What is the easiest way to win an Olympic medal?

When Skeleton was added to the Olympic roster there were only a few dozen people that had ever even tried the sport. Don't know how many people do it now, or if it's even still in the Games.

Straight men's synchronized swimming.

DUH...play on America's mens b'ball team!

runner_br0 wrote:

An old college buddy used to think about this a lot, and he thought that modern pent was his best shot. He was learning skiing and how to shoot and everything to pursue this. He was a bit of a flake, and it never really got off the ground, but that was his analysis.

When did you break it to him that Modern Pentathlon is a summer sport?

In order to see yourself as a candidate for an olympic medal, at ANY sport/event, you're going to need an astonishing level of god given talent, years of preparation to perfect your skill, personality traits (resilience, persistence and an obsessive drive to win) and LUCK.

However, it goes without saying that in order to win a medal in the 800 meter run, you're going to need to be one heck of an outlier - in all those parameters - while athletes in other sports have a much easier route.

Parameters that weight into the equation:

1. Depth of participation and entry blocks (every kid gets a try at running, how many train at sailing?)

2. Variety of events spreading the talent pool (imagine multiple track events, e.g. "800 meter skipping")

3. Multiple Events (It's like that old thread about the "three things challenge". It's always harder to be the best at one specific skill).

4. Rules of the event (at the Olympics). Take Taekwondo for instance - you win 2 battles, lose 1, and you might still find yourself in the final. So Get Lucky.

Any Olynpic Medal is an amazing personal accomplishment, but All Medals were not created equal.

Page 2 on ESPN had a series during a past Olympic period, where a female, attempted to get a spot on an Olympic team.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=olympianpart14

I'll go for bobsleigh as long as you are not the driver

You need to be a reasonable sprinter but there are not many sports like the bobsleigh athletes have converted to and got in the Olympic team so quickly

Any sport which looks athletically easy like curling would take years of practice to reach the top

99% of letsrunners would still not have the spinting speed for it though

18 medals are given out for distance/md running. Surely you could win one of them?

Forget it. You have no chance, nor does anyone else who sits around looking for the easy way.

it's going to be a winter sport because the depth of global participation is so much lower.

It's going to be a team or multi-event sport where you no longer have to be the best in the world at anything, just good enough to make your national team.

after that it's up to your individual strengths

Soccer.

Sailing

Not Athletics wrote:

Ice sports are not athletics.

Track and field sports are not athletics!!

Diving and synchronised diving? I really cant imagine either of those have significant depth in terms of participation.

Im pretty sure that i read somewhere that shooting was the summer olympic sport whichbrequired the least athletic ability. Even horse riding needs a modicum of fitness.

As for the winter games, definitely not biathlon. Cross country skiing is hugely demanding and biathlon is actually hugely popular in norway.

Really Not Athletics wrote:

Not Athletics wrote:

Ice sports are not athletics.

Track and field sports are not athletics!!

By definition, T&F is one of the few sports that ARE athletics.

Sounds like he was taking about biathlon.Its sking and shooting. There are probably only a couple hundred people doing it in the USA, but its wildly popular in Europe, becasue its one of the few endurance sports where you can watch people doing something with maunual dexterity and skill. Therefore, it shows up well on TV. My guess would be short track speed skating. Speed skating has hardly any one do it but is popular in Europe. Short track is limited to the USA ( which has no one do it), Canada, Japan, China and Korea. Best odds around I say. emoething else

runner_br0 wrote:

An old college buddy used to think about this a lot, and he thought that modern pent was his best shot. He was learning skiing and how to shoot and everything to pursue this. He was a bit of a flake, and it never really got off the ground, but that was his analysis.

Of course, it's got to be something that plays to the abilities/parameters that you have. I'll never make it as a coxswain, for example.

There are plenty of people who make it to the olympics without being anything special. But getting a medal is another story.

Not Athletics wrote:

Ice sports are not athletics.

Track and field sports are not athletics!!

A Winter Olympic sport.

List of easiest sports to win:

Curling

Speed Skating

Alpine Skiing

Really Not Athletics wrote:

Not Athletics wrote:

Ice sports are not athletics.

Track and field sports are not athletics!!

Go to an Olympic website and see which sport is under "Athletics"....