Athletics

My favourite discipline in athletics (aka track and field) is discus. It goes back a long way but closely connected to that is an enduring admiration for its greatest exponent - Al Oerter. It's not as flashy as the track but for me it's THE event. And if I had to pin down on particular occasion to display its greatness then that would have to be Oerter's third consecutive gold medal (he went on to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals) in the Tokyo Olympics when he threw with severe injuries yet even though he couldn't complete this final throw due to the overwhelming pain still won the gold medal.

^ very interesting... When was it ?

Oerter won the gold under those most difficult of circumstances in Tokyo 1964.

1956 - Melbourne - that was his first gold. Then 1960 Rome, 1964, Tokyo and finally 1968 Mexico City (the Games with the famous Black Power salute).

I used to practice olympic walking in my youth. My best time was 56 min. 52 sec. in the 10 Km walk at age 16 (this was 1971). I had to put a small tar of cream between my legs and on my armpits before every competition.
I developed blisters, and then callousness, everywhere in my feet. About 20 years later I read that if you wear sneakers that are a little too big, you develop blisters, and then callousness, everywhere in your feet.

I also tried medium distance running (1500 and 5000 mts) with modest results.
And I even tried to do the decathlon. I was fast, resistant and could throw the discus over 35 mts. (hell, I saw Oerter in Mexico!): my big trouble were the heights. Not good in the high jump, near ridicule in the pole vault, and I could never finish a hurdle race!

Now all I do is jog a couple kilometers in the mornings to cleanse the cigarette smoke I inhale during the rest of the day.

^ well, you did well. After all, you maintained your health (I'm not sure if this is correct fraise)..

I'm good at high jump, hurdles, sprint, long jump..

But 110m hurdles and decathlon will be my disciplines when I reach senior level...

My favourite athlete is Phidipidis.

The original Marathon runner Ellinas?

I did try hurdles when I was into athletics mirage, the flexibility was there, the sprinting speed wasn't, unfortunately. I did high jump as well, this was back when the Western Roll and Straddle were the go (you probably haven't heard of them, they're antiquated styles) - however I never learned Scissors, that was even before my time. I took up triple jump before I even got into throwing events, funnily enough I didn't do well in just the long jump but in the triple jump I did quite well.

I had a talent for hurdles, but I was not overly enthused with the idea of being a hurdler. My coach was all gung-ho about me hurdling and I flatly refused.
So, I joined the crosscountry team instead. Loved it! Just running and running til you want to die - but you don't. You keep going. That is what I loved about that sport: the fact that dogged determination and guts paid off. It was a constant competition against myself.

Anywho. I never had sports heros outside of those I competed against. *shrug

flushd - I found my hero worship of Oerter helped me. I tried to emulate everything he did. Of course I shrugged it all off as I got older.



Not.

You picked a good hero; it looks like. I googled him. I like the fact that he is an artist and an athlete!

I have to admit I take a lot of inspiration now from the ParaOlympic sports. It is fascinating. There is such ingenuity and real sportsmanship in it as of now. To be honest, I prefer watching it to the Olympics.

And I lied a little bit. When I got older (21) I became interested in bodybuilding. Holly Buss was my hero. She was one of the early women bodybuilders to compete. And she is from Manitoba! I still have an old t-shirt with her on it and a signature. She rocks!

It's good to look to someone outside ourselves. I like to think that our athletics heros/heroines (sorry I am pedantic) can inspire us.

Although I was never a long/middle distance runner or a sprinter I always found they were inspirational. I have no idea why but I always found the great Czech runner Emil Zátopek was inspiring to me. I wasn't a runner but his courage was inspirational.

Yes, Phidipidis was an Athenian athlete (Olympic champion) who ran from Marathon to Athens (42 kilomiters) to bring the new of our victory over Persia.

I love this story ! He really is one of the bravest man in the history, unlikely he died after that...

Thank you for sharing your experience with me, please continue. Also, you may leave some interesting links about athletics, so that we all find out something more...