I'm thinking about larger countries that seem to be missing from the World Championships. How can these countries not have at least 1 high caliber athlete?
Germany, South Korea, Indonesia, India, the whole middle east, Austria, Finland, Argentina, all of South America except Brazil, Chad, Philippines, Mexico (minus Lopez).
Some of these countries are quite poor, and that could explain the lack to training and talent. Germany, Austria, Mexico, South Korea have no excuse.
ill tell you why Korea doesn't really have any good athletes (besides woo sanghyeok)
the korean way of developing athletes is just toxic. athletes with any kind of potential start training seriously from elementary school, and almost train like pros (even at that kind of age). they are moved out from normal schools, and get to attend specialized sports schools where you learn the bare minimum. coaches have them do insane workouts, and give them an insane workload. in many cases, coaches physically (and sometimes, sexually) abuse, not to mention the psychological pressure that could even put alberto salazar to shame.
by the time these athletes are out of high school, theyre done with this kind of life. their bodies and minds are cooked; years and years of hard training burns them out. the few that continue into adulthood are overworked, and quite honestly, do too much. 3 tough workouts in a week, with 2 of them back to back. theres not much recovering happening...
my colleges' records are better than most korean national records.
contrast that with what I do in college, its completely different. we have 2 days of working out, and the rest are just easy runs. its all very simple. workouts are tough, but leaves you fresh enough to get out the next day. all this, while balancing a full load of coursework (were d3, so no shortcuts)
I've seen some Germans, a Korean high jumper, and Chopra of India in the javelin
It's not that they don't have anyone competing, but most Europeans have 1-3 really competitive athletes. But these countries don't have many, and they aren't very competitive.
ill tell you why Korea doesn't really have any good athletes (besides woo sanghyeok)
the korean way of developing athletes is just toxic. athletes with any kind of potential start training seriously from elementary school, and almost train like pros (even at that kind of age). they are moved out from normal schools, and get to attend specialized sports schools where you learn the bare minimum. coaches have them do insane workouts, and give them an insane workload. in many cases, coaches physically (and sometimes, sexually) abuse, not to mention the psychological pressure that could even put alberto salazar to shame.
by the time these athletes are out of high school, theyre done with this kind of life. their bodies and minds are cooked; years and years of hard training burns them out. the few that continue into adulthood are overworked, and quite honestly, do too much. 3 tough workouts in a week, with 2 of them back to back. theres not much recovering happening...
my colleges' records are better than most korean national records.
contrast that with what I do in college, its completely different. we have 2 days of working out, and the rest are just easy runs. its all very simple. workouts are tough, but leaves you fresh enough to get out the next day. all this, while balancing a full load of coursework (were d3, so no shortcuts)
ill tell you why Korea doesn't really have any good athletes (besides woo sanghyeok)
the korean way of developing athletes is just toxic. athletes with any kind of potential start training seriously from elementary school, and almost train like pros (even at that kind of age). they are moved out from normal schools, and get to attend specialized sports schools where you learn the bare minimum. coaches have them do insane workouts, and give them an insane workload. in many cases, coaches physically (and sometimes, sexually) abuse, not to mention the psychological pressure that could even put alberto salazar to shame.
by the time these athletes are out of high school, theyre done with this kind of life. their bodies and minds are cooked; years and years of hard training burns them out. the few that continue into adulthood are overworked, and quite honestly, do too much. 3 tough workouts in a week, with 2 of them back to back. theres not much recovering happening...
my colleges' records are better than most korean national records.
contrast that with what I do in college, its completely different. we have 2 days of working out, and the rest are just easy runs. its all very simple. workouts are tough, but leaves you fresh enough to get out the next day. all this, while balancing a full load of coursework (were d3, so no shortcuts)
China (2nd highest medal count ever) would probably disagree with your hot take
ill tell you why Korea doesn't really have any good athletes (besides woo sanghyeok)
the korean way of developing athletes is just toxic. athletes with any kind of potential start training seriously from elementary school, and almost train like pros (even at that kind of age). they are moved out from normal schools, and get to attend specialized sports schools where you learn the bare minimum. coaches have them do insane workouts, and give them an insane workload. in many cases, coaches physically (and sometimes, sexually) abuse, not to mention the psychological pressure that could even put alberto salazar to shame.
by the time these athletes are out of high school, theyre done with this kind of life. their bodies and minds are cooked; years and years of hard training burns them out. the few that continue into adulthood are overworked, and quite honestly, do too much. 3 tough workouts in a week, with 2 of them back to back. theres not much recovering happening...
my colleges' records are better than most korean national records.
contrast that with what I do in college, its completely different. we have 2 days of working out, and the rest are just easy runs. its all very simple. workouts are tough, but leaves you fresh enough to get out the next day. all this, while balancing a full load of coursework (were d3, so no shortcuts)
Very interesting insight.
as far as I know, china and japan also does the same thing.
china can produce winners simply because of their population size; statistically there will be more successful people because the pool of athletes is just orders of magnitude larger.
japan, even though its smaller, produces a lot of good athletes because their training infrastructure is much better, and the culture around sports there is also somewhat different than it is in Korea.
as far as I know, china and japan also does the same thing.
china can produce winners simply because of their population size; statistically there will be more successful people because the pool of athletes is just orders of magnitude larger.
japan, even though its smaller, produces a lot of good athletes because their training infrastructure is much better, and the culture around sports there is also somewhat different than it is in Korea.
Don't ask why, but I actually went to a random middle school track meet in Japan. I was shocked at the times all these 6-8th grade girls running 11.8, 11.9. 6-8th grade boys running 10.8 and 10.9. They have to bow before they can walk off the track. They also have no technical coaching. I went to a practice and they were basically self coached/taught.
I'm thinking about larger countries that seem to be missing from the World Championships. How can these countries not have at least 1 high caliber athlete?
Germany, South Korea, Indonesia, India, the whole middle east, Austria, Finland, Argentina, all of South America except Brazil, Chad, Philippines, Mexico (minus Lopez).
Some of these countries are quite poor, and that could explain the lack to training and talent. Germany, Austria, Mexico, South Korea have no excuse.
5.93m Asian Record Holder, Pole Vaulter Ernest Obiena
I'm thinking about larger countries that seem to be missing from the World Championships. How can these countries not have at least 1 high caliber athlete?
Germany, South Korea, Indonesia, India, the whole middle east, Austria, Finland, Argentina, all of South America except Brazil, Chad, Philippines, Mexico (minus Lopez).
Some of these countries are quite poor, and that could explain the lack to training and talent. Germany, Austria, Mexico, South Korea have no excuse.
All of south America? Peru, Brazil and Venezuela won gold.