Ireland
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England
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USA|
Aug
19
2006
|
Adventure Racing an Olympic Sport |
If Adventure Racing became an Olympic Sport? Just wondering what peoples views on this are. I think it would add a lot to the olympics if adventure racing was introduced. Imagine having an expedition length adventure race starting mid-way through the games and the final cut-off being a day before the end say. It would let everyone from all the nations see more of the country where the games are being held.
I think it would capture huge audiences as well. Just think of the amount of people watching 24/7 online through a GPS tracking system to see how their country are getting on. It is far more demanding then any other sport currently in the games and i think the sustained effort and endurdance would delight viewers. All the different skills involved would also appeal to many more types of people. I know at present the gear and equipment teams use play a major part in results but this would also be a fairer way to determine who really is the best. They could have standard equipment that each country has to use.
I’d be interested on your comments….
Latest Comments (3):
Sorry, to disagree but I think this is a terrible idea. I don’t think adventure racing an Olympic caliber event. It doesn’t have the history of the classic Greek events neither does it have the worldwide acceptance of modern additions. As for more demanding events, the toughest adventure race does not challenge the Olympic marathon. The A standard in 2004 was 2:14, that is nearly 5 mins per mile for more than 26 miles; the US at times has had only one or two athletes able to achieve that level; ony a hundred or so people among the world’s billions can complete a marathon at the A Standard. The decathlon, 3000m steeplechase and the triathlon are all more demanding at the Olympic level that the Eco challenge. If length of time is your measure of demanding, then Test Match Cricket should be included before Adventure Racing. It would be more prudent to suggest a world championship of adventure racing before elevating it to an Olympic event.
I think this is a great idea! If Adventure Racing became an Olympic sport it would add a whole new dimension to the Olympic Games. Of course every event in the Olympics is hugely demanding of its competitors but that’s not to say that there is no room for Adventure Racing as an Olympic event. Adventure Racing would draw new audiences to the Games, in particular those who are not typically interested in the classic events. There is no doubt that every event in the Games is extremely difficult and challenging, but each in its own way. No one event can really be compared with another, and I think this would also be true of adventure racing if it were to become an Olympic Sport. It doesn’t matter if adventure racing is or isn’t as difficult as another event in the Games, it would nonetheless be a great event in its own right!
Em, there is a AR world championships….
I think AR as an Olympic Event wuld be wonderful, if unlikely. This is not because of the standard of the atheletes. Many Olympic Atheletes also adventure race, ie Ian Adamson on team Nike and our own Gearoid Towey on team IrishAR.
Unlikey because of the variation required to set a good AR course. All Olympic Events are a set distance and then the standard is calculated from that. Adventure races are into the great unknown and thats why we love them!!!
But my vote is to have AR in the olympics…. I wonder how we do about asking for it. There are alot of less then typical sports at the Olympics nowadays, synchronised swimming, dressage and ballroom dancing… surely AR deserves consideration…
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