I started writing a "mock" tournament in Dale Harder's Strength & Speed Newsletter to determine the greatest athlete in the

world. I'm trying to drum up a little more interest for the project and I wanted to send you the exhibition sample that I did in December to explain the competition. Let me know if you are interested! Thanks, Clay Parker parkerclay@hotmail.com

WHO IS THE BETTER ATHLETE? One of the greatest arguments in sports is who is the better athlete, X or Y. This question entails a lot of discussion which sport requires more athletic ability, which athlete dominates his sport more and, ultimately, which athlete possesses the most athletic ability? Every time we as fans witness an amazing feat or multiple accomplishments, we not only label that athlete as the greatest ever in their sport but we start awarding the title of Greatest Athlete in The World. Just in the last decade, fans and media have given this title to Lance Armstrong, Kobe Bryant, Ronaldo, Tiger Woods, Lebron James, Roman Sebrle, Michael Phelps, Roger Federer and Usain Bolt, just to name a few. However, being the best in the world at a particular sport does not necessarily translate to being the greatest athlete. One of the reasons we hear the title of Greatest Athlete being thrown around so freely is because the definition has evolved over the years and varies in interpretation. Some view an athlete as simply as anyone who participates in a professional sport. If one dominates the sport, he is considered a great athlete by default. Some argue that the greatest athlete in the world is someone that excels in a lot of athletic disciplines, perhaps the Olympic decathlon champion, the heavyweight UFC champion, the Ironman triathlon champion, all-around Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics or the best all-around running back in the NFL. Merriam-Webster defines athlete as a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina. There have been hundreds of columns, articles and books written over the years that rank athletes, usually based on the athletes success at the primary sport(s) of the athletes career. There are two that stand out that measure athletic ability more in line with true athletic abilities rather than success at a particular sport.

If there are so many different variations and understandings of the title Greatest Athlete, how are we to determine who is deserving of the honor? Which events/sports/contest/etc should be used to determine that?? I personally feel that a great athlete is someone who has a great combination of strength, speed, agility and stamina AND one who uses those abilities and develops the skills he/she needs to dominate his or her respective sport. In order to determine this, I thought it would be fun to tackle the Greatest Athlete question in a series of mock athletic competitions. I felt it would be easier to focus on 2 athletes at a time and pit them up against each other in a fictional head-to-head athletic competition. The tough part was determining which events to use in this process. My first instinct to determine the better athlete would be to use the decathlon. While I love the decathlon, this competition is weighted heavier towards speed events and less towards skill events/sports. Also, some of the events are very technical and many athletes would not have any success in several events (pole vault, javelin, hurdles, etc) without extensive training. Pole vault, for one, is a great indicator of athletic ability, but how many football players/weightlifters/basketball players/etc can you see clearing a height without breaking a pole and/or injuring themselves on the attempt? I also wanted to measure an athlete in multiple skill-related sports like basketball, soccer, tennis, etc. Having said this, the decathlon is a great test of athletic ability and I definitely want to include some of the events in this competition. The Superstars is an event that comes to mind as a great all-around test of athletic ability. I will take several events from the Superstars and tweak a few more and add them into this competition. An added benefit of the Superstars is that there were/are competitions held throughout Europe, where several events, which are more popular to European sports are held (like gym tests, soccer, rowing, etc). For more info, please check out Jim Medlers great website: http://www.thesuperstars.org/ Australia recently held their first ever greatest athlete challenge called the Rexona Greatest Athlete: http://www.greatestathlete.com.au/. This competition tested 8 athletes in 15 events over 8 days. I really like the format of this show and the number of events. Once again, I will include some of their events as well in this competition. This competition showed that their number of events (15) and their wide range of athletic events/sports works very well. I also reviewed every athletic competition/combine listed above looking for a way to incorporate other events. After reviewing these competitions and researching some other contests/sports, I decided to create a made-for-discussion mock 15 event competition to pit 2 athletes against each other. My goal is to create events that would cover all the primary forms of athletic requirements upper/lower body strength, balance, agility, throwing ability, hand/eye and foot/eye coordination, balance, stamina, foot speed and skill. I also wanted to represent a variety of sports and not show bias towards one country/region. For example, I didnt want to include baseball and American football and leave out cricket and rugby. I also chose not to feature events that dont require a lot of natural athletic ability like jet

ski and dune buggy races. Finally, I did not want to include events that incorporate the same skill set over and over like multiple sprinting events or several strength contests. I also wanted to be realistic with these events I think anything over 15 events would begin to wear out the athlete and start measuring the more fit athletes rather than the most athletic ones. I also did not feature sports/events that focus primarily on technique and skill like pole vaulting, skateboarding, ice skating and skiing. In an ideal world, athletes would only have a few months to prepare for this event. Im not saying this is a perfect list of events but I feel pretty confident that these 15 are a fair and equitable way to judge who is a better athlete. I only listed a couple of distance events 1500m run and cycling race; however, competing in 15 events over 5 days would entail a good bit of endurance. I tried to split up the endurance, strength, speed and skill events up evenly over the course of this competition. THE EVENTS
DAY ONE DESCRIPTION AMERICAN FOOTBALL COMBINE (BEST 2 OF 3 EVENTS) STANDING VERTICAL JUMP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMY295ezIH0 THREE CONE DRILL http://www.youtube.com/forgot?action_unknown_email BENCH PRESS FOR REPS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk0z6_fA1po&feature=related 1-ON-1 TENNIS (one set to 6 games) SWIMMING SPRINT (100 meters - stroke of your choice) DAY TWO CRICKET HIT (each athlete gets 6 hits/points awarded for distance) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltjmEqClRM4&feature=PlayList&p=2FE9F03C2B35388E&index=4 WEIGHTLIFTING/POWERLIFTING (2 basic lifts that measure full body strength) CLEAN & JERK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjSMawMbwMs DEADLIFT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-O_MT72rck 10KM CYCLING RACE (6.2 miles) DAY THREE 1-ON-1 BASKETBALL (first player to 21 points w/ 3 pointers and free throws) STRONGMAN EVENTS (Farmer's Walk and Shot Put) FARMER'S WALK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpXCTgCgCMg SHOT PUT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Sw6sBVFrk&feature=related BASEBALL CATCH/THROW http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tvir3jw1jE&feature=related Each athlete gets 6 balls, he must catch/field them and make throws to the target for distance/accuracy DAY FOUR RUNNING EVENTS (100 meter sprint and 1500m run with decathlon style scoring) SOCCER/FOOTBALL KICKOFF (kicking 5 and defending 5 - athlete with higher net margin wins) http://www.youtube.com/user/rexonamenaustralia#p/c/820892282A02E057 MMA BOUT (one 5 minute round under UFC rules) DAY FIVE GYM TEST http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE4ZYo7tvCI Pushups, pull-ups, parallel bar dips and squat thrusts over a 1 minute time frame/points scoring system 1-ON-1 RUGBY TRY http://www.youtube.com/user/rexonamenaustralia#p/u/35/j2UWvstFGZY Each athlete takes 3 turns running and defending the athlete with the higher net margin wins OBSTACLE COURSE (similar to Superstars) with wall, hurdles, water jump, sand pit, tires, sled and sprint Total time wins with time penalties subtracting for infractions

TOTAL

The winner will be the athlete that wins the most events. If the field was larger, I would replace many head-to-head events with more skill-dominated ones like basketball shooting rather than 1-on-1 but I feel that 1-on-1 is a better representation of athletic ability and I feel that most fans would prefer watching athletes compete head to head as often as possible. Each issue, I will take two athletes (usually from completely different sports/backgrounds), list out their primary athletic accomplishments (both in their respective sports and in others) and have a small panel of experts analyze their careers and accomplishments and score/judge them over a diverse athletic mock competition. In order to make this comparison more objective than just giving a gut answer, we are choosing some experts to analyze each event along with the athletes accomplishments and determine who would win each event. The projected winner of the most events would be declared the better athlete.

WHOS BETTER? SAVICKAS VS GEB ydrnas Savickas strongman/powerlifter

Birai, Lithuania July 15, 1975 (age 34) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 385 pounds (175 kg) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VojJo60E27E Multiple lifting, throwing and carrying strength events WSM winner once, 2nd 3 times Winner Arnold Classic 6 times

Born Sport Place of birth Date of birth Height Weight Video Clips World Records Honors

Haile Gebrselassie distance runner

Asella, Arsi Province, Ethiopia 18 April 1973 (age 36) 5 ft 5 in (1.65m) 123 pounds (56 kg) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCARH83vZpw 26 inc 4 outdoor 5000m, 3 outdoor 10000m and 2 marathon 2 Olympic golds, 6 World Champs medals inc 3 golds

Apollon's Axle 166 kg x 8 clean and Personal press each rep (366 lb) (WR) Bests Log lift 210 kg (463 lb) (WR) Wheels Overhead for Reps 155 kg x

5000 meter WR 98-04 12:39.36 (2nd fastest time ever) 10,000 meter WR 98-04 26:22.75 (2nd fastest time ever)

8 reps (341 lb) Medicine Ball for Height 17 feet (WR) Ring of Stones (heavy set) 25.65 seconds (WR) Hummer Tire Deadlift 462 kg (1016 lb) (WR) Squat 425.5 kg (937 lb) (Lithuanian record) Bench press 285.5 kg (586 lb) : raw Among the most popular sports in Lithuania are basketball, football, athletics and cycling. Cardio training for 30 minutes on exercise bike or cross trainer Swim 2-3 times per week Farmers walk training 150kg each hand for 40 meters, 2 runs Favorite sports are ice hockey and freestyle wrestling

Marathon WR 2:03.59 20,000 meter WR 56:26.0 Two Miles 8:01.08 (2nd fastest time ever) Indoor 1500 meters 3:31.76 Half-marathon 58:55 (2nd fastest time ever) 2000 meters indoors 4:52.86 (former WR) Mile 3:52.39 Trains with light weights with a high number of repetitions The main sports in Ethiopia are soccer and running Ran 49.9 400 meters in a club meet Played football with his friends as a child Regularly undertakes plyometric sessions

Other Notable Athletic Feats & Relevant Info

SOURCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Gebrselassie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDydr%C5%ABnas_Savickas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_Lithuania http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia#Sport http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2067 http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5735 http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=2474379&thread=2473648 The Greatest by Jim Denison http://www.talk.dyestat.com/showthread.php?t=33299 http://www.theworldsstrongestman.com/agris_kazelniks.php THE EVENTS
DAY ONE DESCRIPTION AMERICAN FOOTBALL COMBINE (BEST 2 OF 3 EVENTS) STANDING VERTICAL JUMP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMY295ezIH0 THREE CONE DRILL http://www.youtube.com/forgot?action_unknown_email BENCH PRESS FOR REPS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk0z6_fA1po&feature=related 1-ON-1 TENNIS (one set to 6 games) SWIMMING SPRINT (100 meters - stroke of your choice) DAY TWO CRICKET HIT (each athlete gets 6 hits/points awarded for distance) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltjmEqClRM4&feature=PlayList&p=2FE9F03C2B35388E&index=4

WEIGHTLIFTING/POWERLIFTING (2 basic lifts that measure full body strength) CLEAN & JERK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjSMawMbwMs DEADLIFT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-O_MT72rck 10KM CYCLING RACE (6.2 miles) DAY THREE 1-ON-1 BASKETBALL (first player to 21 points w/ 3 pointers and free throws) STRONGMAN EVENTS (Farmer's Walk and Shot Put) FARMER'S WALK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpXCTgCgCMg SHOT PUT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Sw6sBVFrk&feature=related BASEBALL CATCH/THROW http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tvir3jw1jE&feature=related Each athlete gets 6 balls, he must catch/field them and make throws to the target for distance/accuracy DAY FOUR RUNNING EVENTS (100 meter sprint and 1500m run with decathlon style scoring) SOCCER/FOOTBALL KICKOFF (kicking 5 and defending 5 - athlete with higher net margin wins) http://www.youtube.com/user/rexonamenaustralia#p/c/820892282A02E057 MMA BOUT (one 5 minute round under UFC rules) DAY FIVE GYM TEST http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE4ZYo7tvCI Pushups, pull-ups, parallel bar dips and squat thrusts over a 1 minute time frame/points scoring system 1-ON-1 RUGBY TRY http://www.youtube.com/user/rexonamenaustralia#p/u/35/j2UWvstFGZY Each athlete takes 3 turns running and defending the athlete with the higher net margin wins OBSTACLE COURSE (similar to Superstars) with wall, hurdles, water jump, sand pit, tires, sled and sprint Total time wins with time penalties subtracting for infractions TOTAL

The first challenge is: Zydrunas Savickas (the 6-time winner of the Arnold Strength Classic and 2009 World Strongest Man) vs Haile Gebresilassie (the multiple long distance Olympic champion and current marathon world record holder). THE ACTUAL COMPETITION Two athletes from completely different backgrounds and specialties were pitted against each other for the first ever Whos Better? matchup. Savickas, considered by many including Flex magazine, as the strongest man of all-time against Gebresilassie, considered by many to be the greatest long distance runner ever. As they meet to shake hands, the meeting is almost comical. Savickas stands a foot taller than Geb and weighs a non-exaggerated 3 times as much as the Ethiopian. Both athletes have agreed in advance to not compete in each others specialty, weightlifting and running. Gebs agent, Jos Hermens tried to get Savickas people to agree to withdraw from another event the Strongman event but Savickas, through an interpreter, studied the events and declines stating, I am here to win! Geb displays his trademark smile while saying, So am I. After a couple months to train and familiarize themselves about the 15 events, the competition is finally underway. Day one begins with an interesting event the American football combine. After Geb fails to record one rep on the bench press, Savickas entertains the crowd by throwing 225 lbs up in the air and catching it showing off his massive strength and a little hand/eye coordination as well. Now Geb will need to win both the vertical jump and shuttle run to

claim this event. Three of our panelists think he can do while the remaining six think Savickas can claim one. Medler comments, Despite his large size, Savickas would have the explosiveness to win this event. WINNER SAVICKAS (1-0) A one-on-one tennis game is next and this looks very interesting. Medler comments, they dont play much tennis in Ethiopia; while Dziepak says, Lots of lateral movement and change of direction (involved in tennis). The game starts very awkward but Gebs quickness eventually wins out as he wins 7-2. WINNER GEB (1-1) The final event of day 1 is the 100-meter swimming event. Medler says, Savickas would have more experience in the pool than Geb from the dessert. Dziepak remarks, This is the most difficult to choose without knowledge of prior swimming experience. Although Savickas swims 2-3 days a week in training it was not enough to impress voters, Geb wins 7-2. WINNER GEB (2-1) After a night of rest, both are back for Day 2 and the cricket hitting contest. Although neither have played cricket or even seen a wicket, Savickass power and hand-eye coordination allows him an easy win, 8-1. Dziepak replies, Striking power is important. WINNER SAVICKAS (2-2) As mentioned earlier, Geb has ceded the weightlifting contest to Savickas. No brainer there! WINNER SAVICKAS (3-2) All nine panelists think Geb cruises to a victory in the cycling race. Dziepak states the obvious, Weight advantage and endurance is important. WINNER GEB (3-3) Day 3 begins with one of the most interesting challenges: One-on-one basketball game to 21 points. Premo stated, I felt Savickas big body might cause more fouls so I had Geb winning on the back of free throws. Harder stated, Savickas is better on defense because of his height but Geb more maneuverable and would have better endurance near the end of the game. Medler comments, They play a lot of basketball in Lithuania. In a tight contest, our panelists agree with Medler and give Savickas the win 5-4. WINNER SAVICKAS (4-3) In the strongman event (farmers walk and shot put), Geb smiles, shakes his hands and says, No thanks. The panelists agree 9-0. WINNER SAVICKAS (5-3) For the next event, the baseball catch and throw, both athletes must catch 5 hit balls and make the appropriate throws. They are scored for catching the ball and hitting the throwing targets. Its obvious that neither of them have never played baseball before but the panel give Biz Z the big win 8-1. Parker states, I dont know if either of them could judge a fly ball well enough to catch it but I think Savickas has a little more hand/eye coordination and a little more arm strength to win this event. WINNER SAVICKAS (63)

Both competitors get to sleep in a little later on day 4 as Savickas has already conceded the running event to the running legend. WINNER GEB (4-6) The soccer goalie kick is up next. Geb won this event convincingly 9-0 with ORourke summing up the panels opinion by saying, Savickas because of his size would be the better defender but Gebs probably greater speed and definite endurance would turn the tide. Premo adds, I felt that Gebs agility would enable him to outmaneuver Savickas, both on offense and defense. Geb has narrowed Savickas overall event lead to 1 point, WINNER GEB (5-6) The mixed martial arts contest is up next. Did anyone see the De La Hoya/Shaq fight on Shaq Vs? Well, subtract 20 pounds, and a lot of experience from De La Hoya and add a cage and this is what you have. Geb opts for the power competition but Big Z dominated that also (9-0). Certainly the safer route for Geb!, says Premo. WINNER SAVICKAS (7-5) Geb realized that he must sweep the Day 5 events to win this competition. As he looks at the events, he realizes that he has a chance to do so. Day 5 opens up with a gym test testing pull-ups, parallel bar dips and squat thrusts. Dziepak favors Big Z, Savickas spends much time training in the gym whereas Geb spends most of his time on the roads and trails. However, Parker and the panel disagree (5-4), Gebs light weight would favor him in these events and he picks up a much needed victory to stay alive. WINNER GEB (6-7) Next is the 1-on-1 rugby challenge. Geb uses his quickness to evade Savickas for a score while Geb has a whale of a time tackling Big Z. Dziepak replies, Savickas can carry both the ball and Geb over the goal line. This goes to a sudden death where Big Z is finally able to get his hands on Geb and pull him down while Geb bounces off Savickas as Savickas crosses the line with a huge Lithuanian smile! (Panel favors Big Z 72)WINNER SAVICKAS (8-6) CLINCHES THE COMPETITION Both competitors, with outcome already determined, agree to contest the final event, the obstacle course for fun! Medler points out before the event that Savickass size, would be a detriment on the wall. Savickas wisely runs around the wall taking the penalty points. He demolishes the blocking sled but struggles over the hurdles and water jump as Geb crosses the finish line nine (9-0) seconds ahead. WINNER GEB LOSES THE COMPETITION TO SAVICKAS (8-7)

ZYDRUNAS SAVICKAS ISTHE BETTER ATHLETE!

Dziepak made an interesting observation, The distance or time duration at which the extreme endurance athlete has the advantage over the extreme explosive or strength athlete where the cost of carrying bodyweight overtakes the power advantage of greater muscle capacity. My guess is around 40 seconds.

To sum the competition up, Hilbe states, These two athletes represent the extremes in the world of athletics. One is a large, strong weight/power lifter, the other a small thin distance runner. Both are at the very top of their sport. On the other hand, Geb has competed against thousands of fellow athletes, has won multiple Olympic championships in a sport contested by thousands of runners, and has been in events ranging from 2 miles through the 26.2 mile marathon. At age 36 is the record holder in the marathon, running the marathon in an average of 4:45 a mile for over 26 miles nonstop. This is an incredible performance. Savickas has competed against a few elite strength athletes comparatively few that is but is at the top of his sport. Savickas wins the most points in this contest but it is difficult to have him labeled as the superior athlete. Being the best over 15 years in a popular worldwide sport is an important criteria over someone who is the best among the relatively few who compete in power sports events. Both are outstanding athletes, but it is difficult in this case to agree with the points. On paper Geb probably looked like the better choice but Savickas showed otherwise (albeit barely) on the field of play. This wraps up the first contest. Thanks to the panel for a job well-done. Readers are free to contact me at parkerclay@hotmail.com to share their feedback. The panel will review the feedback and make any necessary adjustment(s) for the next set of matchups. Next issue the Whos Better? series will continue with more matchups as we begin a tournament to determine who really is the best athlete in the world!

The distinguished panel is made up of: Patrick Premo is Professor Emeritus at St Bonaventure University in Albany, New York. Patrick has developed and produced a number of sports simulation games under the name of FAST-ACTION GAMES for nearly 40 years and he has contributed to over a dozen books and magazines covering football, basketball and track&field. Dale Harder is the author of this newsletter and has written over 2 dozens books about speed, strength and athletic feats. Dale worked for 35 years as a teacher and math coordinator; his best seller Think Tank sold over 10,000 copies. Dale has a B.A. from Cal-Berkeley and a M.A. from SF State College and he competes in Masters events. Dr. Jason Karp is a nationally-recognized speaker, writer, and exercise physiologist who coaches runners through his company RunCoachJason.com. He holds a Ph.D. in exercise physiology and is director and coach of REVO2LT Running Team and cross country coach at San Diego State University. He writes for numerous publications. Clay Parker is a VP of a large regional bank in West Monroe, Louisiana. Clay was a member of his high school 4x400m relay state championship team, played college football and has participated in the Highland Games. Hes made frequent contributions to Harders Strength and Speed books and spends hours reading and researching athletics.

Tony Dziepak is a senior economist at the MITRE Corporation in McLean, Virginia and he previously was an economist at the FAA, US Department of Transportation. Since 1996, Tony has run The Throwers Page http://throwerspage.110mb.com, the first website dedicated to the athletics (track & field) throwing events. Jim Medler is a high school mathematics teacher in Bronxville, New York. He is the worlds leading expert on The Superstars competition and runs the website: http://www.thesuperstars.org which documents the history of this competition. Medler is also a member of the International Society of Olympic Historians. Dr. Joseph Hilbe is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Hawaii and an adjunct professor of statistics at Arizona State University. Hilbe is a Solar System Ambassador with NASA and is a member of many statistical societies and associations. Hilbe won the National AAU Pentathlon Championships in 1968 and 1978 and has 9.4 100 yard PB. Kevin ORourke is a retired former teacher living in Oakland, California. Kevin holds a B.A. degree and ran the 400 yards in college. Kevin has a collection of sports books and magazines numbering in the thousands and is an active sports historian who has made frequent contributions to Dale Harder and his book projects over the past 17 years.