10 Hardest Things To Do In Sports

The sub four would get a solid #3 in my book behind:

#1 - Hitting off a big league pitcher (especially if he has ungodly breaking stuff AND velocity)

#2 - Breaking par on a championship golf course (not very physical but, those of you who golf know what an unforgiving bitch the sport can be with wind, course conditions, body geometry, etc.)

I'd rate having an undefeated career as a Div 1 wrestler as the toughest thing to do in sports. My regard for the best of the best Cat 1 cyclers is huge also.

As for a top 10 and where sub-4 fits in...would have to give that some thought.

A four minute mile ranks #1. I am a running geek.

Winning the Tour de France and being "King of the Hills" without team support gets one of my votes.

I don't think we know what they are yet. Anything we list we list should have a "for now" qualifyer. Also, I think a narrow definition for "hard" is needed.

I wish they would define "sport". As usual with these sorts of articles they will undoubtedly go with the expected "hitting a major league fastball" along with the that played-out expression "and even Hall of Famers can only do it a third of the time". Baseball is a skill, not a sport. Only running the bases or chasing down fly balls in the outfield is interesting and guys may stand around for hours before doing it even once, then it is over in a matter of seconds. I never saw anybody sweat too much standing in the outfield waiting for a fly ball.

ANY SPORTMAN OR SPORTWOMAN WOULD ANSWER:

to smile after you did a 1 hour session plyometric.

Even KK would answer that.

Kicking down Geb and Tergat in the closing miles of a marathon.

Portland Runner wrote:

The sub four would get a solid #3 in my book behind:

#1 - Hitting off a big league pitcher (especially if he has ungodly breaking stuff AND velocity)

#2 - Breaking par on a championship golf course (not very physical but, those of you who golf know what an unforgiving bitch the sport can be with wind, course conditions, body geometry, etc.)

Hmm, how many guys can run a sub 4 mile (this year)? Maybe 25-30?

Now how many guys will get a hit off of a big league pitcher this year? I would guess aouund 20/MLB team so that's about 600, and it doesn't include all of the minor league and college guys who could do it.

Now how many guys will break par on a championship golf course? (I really don't know, but nationally, I would guess it to be somewhere between 500 and 1000).

It seems like the sub 4 mile is the most difficult.

As for a hole in one, that's just luck! My grandfather is a very good golfer, but not great (8 handicap in his prime), and he has hit 3 holes in one (so far), one at the age of 80 when I was playing with him.

"Now how many guys will break par on a championship golf course? (I really don't know, but nationally, I would guess it to be somewhere between 500 and 1000)."

WHen he says championship I was thinking like the masters. And only about 10 guys do that a year. So i would say it would be one of the hardest

Gallowalking a trials qualifier must be right up there.

First off, golf isn't a sport, and neither is baseball, they are games.

Hardest thing to do in sports: Win the ironman.

I would put :

a world champ title in boxing

winning an ultra

the tour de france (the entire thing)

4 minute mile

some where in their maybe a sub 2:10 marathon

i don't know enough about college sports to knwo about going undefeated ect, but the top 10 seems more individual acheivements for a single meet/game.

Had to go back and look at the series at USA Today to see exactly what they meant by ?hardest thing.? Still not entirely clear, but it does seem like they?re focussing on skill. And forget the "but that's not a sport" crap. Total waste of time, and really a separate thread.

One of the problems with ?running a 4 minute mile? is that it?s somewhat arbitrary. Isn?t running a 3 minute mile harder than anything else in sports? After all, nobody?s ever done it. Same problem with, instead of saying, ?getting a hit off a major league pitcher? you put ?batting 400 in the majors.? Some even stranger suggestions in here are things like ?going undefeated in D1 wrestling.? I don?t dispute that it?s hard; just that it focusses on a specific season or career acheivement, rather than skill itself.

Based on the skill aspect, IMHO T&F/running would only have candidates in the decathlon, hurdles (incl. steeple), and discus. Hitting a major league pitch, stopping a soccer penalty kick, skiing downhill at world class speed on a world class course would all be up there. I might also think about doing an iron cross on the rings, finding an open receiver from the QB position while being pass rushed, playing NHL goalie, doing the butterfly stroke, hitting a biathlon target from the off-hand position while gasping for breath, or doing any number of Tony Hawk stunts.

Taking a leak while running (cycling, hiking, etc.)

Ben;)

There has got to be some feat of strength included in that list. I remember seeing a weight-lifting documentary and was amazed at what some people were able to achieve. Something like dead-lifting x lbs. Basically, their equivalent of a 2 hour marathon.

For running, I don't think a 4 minute mile is difficult enough if some high schoolers have done it. Why not breaking 4 minutes while still in HS (or under 18).

Perhaps a sub 2:06 marathon, how many have their ever been? 5 or 6 perhaps (I could be totally wrong?).

Another feat could possibly be doubling in distance events at the Olympics.

A million people will say that hitting off a major league pitcher is the toughest thing, but I totally disagree. Give me 1000 at-bats, I was pretty good in little league. I bet I could get at least 1 hit -and I haven't played since I was 12.

Also expect the list to be biased towards American sports - just like ESPNs top 100 athletes of all times was biased towards American athletes.

I know someone threw out there that Baseball was a game and not a sport but how about winning the triple crown?

I'm surprised no one has mentioned bowling. When I'm really wasted, I keep hitting the "reset" button, thinking the bar will send down more drinks. Dang, bowling is not only difficult, it's confusing too.

Shouldn't I be listed as perhaps the greatest runner of all time, then?

Why stop with just the mile???

Where would High Jumping 8ft. be??? Only one guy's done that.

60ft. TJ maybe two.

20ft PV maybe 6 guys.

These are things that are WAY harder than a 4 minute mile.