Could Rich Froning win gold in the Olympic Decathlon if he focused on it for 5 years?

Only one way to find out. How old is he anyway? If mid 30s or older than no chance. Odds would be against him no matter what his age but if he is young enough, anything may be possible, even though unlikely.

Real question who wins a 30 mile race if Rob Krar gives Rich Froning a 2 hour head start?

The real question is who wins a one-on-one game to 21 if LeBron gives Rich a 19-point head start.

This question is a insult to real decathletes training 8 hours a day.

Jamie Adjetey-Nelson quit at age 28, and he's a greater athlete than Froning would ever be.

The real question is who could do more kipping pull-ups, Katie Jenner or Rich Froning after a sex change?

It looks like they are on Tuesday nights, but I've seen it written that they are on Thursdays.

fred wrote:

Jamie Adjetey-Nelson quit at age 28, and he's a greater athlete than Froning would ever be.

You mean he's a greater quitter that Froning. That we do know.

Fitness to perform RANDOM tasks is almost the opposite of what it takes to be great at the decathlon. The decathlon is about perfecting 10 movements to the exclusion of obtaining any fitness.

Troll thread, but the Crossfit Games heavily emphasize lifting reps which doesn't have much to do with any particular decathlon discipline. I'd be surprised if Froning could win any single decathlon discipline at the Olympic level if he trained for it for 5 years.

The real question is if Ashton Eaton could win CrossFit Games if he trained for it for five years.

I could see Rich getting these marks after 5 years intensive training:

100 - 10.3

400 - 47.3

1500 - 4:40 - bad event for him

110 highs - 14.03

Long jump - 27.3 / maybe best event

High jump - 7.2 - another good event

Shot - not sure but good

Discuss - not sure but great

Pole vault - bad event - 16.5

Javelin - best field event

If Froning gave up Crossfit and trained for a decathlon, he'd be humiliated then feign some injury as an excuse.

He'll be in a wheelchair within 5 years anyway.

You think he could high jump with those squatty legs!? Not to mention, according to Rogue Fitness his 400m time is a staggering 65 (Eaton would beat him by 18 seconds). High-hurdles!? Not a chance. The guy would look like a gremlin out there. He might even get lapped in the 1500.

I would like to see him try the pole vault...it'd be very comical.

fred wrote:

This question is a insult to real decathletes training 8 hours a day.

Jamie Adjetey-Nelson quit at age 28, and he's a greater athlete than Froning would ever be.

Why? Froning's olympic lift numbers are better than Eaton's. Give credit where credit is due, the guy's a beast. He doesn't have the natural speed to succeed at an elite level in the decathlon though.

Obvious answer is NO, because he'd pop a positive before ever getting to the Olympics.

Typical runner or sockpuppet wrote:

fred wrote:

This question is a insult to real decathletes training 8 hours a day.

Jamie Adjetey-Nelson quit at age 28, and he's a greater athlete than Froning would ever be.

Why? Froning's olympic lift numbers are better than Eaton's. Give credit where credit is due, the guy's a beast. He doesn't have the natural speed to succeed at an elite level in the decathlon though.

Which might mean something if there was an olympic lift event in the decathlon, but there's not.

Here's some crossfitters "running" a 2-mile.

I hate Crooss fit but wrote:

I could see Rich getting these marks after 5 years intensive training:

100 - 10.3

400 - 47.3

1500 - 4:40 - bad event for him

110 highs - 14.03

Long jump - 27.3 / maybe best event

High jump - 7.2 - another good event

Shot - not sure but good

Discuss - not sure but great

Pole vault - bad event - 16.5

Javelin - best field event

The dude's 5'9 with a long torso and short legs. I can't see him running 47.3 in the 400, breaking 15 in the 110 HH, breaking 6' in the HJ, or 21' in LJ. He'd probably be decent at jav if he got the form down, but he's kinda short to be super solid at Shot/Disc.

To give you an idea, look at Bryan Clay. The guy's 5'11 (with fairly long limbs for his height) and, when interviewed, talks a lot about how much shorter he is than the rest of his competitors. There's a reason why most of the top decathlon guys are 6'+. A lot of the events (the jumps, most of the throws, the 110, and the 400) generally favor taller guys, with long limbs.

Arguably, the physical traits that make Froning the world's best crossfitter--shorter limbs, the long torso--would make him a really bad decathlete. Shorter limbs and a shortish height let you perform exceptionally well in squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, and pull-ups, with less effort than people with longer limbs, who have to move the weight further. They also make it more difficult to perform well in jumping, sprinting, and some throwing events.

Froning is an incredible athlete, and anyone who says otherwise is flat out wrong, but there's a reason why the decathlon is not his sport.

Very well-reasoned response.

I hate Crooss fit but wrote:

I could see Rich getting these marks after 5 years intensive training:

100 - 10.3

400 - 47.3

1500 - 4:40 - bad event for him

110 highs - 14.03

Long jump - 27.3 / maybe best event

High jump - 7.2 - another good event

Shot - not sure but good

Discuss - not sure but great

Pole vault - bad event - 16.5

Javelin - best field event

The dude has PR of 22:07 in 1500. I could see him possibly getting the following:

100 - 13.1

400 - 58-ish

1500 - 6:05

110 HH - 18-ish

Long jump - 19'

High jump - 5' 8"

Pole Vault - No score

Discuss - 129

Javenlin - No clue

Shot - 48''