Todays athletes aren't always better

[Anthony342]

Well not only are offenses more complex, but sports leagues continually make rule changes to favor the offense to get more scoring, which supposedly leads to more ratings/tickets sold until defenses learn to adjust, scores get lower and something else becomes illegal.

[nerguewash]

A common arguement for those who believe that the boxing greats of the past would be enable to compete with their counterparts of today is that athletes have evolved beyond comparison due to modern nutrition and sports science and the like. I don't believe this is quite true though.

Yes in events that reward pure strength or pure speed, such as weightlifting and sprinting the records of the past bear no comparison to the records of today. Today's athletes are stronger and faster. But if you look at athletic events that rely on technique as well as power or speed the records do not fall as quickly, there is not such a chasm between todays records and previous records.

Jesse Owens was an all-time great Olympian. His times in the 100 metres sprint, an event based on pure speed, are laughable when compared to the top sprinters today. His world record from 1936 of 10.2 would not have seen him anywhere near qualifying for the Olympic final this year in London. But in the long jump, a technical event which rewards speed only when applied with good technique the world record Jesse Owens set in 1935 of 8.13 would actually have enabled Owens to have medalled in London. This years Olympic bronze medallist Will Claye of USA jumped 8.12 metres. Britains gold medal winner Greg Rutherford jumped 8.31, a distance that could have been bettered by long jumpers of the 1960's. In fact the long jump world record has not progressed since Mike Powell jumped 8.95 in 1991 and the Olympic record has not progressed since Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 metres in 1968. That jump from Beamon was a world record for 23 years.

It's not just the long jump. In other technical disciplines world records often go many years without being broken. In the triple jump Jonathan Edwards world record has stood for 12 years. Only 9 men have been able to better the distance of 17.89 that was first set by Brazilian Joao Carlos Oliveria 37 years ago. The high jump record has not been broken since 1993. The height jumped to win this years Olympics could have been bettered by high jumpers from the 1970's.

Boxing is a technical discipline. It is not always the quickest or the strongest that wins. It is about how you use your speed and how you use strength. If 1930's Jesse Owens is capable of beating most of todays long jumpers then I don't see why Benny Leonard would be incapable of beating todays lightweights. Or why Joe Louis would be unable to beat todays heavyweights.

I truly admire with your statements but as far as my thinking is concerned then its bit different like I don't think that there is really a difference between the today's and the olden days athletes as if what makes the difference is the capability of a particular person,,
Some had there capability and some don't but some persons are like even if they don't have there capability they are welling to try there level best to do anything.

[mickey malone]

Fighters of today are a massive disappointment. End thread

[Humean]

So your point is that athletes peaked in the early 90s? If not, why has nobody broken the long jump record for over 20 years with all these improvements in training and nutrition?

Shotput record hasn't been broken for 23 years.

Discus throw record hasn't been broken for 27 years.

High jump record hasn't been broken for 20 years

Pole vault record hasn't been broken for 19 years.

It is a question of the trend, to expect the record to be broken every few years is a straw man argument against the view that sports have improved. You list four track and field sports, what about the others? There are clearly a large number of factors that go into determining the level of quality in sport, improvements and training and nutrition are only two of them, although two very important ones.

[Humean]

how many times does it have to be explained to you that boxing isnt fcking long jump you ******.

Did I say boxing was long jump? The point is that boxing is a sport,long jump is a sport, they are not totally unrelated in regards to the athleticism needed for high competence in them. I don't think it is me that is the ****** if that simple point goes over your head.

[Humean]

Evolution happens when organisms are forced to adapt to surroundings for survival, mankind is pretty much the top of the food chain, and we need not worry about going extinct hence why our characteristics have stayed the same for the most part,, I do think that over the last hundred years, things like processed food, vitamins, medical breakthrus and training methods have cause for us to get slightly bigger, maybe stronger in some cases but nothing to drastic,,,

In terms of boxing, i think the athletes are about the same, technique and skill are the things lacking nowadays but i think that is due to guys not staying active, and being protected on the way up, and also how the amateurs have changed to now being just about how many times can you slap/hit a guy, it isnt like it was in the 50s,60,70s.. I think the watered down amateurs, and then lack of fights plus being producted has really hindered the skill development of this generation

Evolution in the sense of the evolution of ths species takes millions of years. The evolution/progress in terms of the evolving/progressive improvements in various things such as nutrition, sports science, training methods, skills and such like can certainly take place over short periods of time. Practically every sport has seen those improvements.

Here's the dirty little secret:

Jessie Owens wins the gold in the 100m in the 1936 Olympics with a 10.3 time. Usain Bolt wins the 100m gold in 2008 with a 9.69 time.

72 years of supposed "evolution" and all there is to show for it is an improvement of about a half a second. In practical terms if Usain Bolt picked Jesse Owens' pocket he wouldn't exactly be putting distance between them running down the street.

Half a second in a 100 metre race is an enormous amount of time. 5 hundreds of a second is a big difference. That you cannot understand this is beyond belief.

EDIT
Seems I am on poet682006's ignore list, so confident he is with his own opinions and beliefs that he cannot have them challenged.

My arguement was simply to counter the amount of time I have heard that in ALL sports athletes of today have evolved way beyond athletes of the past. There are lot's of sports where it is not as clear cut as all that and I believe boxing is one of them.

People certainly overstate that argument and it is certainly less clear cut with boxing but I think boxing has improved, definitely since the first few decades of the twentieth century and also somewhat since the 40s and 50s or so. I don't think there has been a sport that hasn't improved quite considerably since the second world war.

[StarshipTrooper]

EDIT
Seems I am on poet682006's ignore list, so confident he is with his own opinions and beliefs that he cannot have them challenged.

You're on ignore because I was asked to ignore you. Now **** off and die you pseudo-intellectual ******.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

You're on ignore because I was asked to ignore you. Now **** off and die you pseudo-intellectual ******.

how can you tell if people put you on ignore lists,,,

[StarshipTrooper]

how can you tell if people put you on ignore lists,,,

Easy enough.....when someone has you on ignore you're blocked from posting in their threads.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Easy enough.....when someone has you on ignore you're blocked from posting in their threads.

ok thanks,, i wasnt sure if it sent you a notification or what,,,