds 6 world records in swimming.
     
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  6. Cornholio

    Cornholio iMTB Rockstah

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    You'd be surprised what conditioning some surfers, especially big wave, go through. At the pro level you aren't just some slacker catching waves in between smoke sessions. I've been more "out of breath" while surfing than any other sport.. partly due to not being able to breath and being held under but those guys run on the bottom of the ocean with boulders to condition.
     
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  7. siata94

    siata94 Well-Known Member

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    my avatar says otherwise :)
     
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  8. scan

    scan iMTB Rockstah

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    I'm partial to track and field and the title has been used for awhile for Decathalon athletes. I'd have to agree the amount of coordination, strength, speed , endurance needed is pretty amazing, IMO
     
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  9. Redman

    Redman iMTB Rockstah

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  10. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

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  11. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

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    Don't get me wrong - like I'm bashing surfers. I just consider it almost an art form - like dancing. No one is going to say dancers aren't conditioned (hopefully). But I don't think when people say "greatest athlete" they are thinking "Mikhail Baryshnikov". Surfing requires balance, fluidity of motion, and an almost surreal awareness and partnership with the ocean. But when you say greatest ATHLETE (singular) of all time... stacks of Olympic gold medals and world records mean a lot.
     
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  12. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

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    As usual, it comes down to opinion.




    Unstable, mixed media; elevation; weather; every move critical – an endurance event under those conditions? Otherworldly. Makes floating around on a surfboard seem pretty leisurely IMO.

    Slater's reign has been nothing short of phenomenal, though.

    RIP, Ueli.


     
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  13. kioti

    kioti iMTB Rockstah

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    There you go, being humble again. Fortunately for Kelly, you don't do contests. :cool:
     
  14. Cornholio

    Cornholio iMTB Rockstah

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    I was only responding to the cardio part of your comment. Too many factors to call anyone the best across all spectrums/disciplines/etc. I could argue Terje Haakonsen did more for snowboarding than Shawn White but too many apples to oranges comparisons when other/all sports are included in the mix. "Greatest" is a loose term for many reasons, @mike made a good point. No one will win this debate, the winner doesn't exist.
     
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  15. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

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    We all were the fastest swimmers in the universe. Each of us won the most important race in our lives. The losers literally died and dribbled out into oblivion. :gag:

    Therefore, we all are the greatest athletes EVAH!
     
  16. Danmtchl

    Danmtchl iMTB Rockstah

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    You can greatest of all time in particualr sport, but to emcompass all sports would be almost impossible to decide on one person or team.

    I would have to partially agree about the decathlon, lot of different events and have to be good somewhat in all of them.

    Someone mentioned surfing as an art form. Some of those professionals, like Mick Fanning are on strick diet and training regimens. Try and paddle out on some of those big waves and see how much cardio it takes.
     
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  17. knucklebuster

    knucklebuster Well-Known Member

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    Someone needs to organize a modern day "Battle of the Network Stars". They do say motorsports drivers (F1, Indy, Nascar, off road) have to be in great condition to hold up to the G force stresses, as do the moto-x guys. Seems like the Olympics cover most of the cardio intense and grace under pressure stuff...
     
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  18. Redman

    Redman iMTB Rockstah

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    I'm with you on the Terje statement. HE just doesn't have the hardware to back it up. Terje is by far my favorite snowboarder of all time. I still have a copy of the Haakonsen Faktor on VHS! But, yeah he's still doing a lot for the sport. And, he is slowly bringing the flying tomato into the back country.
     
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  19. Cornholio

    Cornholio iMTB Rockstah

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    Ha, still got it and Subjekt Haakonsen but no player to watch VHS. I used to turn those videos on before school as a teen and would have them running in my dorm room quite often at college.
     
  20. kioti

    kioti iMTB Rockstah

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    ^^Good thing he was only going like 90 mph down that thing.

     
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  21. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

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    If you've ever surfed, you would know that no other sport requires what surfing does. Snowboarding is not a live environment - unless you are routinely riding avalanches. Sports played on predictable, consistent surfaces aren't even close. As for cardio - are you f-ing kidding me? Have you taken a hold-down at Mavericks, Waimea, Pipeline or Teahoopo? How about the energy and cardio it takes to paddle out, duck dive and keep going?

    As for the other Greatests in their sports - were they at the top for 25 years? Were they both aesthetically amazing, ground breaking outside of competition and utterly dominant in competition?

    You can compare one sport to another. Basketball, hockey, tennis, football etc are all played on a relatively consistent, predictable surface with repeatable practice scenarios (free throws, batting practice, slapshots for example). Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky - sure, great athletes. 11 world titles? nope. Live environment? Nuh uh. Motocross is closer, but the environment isn't actively chasing you to kill you. There are no sharks or razor sharp reefs, and the jumps don't come after you to bury you after you land. The track doesn't swallow you whole if you slow down or make an error in judgment (although, really bad things can happen in moto in those scenarios). The extreme climbers that @mike suggests have the danger and the "live" environment - sort of, along with incredible stamina, strength and mental acuity, but they do not have the body dynamics of speed.

    Of course, now, there are a few legitimate wave reservoirs that will produce repeatable, realistic wave riding experiences. Guess who designed them and had them built? I'm not talking wave pools or a Flowrider. Yup. Slater.
     
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  22. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

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    I mentioned the cardio above, but I will add that a surfer's dryland workout is crushing, and a six hour session in the water is common, or 2-3 three hour sessions a day.

    Swimming in a pool? Repeatable, consistent environment. Train yourself to become a machine. If you have the build for it, you win everything. And what are the consequences of slowing down a little or making an error in judgment?

    Put sharks in there, currents, changing water temps and waves and we might have a better comparison - except for the dynamics of speed. 8 mph straight ahead in a controlled environment does not require the totality of skills that charging 30 mph on the face of a wave that is trying to bury you requires. Throw some amazing turns, above the lip maneuvers, cutbacks - then stall, let the wave break and ride the barrel, just for fun. Nope. I don't think Phelps has the combination of skills, balance, dynamics, knowledge and overall fitness in his sport that equals what it takes Slater and his kind to do their thing.

    Did I mention 11 World Titles?
     
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  23. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

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    ...and then there was that Ali guy who used to punch people in the face.
     
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  24. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

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    Seriously? Let's see - cardio - yup. Fitness - yup. Live environment - sort of, the other fighter is moving and alive, until Ali lands a good one. Danger? Yeah. Body dynamics at speed? Debatable. A boxer is not traveling at a rapid rate of speed, but occasionally his hands or feet move rather quickly...

    I'm still gonna say a beatdown by an ocean of water at Teahupoo is heavier than an Ali punch. And the dynamics through the live environment aren't even close. I would not like to see Ali at his prime fight Slater at his prime. That would be messy. I also would not like to see Ali at his prime take the drop at double-overhead Pipeline. That would be messy too.
     
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  25. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

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    For those who won't watch the video - just watch from 3:19-3:45. One wave, medium sized (for him). A playful little exit that he probably could have turned into a completed maneuver if he wished.

    But that was free-surfing. Check out 6:30-8:20 if you want to see what he does in competition - at age 45.

    9:00 if you want to see him swallowed whole during a free-surf, resulting in a broken foot.
     
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  26. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

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    Not to take away from Slater's long-running dominance, but IMO titles determined by judges are not very interesting. It might as well be synchronized swimming, bodybuilding or DWTS. (An art form, per BonsaiNut.) When they're determined by time, distance, etc., there's something more concrete about it.

    Truthfully, all competition is inherently uninteresting to me. The most rad shît ever is the S that you do yourself and feel good about, or the rad stuff getting done that's under the radar. That's the soul, not where the media and sponsors are. /rant
     
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  27. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

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    Exactly. So a person who does both exceptionally - pushes boundaries in free-surfing and can be calculated and precise in competition - is on an entirely different level.
     
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  28. siata94

    siata94 Well-Known Member

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    Most dominant athlete is different than greatest athlete.

    imo greatest has to encompass everything; hand/eye/feet coordination (maybe this is too biased toward stick/ball, boxing, motorsports?),
    quickness, speed, endurance... Few sports include everything.

    That said, while I don't play hockey, my vote goes to hockey players. The ability to do both, skate and play stick/ball at the same time. I can't
    think of any other sports that requires that much skills. Maybe because I can't skate? Wonder if all hockey players have great
    footwork w/out skates? Seems obvious but more and more kids are specialized from a young age...

    And I'd think the opposing team or boxing opponent should well qualify as "live environment", but with brains, not just random chance.
    Dominating for 25 years is too awesome, but what does that really say about the physical demands that allows one to dominate that long?
    Few sports has such prolonged shelf life for the career, much less at the top. Jack Nicklaus dominated golf for about the same amount of time as well.

    Timing for this is good because it's a long weekend :)

    "Friday night they'll be dressed to kill
    Down at Dino's Bar and Grill
    The drinks will flow and blood will spill
    And if the boys want to fight, you better let them"
     
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  29. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

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    I just got a verdict from a lifelong waterman and accomplished climber on Staler vs Honnold:

    Fuçk. I don't know. Tough call. Winningist no doubt about. But Honnold is prolly a superior athlete.

    Just what we need here...another opinion! :D



    Important distinction – agreed.


    Herzie, power to ya for coming into this with such piss and vinegar...love the enthusiasm!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup: Power also to Slater for inspiring so many :thumbsup::thumbsup:



     
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  30. MrGreedom

    MrGreedom Well-Known Member

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    Wilt Chamberlain's statistics in the bedroom; beat that!
     
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