My friends and I have this debate every two years when the Olympics come around. If you were given a specific amount of time, could you master a skill or sport well enough to compete in the Olympics? For the purpose of this hypothetical, we need to set up some ground rules.
For this debate, everyone is the same height and weight. We decided that you are the size of an average American male, 5’10 and 190lbs. You are also given 6 months to train for the Olympics. You can train day and night but at the end of the 6 months, you are competing with the best the world has to offer. Here are the sports I think I would have no chance in as well as a few sports I think I could compete in.No Chance
These are the sports that would be too difficult to master in 6 months or your body size just isn’t conducive to properly compete with the other athletes.
- Diving
- Swimming
- Water Polo
- Track & Field
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Cycling
- Football/Soccer
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Judo
- Karate
- Rugby Sevens
- Skateboarding
- Surfing
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
Could Compete for a Medal
If I was given 6 months, trained day and night, here are the sports I believe I could contend for a medal in:
- Archery– I have held my brother in laws hunting bow and believe that the skills are easily transferable. The target is only 70 meters or 76 yards away and you are given 72 arrows to qualify for seeding purposes. I know I can hit the bulls eye if given 72 chances.
- Field Hockey– Technically the United States does not field a team for this event so we will have to qualify with someone else. I played floor hockey in gym and competitive soccer as a kid so I already have the skills needed for this. I wouldn’t compete for a starting spot, but could be a substitute off the bench.
- Rowing– This one was the toughest to decide. If I was to compete as an individual I would have no chance. If I was just another guy in the boat of 8, we could make some serious noise. Also, people forget that everyone who played high school football in the state of Minnesota was recruited to row at Wisconsin.
- Shooting– I had the same thought process as with Archery, only this time the distance is much closer. 10 meters to hit a target with an air rifle or an air pistol should be easy to master.
29yo, 2 kids, former place kicker for the worst high school football team in Minnesota history. 2/2 xp, 0/2 field goals, led the state in total punts.