This Is Bullsh!t: 'Sports Illustrated's Fittest 50'
This Is Bullsh!t: 'Sports Illustrated's Fittest 50'
By Alex Gold
Sports Illustrated recently published an article where their editors and writers set out to identify the 50 fittest male athletes in the world. They based their findings on a 40-point rating system based on four criteria with a max allotment of 10 points for each category.
• Strength: The pushing power of a lineman or the force of an ultimate fighter
• Speed: The top end of a sprinter or the burst of a running back
• Endurance: A runner’s bottomless reserve or a boxer’s ability to keep going in a bout
• Agility: The balance of a downhill skier or a euro step at full speed on the break
First off, before we even get into how Rich Froning, the four-time Fittest Man on Earth was only deemed #32, this article lost all credibility when they decided to begin the countdown with a NFL Punter. Really?! I don’t doubt that Steve Weatherford is fit in his own right, but don’t start a 50 Fittest article with a guy who’s position consists of punting a football and getting out of the way as bigger, faster athletes sprint and collide down the field.
Now lets take a look at how SI ranked Froning in all four categories on a scale of 1-10.
• Strength: 6.5
• Speed: 6.5
• Endurance: 6.5
• Agility: 6.5
I’m not sure if this was a lack of time, creativity, or effort, but this is laughable. Not only do these numbers have no basis, these “writers” lazily applied a 6.5 across all four criteria. Are you telling me they feel Froning is slightly above average in speed, strength, agility, and endurance?
Let’s take a look at each category, and compare it to Froning’s ability.
• Strength - This to me is the most glaring blunder of them all. How do you say that a man who can squat 445 lbs., clean & jerk 370 lbs., snatch 300 lbs., and deadlift 545 lbs. is a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10? I’m at a loss.
• Speed - This is the one score I don’t look at with extreme contention. Froning is not known for his speed, but that is not to say that he isn’t fast. He runs a 400m in 65 seconds and is as explosive as they come when it comes to power and Olympic lifts.
• Endurance - Endurance is a close second for me behind strength as the greatest oversight in this breakdown. Some of you may think Froning’s endurance is his greatest strength, and you wouldn’t be wrong. His combination of strength and endurance are what make him the elite of the elite. Froning has a motor that allows him to push through pain that would cripple most. His lung capacity is off the charts, and no one in the sport manages their endurance better than Froning.
• Agility - If you ask any strength coach out there worth his salt, all of them will tell you the snatch is the most difficult lift and that it takes years of dedication to master. (This is why it is one of only two events judged in Olympic weightlifting). It takes an extreme amount of agility to move quickly and efficiently under a bar that you catch over head weighing 300-plus. Along with Froning’s lifting prowess, he can handstand walk 330 feet on his hands. Enough said.
Arguing who is the fittest can be like debating whether Jim Brown or Bo Jackson was the greatest athlete. There will never be a right or wrong, but strong cases can be made using facts, and statistics.
The fact that SI ignored facts in favor of names from more mainstream sports in deciding to rank the four-time CrossFit Games champion the 32nd fittest man in their poll with scores of 6.5 out of 10 in all four categories is blasphemous.
Sports Illustrated recently published an article where their editors and writers set out to identify the 50 fittest male athletes in the world. They based their findings on a 40-point rating system based on four criteria with a max allotment of 10 points for each category.
• Strength: The pushing power of a lineman or the force of an ultimate fighter
• Speed: The top end of a sprinter or the burst of a running back
• Endurance: A runner’s bottomless reserve or a boxer’s ability to keep going in a bout
• Agility: The balance of a downhill skier or a euro step at full speed on the break
First off, before we even get into how Rich Froning, the four-time Fittest Man on Earth was only deemed #32, this article lost all credibility when they decided to begin the countdown with a NFL Punter. Really?! I don’t doubt that Steve Weatherford is fit in his own right, but don’t start a 50 Fittest article with a guy who’s position consists of punting a football and getting out of the way as bigger, faster athletes sprint and collide down the field.
Now lets take a look at how SI ranked Froning in all four categories on a scale of 1-10.
• Strength: 6.5
• Speed: 6.5
• Endurance: 6.5
• Agility: 6.5
I’m not sure if this was a lack of time, creativity, or effort, but this is laughable. Not only do these numbers have no basis, these “writers” lazily applied a 6.5 across all four criteria. Are you telling me they feel Froning is slightly above average in speed, strength, agility, and endurance?
Let’s take a look at each category, and compare it to Froning’s ability.
• Strength - This to me is the most glaring blunder of them all. How do you say that a man who can squat 445 lbs., clean & jerk 370 lbs., snatch 300 lbs., and deadlift 545 lbs. is a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10? I’m at a loss.
• Speed - This is the one score I don’t look at with extreme contention. Froning is not known for his speed, but that is not to say that he isn’t fast. He runs a 400m in 65 seconds and is as explosive as they come when it comes to power and Olympic lifts.
• Endurance - Endurance is a close second for me behind strength as the greatest oversight in this breakdown. Some of you may think Froning’s endurance is his greatest strength, and you wouldn’t be wrong. His combination of strength and endurance are what make him the elite of the elite. Froning has a motor that allows him to push through pain that would cripple most. His lung capacity is off the charts, and no one in the sport manages their endurance better than Froning.
• Agility - If you ask any strength coach out there worth his salt, all of them will tell you the snatch is the most difficult lift and that it takes years of dedication to master. (This is why it is one of only two events judged in Olympic weightlifting). It takes an extreme amount of agility to move quickly and efficiently under a bar that you catch over head weighing 300-plus. Along with Froning’s lifting prowess, he can handstand walk 330 feet on his hands. Enough said.
Arguing who is the fittest can be like debating whether Jim Brown or Bo Jackson was the greatest athlete. There will never be a right or wrong, but strong cases can be made using facts, and statistics.
The fact that SI ignored facts in favor of names from more mainstream sports in deciding to rank the four-time CrossFit Games champion the 32nd fittest man in their poll with scores of 6.5 out of 10 in all four categories is blasphemous.