What other sports/sports(wo)men do you admire?

I saw an advert on TV for the Tour de France which starts, I think, this weekend. I don't know about you but my backside is killing me if I am in the saddle for more than half an hour but these guys have to do 5/6 hours a day up vertical mountains. Ok, given the "supplements" that they put into their bodies help them greatly but, nonetheless, you must admire their fitness and endurance levels (by the way, how may Boots loyalty points must these guys have? they consume industrial quantities of coloured pills)
I went to boxing classses for a while one summer and that is exhausting.
It is only when you have done some training for a sport that you appreciate just what the top giuys go through. What sports/individual athletes do you really respect for their fitness or sheer dedication and from who rugby players may learn a thing or two?

InjuredYetAgain wrote:................ I don't know about you but my backside is killing me if I am in the saddle for more than half an hour.....................

I know what you mean, but you really need to rephrase that!

Good god, man. You are 45 years old.
How about "when I am riding, i get a sore back-side" - is that any better?? Phnar, phnar

InjuredYetAgain wrote:Good god, man. You are 45 years old.
How about "when I am riding, i get a sore back-side" - is that any better?? Phnar, phnar

I know, 45 years old, hospitalised and bored out of my tiny mind!

Back on topic..................Professional cycling has been tarnished for so many years by continuous drugs/doping scandals that the amazing dedication and performance of its top riders (be they drug fuelled or not) is often overlooked. They push themselves to both near-superhuman peaks of endurance and to the point of near death through malnutrition over a 2 week tour.

Unbelievable.

I have a lot of admiration for Sharapova...

Same here Laurie, and shes a good tennis player as well...

When rugby season's over I follow the Irish Gaelic games. I admire the way in which everyone involved has the dedication to keep it going considering it's all non-professional. The fitness of some of the athletes is admirable considering they don't have access to the same maintenance/care that pros do and have to maintain daytime jobs as well. The attitude of some of the GAA athletes could put some of the pro primadonnas to shame.

I admire the cyclists even with the supplements,the Tour De France must be the toughest test known to man.I also support The GAA.

I've grown fond of that Saffer bird who's just got married to Prince Albert of Monaco. Swimmer I think, very tidy an all!!

Gymnasts. Incredible dedication and unparalleled muscular control.

Rowers. James Cracknell is one of the most incredible athletes on the planet.

Huge fan of cyclists. Le Tour de France started today, and it's just incredible what they put themselves through. I love watching it though, just some scary dedication.

Bowling. The Dude's a particular favourite of mine.

I used to admire Tiger Woods for all he *appeared* to stand for. Young, good looking, clean-cut, a great role-model for young blacks (and whites) and an immense sense of grit and determination, coupled with a knowledge and respect for the history of the game.

Of course we all know now how fake that was, but at the time he seemed to have it all. How the mighty are fallen

Womens Tennis!

Jelena Jankovic
Ana Chakvetadze
Alona Bondarenko
Daniele Hantuchova
Nicole Vaidisova
Maria Kirilenko
Elena Dementieva
Ana Ivanovic
Anna Kournikova
Maria Sharapova

Long distance & marathon runners. Like the cyclists, they churn out mile after mile in training, and they then have to battle not only the pain barriers but their mind 'games' as they compete in those greulling races.

I would also put triatholon athletes up there too. They keep raising the bar with their performances year after year....unbelievable stuff!

Bobby Brown (no not that one, this one). He's an ultra-distance athlete.

First heard about him through my brother-in-law (who knows him) when he completed the 1997 Deca-Ironman (24 mile swim, 1120 mile bike, 262 mile run, non-stop) in 8 days, 6 hours and 14 minutes, finishing fourth (here's his description of the experience). He's since come 7th in the 2001 Trans-Australia Footrace (3250 miles in 65 days in the summer, 50C heat), won Run Across America 2004 (3100 miles in 71 days) and run across Europe (3000 miles in 54 days), each involving averaging around a double marathon a day.

The most impressive achievement in the field however is Vidmantas Urbonas, who won the 1998 Double Deca Triathlon (48 mile swim, 2240 mile bike, 524 mile run, non-stop) in a time of 18 days, 5 hours, 21 minutes.

Then there are these guys.

And lets not forget Eddie Izzard's amazing 1105 miles in 51 days after a punishing training schedule consisting of a couple of hours medical examination and 30 minutes picking out running shoes!

Unbelievable determination.

Tom Simpson, quite possibly the most single minded and stubborn individual there has ever been. It cost him everything.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Simpson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m21PA7cNfWc&feature=fvst

plenth wrote:Bobby Brown (no not that one, this one). He's an ultra-distance athlete.

First heard about him through my brother-in-law (who knows him) when he completed the 1997 Deca-Ironman (24 mile swim, 1120 mile bike, 262 mile run, non-stop) in 8 days, 6 hours and 14 minutes, finishing fourth (here's his description of the experience). He's since come 7th in the 2001 Trans-Australia Footrace (3250 miles in 65 days in the summer, 50C heat), won Run Across America 2004 (3100 miles in 71 days) and run across Europe (3000 miles in 54 days), each involving averaging around a double marathon a day.

The most impressive achievement in the field however is Vidmantas Urbonas, who won the 1998 Double Deca Triathlon (48 mile swim, 2240 mile bike, 524 mile run, non-stop) in a time of 18 days, 5 hours, 21 minutes.

Then there are these guys.

It's amazing how they can stay in one piece doing those ultra-tanscontinental marathons. I get blisters just thinking about them!

Need to be so well nourished & hydrated with best possible support team/medics - and very fit and mentally driven of course.

I remember this story about an army guy doing training here in Oz (near Hay, NSW?) in the heat of our summer, whose body went over the tipping point. Muscles broke down and turned into a different state (liquid) and he suffered multiple organ failure as energy conversion process stopped working. It happened relatively suddenly (from memory) and it was an irreversable situation. I think the experts took all this info on board (from the post mortem) and the sport has changed a lot since then (around 2000 it was) as they understand more about the effects these events have on the human body.

Cumbrian wrote:Tom Simpson, quite possibly the most single minded and stubborn individual there has ever been. It cost him everything.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Simpson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m21PA7cNfWc&feature=fvst

I saw that doco on Tom Simpson last year, Cumbrian. It was a boiling hot day and he just completely spent himself going up that barren mountain climb. Very sad moment on Mt Ventoux.