Community Chat

[sunshine45]

i would consider billiards a sport.

would love to see them add it in.

[They Call Me MR Wilkes]

I remember when bowling was a demonstration sport in Seoul in 1988.  It was the last time.

The IOC never made it part of the permanent agenda.

[on the bay]

I'd love to see pool played too in the Olympics!  I think it's so much fun to watch and to play.

[JoyFilled Warrior]

@on the bay  

I totally agree. 

To me, it feels almost like a miracle;  But not just one miracle, miracleS.. plural.

HOW do they practice riding those size waves, over & over, & over again,  before possibly even signing up to enter the Olympics??

Granted devoted, repetitive prep & practice for anything WW Olympics level has its awful risks.  Pushing the body to it's utmost level, many times knocking possible contenders out from applying, even qualifying for admission!

But to me, practicing this Olympic level of surfing "practice" waves -  unfathomable.

Water can be very very unforgiving.  Imagine a WALL of water?  Imagine a WALL of water, at yr immediate backside!  Imagine, even if riding that wave successfully, just how long you're under pressurized water before surfacing for air!  .. while your ankle is also tethered to a heavy surfboard, somewhere in your immediate vicinity, in/under water with you! 

     Yet, I never seem to read much abt any surfers, incl Olympic level practicing, that died, practicing, trying.

Then, they qualify & show up for the meanest, tallest, most powerful, Mother Nature, Walls of Water, Waves, & perform at the WW Olympics  ..

[JoyFilled Warrior]

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Hi @Kachina624 

I can remember the Olympics ?Comm,  spending soo much time about adding Skateboarding finally in the Olympics.     Sometimes, seems to happen.  Perhaps, some times it doesnt.  

I wasnt aware that this had been also happening for Pool.  Thanks for bringing this up!  

[SoCal Bred]

Saw this photo captured on ABC World News a few nights ago of Brazil's Gabriel Medina @ the 2024 Olympic's, awesome shot, just wanted to share.

[songbird]

Officially the hardest is gymnastic (also the most dangerous)  Several spine injuries and early death as the result of). At least one current gymnast is paralyzed.  The easiest is swimming, with very few, if any injuries

[They Call Me MR Wilkes]

Every Olympic sport requires highly specialized skills and talents.  But my top 3 in terms of "difficulty", which can be defined in various ways:

Women's Gymnastics: Balance Beam.  The flips and tumbling, often backward on an apparatus just under 4 inches in width is unbelievable.  And risky.

Decathlon:  Requires a multitude of skills including sprinting  (100 m), longer distance (1500 m),  hurdles and various field events like the pole vault (which is a difficult skill itself.)

Water Polo:  Imagine treading water for 30-35 minutes at a time, along with swimming the pool length,  hurling the ball and having physical, sometimes fierce contact with opponents!  Requires fabulous energy and endurance.

[gardenman]

I would say the most difficult events are those where Mother Nature plays a major role. Things like Archery where a stray gust of wind can move your arrow off target. You can do everything absolutely perfectly and still miss. If you've ever shot a bow you know that you can line up the same shot five times in a row and have the arrow go to five different locations. Once it leaves the bow it's up to God as to where it lands. 

[bikerbabe]

Decathlon
Gymnastics