In any of the major sports - pro baseball, football, basketball or even soccer could any athlete in the top professional league beat Ashton Eaton if they competed in one event?
Maybe a profeessional football player in the 100 or 110 hurdles? Maybe...
Maybe a soccer player in the 1500...?
That is about it.
NFL lineman in the shot.
I'm guessing Ted Ginn in the 100/110 hurdles.
There are surely handfuls of people who would have as much talent as him and could beat him in one event. They would just have to work hard to do it. I think the 1500 would be the most probable.
Good points.
NFL linemen in the shot with proper training is a good one.
I should have noted how much training the other athletes get to prepare to compete.
Say 3 months of training.
Probably a better chance in the 400. Robert Smith (retired) and Ted Ginn Jr.both ran in the 46s when they were in high school. The shot put would be another event a pro football player could do well in.
Molly Beckwith went to Indiana on a soccar scholarship before giving running a try. She could probably take down Eaton in the 1500.
It would be interesting to see what current NBA players have won state championships in the high jump or long jump. Or what football players were significant in the shot put.
ohio_miler wrote:
I'm guessing Ted Ginn in the 100/110 hurdles.
Brandon Saine, if healthy, may be faster than Teddy.
Username#76 wrote:
It would be interesting to see what current NBA players have won state championships in the high jump or long jump. Or what football players were significant in the shot put.
No chance they would be close to 27 feet in the long jump with 3 months training.
I'd highly doubt they could beat him in a high jump either. Most are way too bulky by the time they make it to the NBA.
Let's take a real honest look at this. Ashton Eaton is a very talented athlete, world class, in fact. But he's great at 10 skills that he's spent years developing and tuning.
If Lebron James had competed in track and field throughout high school and then trained specifically for the decathlon starting at 18, he'd EASILY be the best decathlete on earth, easily.
So maybe some other pros out there could or couldn't take Eaton in a particular event. But don't for a second think that means he's the greatest athlete to ever live. He's not.
this aint no joke wrote:
Probably a better chance in the 400. Robert Smith (retired) and Ted Ginn Jr.both ran in the 46s when they were in high school. The shot put would be another event a pro football player could do well in.
Molly Beckwith went to Indiana on a soccar scholarship before giving running a try. She could probably take down Eaton in the 1500.
Beckweth isn't a professional athlete in the highest league in a major team sport I mentioned.
Still I would bet on Eaton if they only competed in a 1500 when they both were fresh.
Robert Griffin could probably give him a run for his money.
Earth to Track Fans wrote:
If Lebron James had competed in track and field throughout high school and then trained specifically for the decathlon starting at 18, he'd EASILY be the best decathlete on earth, easily.
Brainwashed by ESPN.
Earth to Track Fans wrote:
If Lebron James had competed in track and field throughout high school and then trained specifically for the decathlon starting at 18, he'd EASILY be the best decathlete on earth, easily.
No chance in hell. Lebron is too tall for the hurdles and too large for the PV. I don't even think they make poles for 250 lb guys. I also think his speed is vastly overrated.
I doubt Lebron James could pole vault 17' 4" or run the hurdles in 13.45 or throw the Javelin 197'.
I eat lots of ice cream wrote:
I'd highly doubt they could beat him in a high jump either. Most are way too bulky by the time they make it to the NBA.
Ryan (hack a minute) Hollins was a 6'10" high jumper in college.
Hollins is listed at 7' 240.
Erki Dvorvak wrote:
Earth to Track Fans wrote:If Lebron James had competed in track and field throughout high school and then trained specifically for the decathlon starting at 18, he'd EASILY be the best decathlete on earth, easily.
No chance in hell. Lebron is too tall for the hurdles and too large for the PV. I don't even think they make poles for 250 lb guys. I also think his speed is vastly overrated.
What you are forgetting is that if Lebron trained specifically for track and field, he might only weigh 225.
Of course basketball pays a little more (he made 53 mil last year) and football would have to be next where he was all state as a sophomore.
Eaton has gone 6'11".
I am suprised Hollins is still in the NBA. He was awful until his senior year at UCLA.
any high level marathoner would destroy him in a 1500, even ryan hall could run 4min mile
Jeff Demps. And if you don't think playing football in the SEC is the highest professional level of the sport, you haven't been paying attention.