I thought about your statement, but I'm going to say that running sub 4 minutes for the mile is the hardest.
Why?
Because there is no luck in running. Many, if not all of the aforementioned sports contain some element of luck. If someone hits a hole-in-one, it is not necessarily because they were aiming for the pin, it may have very well been because they were lucky. Someone who is not a professional baseball player could conceivably hit a ball off of a major league pitcher. Again, that could be luck. The same can be said about hitting a return ball from Pete Sampras. Winning a world championship title in boxing could contain some luck because you are competing directly against someone else. If he is having an off night, you could take advantage of that and pummel him into the ground. With football and basketball, I could write volumes about how much luck is involved with those sports. A lot of great things can be accomplished in each, but you have to question whether or not it was all skill, or some skill and some luck, or in some instances, all luck.
I'm not taking anything away from the difficulty of what was mentioned, but I am suggesting that they may not seem as difficult when you consider that nearly anyone in the world could do what was said. Anyone. Not just any person, however, can break 4 minutes in the mile.
The mile. Breaking 4 minutes in the mile involves no luck whatsoever. It's you versus time. Time won't trip and stumble right before the finish. Additionally, the wind will not always blow at your back when running a mile (on the track anyway). It's you versus yourself and time. There is no luck with that. You either do it or you don't. Can an individual who has hit a hole in one say that they are among the greatest golfers in the world? Certainly not. Can an individual who broke 4 minues in the mile claim that they are among the worlds elite in running? I would say so.
Ask a person who just hit a hole-in-one if it was difficult for them to do? They'll tell you no it wasn't and that all they did was swing the club and the ball went in. Lucky swing I guess. The same can be said for a tennis player and a baseball player. Breaking 4 minutes in the mile requires you to put your body through hell. It comes easy to no one...no matter what their ability is.[/quote]
Amen, Ears2yoo. Sorry I didn't read your reply first. You elaborated much better than I was willing to. Great points and references. I couldn't agree more.