Which Sports Requires the Most Discipline?
Athletics, or Track and field competitions constitute one of my favourite sporting events. I certainly love seeing athletes compete over a variety of sometimes grueling disciplines to determine who is the best. Professional Athletes are truly amazing across all sports and sometimes we forgot just how wide the gap is between a professional athlete and a recreational athlete.
I believe my own appreciation started when I started running. My Personal best in the 10km is around 53 Minutes. Professional Athletes (both male and female) cover the same distance in around half the time (between 26 and 30 minutes). Now that is impressive. I believe as a recreational runner I am more fit than sizeable number of the population, yet my performances cannot be compared to a professional, showing the type of talent, disciple and dedication involved.
Yet as grueling as it sounds already, there are certain sports which the demands are truly over the top, or significantly more than the average sport. Granted, all skills take tons of practice to hone, but there are some that are also incredibly punishing to the body. For many athletes the price of greatness is decades of training under this less than ideal conditions. I will take Golfing or Cricket for instance over the punishing requirements that a Hurdler or distance runner is required to face. With that said, here are my 3 most difficult sporting events for athletes in no particular order:
- Track and field
- Gymnastics
- Soccer or Football
I don't think any further justification for this list is reaured. Kindly list your top own three and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
1500m track race
5000m track race
Marathon
Marathon
Open Water Swimming
Freediving
I know that running really surprised me with how much discipline is required and I was talking to a friend of mine that had video of Kenyans doing 3minute kms regularly and that just surprised the heck out of me because I was at that point seriously impressed if I ever got close to 5mins. There is a lot to it and it is definitely more involved than "just run that way as fast as you can." You have to find a pace and also it is a massive mental game. While playing other sports growing up you were motivated by scoring a goal and were able to dig deep but when you are just running the only thing that you want to do is stop running.