I recently saw Larry Bird on a commercial and again realized that, aside from being tall, he did not look like a phenomenal athlete. Who fits this in running: too fat, too gangly, too awkward, but still great?
One example is Emil Zatopek.
Who else?
I recently saw Larry Bird on a commercial and again realized that, aside from being tall, he did not look like a phenomenal athlete. Who fits this in running: too fat, too gangly, too awkward, but still great?
One example is Emil Zatopek.
Who else?
Toshiheko Seko. He has to have been the most unusual top world ranked marathoner of all time.
Oliver Miller of Arkansas had a pretty good game at Arkansas for being a huge fat slob.
Paul McMullen is beastly for a mid-distance runner.
Sydney Wooderson
Obviously there is no ideal body type for distance runners but for the most part the majority of great ones have the typical long inseam/short, light torso. I also heard that big feet were an advantage also. Whether you're short or tall having disproportionally longer legs to your toso seems to be an advantage. Coe, Aouita, Geb, Komen(and just about every Kenyan I've ever seen). Carlos Lopes had a powerful compact upper body on top of a relatively long pair of legs. But there are always the exceptions that accomplish great things. And they appear to stand out easily in a pack of world class distance runners.
The Castro brothers of Portugal had to have had the shortest legs ever. And Lahlafi of Morrocco has huge thick legs compared to the other 12:50 guys. I always wondered if the Morroccans concentrate more on lower body strength training than most countries. For a while it appeared that they were the superior championship runners to the Kenyans because of better closing speed.
I think I remember Wooderson. Looked like a bookkeeper.
How 'bout Gerry Lindgren. He always looked like a guy who could be good when he entered puberty.
Greg Maddux.
He always looks like an Accountant standing on the mound.
In the immortal words of John Kruk:
"Lady, I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player."
Dathan
bird, maddux and even (comparing to bird) magic johnson (who wasn't the high-flying dunker that MJ was) are great examples of athletes who use their minds and their hearts to get their bodies to do the intricate things that make a difference. they may not overpower or overwhelm you, but they know the game better than anyone and know how to beat you.
yeah, dathan has just the most terrible build for a distance runner. lol.
William the Refrigerator Perry
janice...I hope you're kidding
- Hank Aaron. Never would have thunk it from looking at him.
- Joe Montana. Ditto.
- Kevin Duckworth, John "Hot Plate" Williams. Both were good enough not to eat themselves out of the NBA until they were at least 70 lbs overweight
- Harvey Glance. Way too skinny to be able to run that fast.
- In distance running, late-era Henry Rono -- truns 27:21 to beat Salazr when his shirt could barely cover his gut. (Honorable mention, not at the very top of the world, but Jeff Jacobs was too big to run 2:13 but he did).
In our sport - Dave Wottle
Baseball - Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez and Shawn Green
Football - All linemen
Hockey - Wayne Gretzky
Basektball - Bird, Bugsy Mogues, Spudd Webb