Posted on 02/26/2019 6:08:54 PM PST by LibWhacker
Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs can heave a 16-pound ball farther than just about anyone else. Meanwhile, their lives have become track and field’s version of a buddy flick.
[...snip...]
Crouser got the best of Kovacs again at the indoor championships on Saturday in Staten Island, putting his shot 72 feet 10 3/4 inches to Kovacs’s 70 feet 2 1/2 inches.
[...snip...]
“You don’t have to worry about the implement or the elements or even a team,” said Crouser, who is 6-foot-8 and about 320 pounds. “It almost gets addicting to measure your progress so accurately. All that matters is pure power.”
Crouser and Kovacs are embarking on an 18-month globe-trotting journey that will most likely take them to the 2019 world championships in Doha, Qatar, and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where they hope to successfully defend their titles — or, in Kovacs’s case, swap places with Crouser on the podium.
Being the best in the United States these days generally means being the best in the world, whether their fellow Americans notice or not. They took first and second place at the Millrose Games this month in Manhattan, before repeating at the national indoor championships last weekend in Staten Island.
[...snip...]
A good throw begins in the athletes’ legs. But to deliver the ball, they need arms that are strong — and limber. That’s why professional shot-putters spend every week doing gymnastics. The critical move is a “giant,” in which the men leap up and rotate their 300-pound bodies around the high bar, which bends under the strain. Those workouts supplement hefty weight sessions in which they bench press more than 500 pounds and squat 700. When he wants a challenge, Crouser follows his girlfriend to yoga.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Chumbawamba is the actual name of the band I believe.
With all the training, lifting and dieting they do, these guys don’t even need steroids to get big. They get huge the old fashioned way, by working at it.
I’m guessing they won’t be performing at this level after six to eight years have passed. The metabolism begins to dictate more of what the body can naturally achieve.
Bone density will have changed by then too, though still far stronger than the average man their ages.
I was six two and weighed 190. I was a sprinter and hurdler but I would sometimes toss the discus or put the shot or throw the Javelin. I never scored a point in shot but was always within a few inches of getting a medal
I threw the college discus 136 feet and again never placed but was near. I did place in the javelin a few times but never won. The javelin is rough on your shoulder but neither the shot or discus hurt.
My best friend in Tulsa was the room mate of Randy Matson of Texas A&M. They both were shot putters but Matson was better. My friend did play for the Houston Oilers tho. He was huge, 6’8” and was probably around 340 and actually fairly lean.
Matson held the world record for a long time.
Yup. I myself could still benchpress 405 pounds at the ripe old age of 52... freeweight mind you, none of that machine crap, with absolutely strict competition-legal form. I had my eyes set on 500 pounds and have no doubt I could’ve gotten there in another year, except for that little thing about rupturing a disk in my back (doing a totally unrelated exercise). Never lifted a weight again. :-(
Al Oerter was a four time Olympic Champion in the discus. Just saying.
“Never lifted a weight again. :-( “
But you can still whack Libs. That counts as exercise.
You enjoyed it while you could.
Some daydream, but never take a chance to sacrifice and devote themselves fully to a sport or any activity. You did it, and probably apply that confidence elsewhere in your life.
I used to be involved in producing fine art or graphic design. I stayed with it until I realized it wasn’t bringing in enough money on a regular basis. So I changed my approach to paying the bills. Even though I wasn’t pro enough to earn a living, it was fun trying. It was a learning experience about business and dealing with customers who know far less than you do about the topic. I have no regrets doing it, or leaving that life when I did.
LOL, yeah. Gotta whack ‘em verbally nowadays. But the memories are there definitely, and how sweet they are!
Yep, everyone deserves the sense of accomplishment one gets when one devotes his life, through hard work, to excelling at something. You may not become the very best there is, but you’ll get close and it’ll totally change your life. It’s very satisfying and carries over to everything else you do in life, which sounds exactly like what you yourself experienced. Too bad liberals, the lazy leeches they are, will never experience something like that and will go through life hating and resenting everyone around them who has made something of himself through hard work. But... To Hell with them!
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