Freaks of Nature

[400guy1]

The Wilt Chamberlain and Usain Bolt threads got me thinking about this one. Are there any athletes out there that you think just defied the "norm" when it came to an event. I know Wilt really didn't compete that much but when he did(49-400 and 55? shot) it was impressive. Bolt is the 6'5" 16 year old from Jamaica that has already run 20.2...wow. I ran at JC Nationals in '94 and witnessed Montgomery's 9.99 and I couldn't believe how skinny he was. He was listed at 138 I believe. Now he's big. How about Haile Geb.? 5'2", 95?...with unbelievable speed/talent. My favorite is Florian Schwarthoff. 6'7", 175 bronze medalist in 110HH in Atlanta. I loved watching him actually chop his steps to get 3 in.
Did he ever run any other events?
How about some other freaks out there?
Professional? Collegiate? Past? Present?

[jhc68]

Re: Freaks of Nature

Several huge (275lb+) throwers over the years have claimed very quick sprint times and/or vertical jumps. Guys like Oldfield and Udo Beyer. Franklin Jacobs jumping 23+ inches overhead has always seemed a bit freakish to me. And at Palo Alto they had the world long jump record laid out on a rug at one of the specatator entries... unbelievable when graphically displayed. Anyone (Powell, Lewis, Beamon) who could throw himself across 29 ft of geography has to have been way freakish.

[Guest]

Re: Freaks of Nature

Don't have time to check the details, but Larry Doubley comes to mind. He was a 27' 0" long jumper (okay 26'11.75") and was 6' 8" tall. That seems real unusual.

[Guest]

Re: Freaks of Nature

Nothing freakish about their size but two completely unforgetable running forms would have to be:

Michael Johnson 200/400 (upright sprinter)

Emil Zatopek 5k/10k/Marathon winner in 56 Olys
(ran like he had just been stabbed in the back with a knife)

[Guest]

Re: Freaks of Nature

One freak of nature for his capacity to handle high volume, high stress work:

Jim Ryun - Best US Middle Distance runner of all time (sorry Liquori, Scott and others)

(in my humble opinion)

[197hjsteve]

Re: Freaks of Nature

How tall was Arthur Wint ?

[Guest]

Re: Freaks of Nature

All great champions are freaks, both physically and mentally. Otherwise they'd be just like the rest of us. It's freakish to be able to run a quarter mile so fast that you could be pulled over in a school zone, or to run 180 miles in 24 hours, or to throw a bowling ball 3/4 down a basketball court, or to be able to jump over a crosswalk. When I measure off Beamon's WR jump for my math classes, they just go nuts -- and then I show them the picture where his feet are above a seated official!

One guy who's probably never been mentioned in T&FN but definitely falls into the "Freak of Nature" category is Yiannis Kouros. I think he's approaching 40, has been competing for over 20 years, and is still the best ultramarathoner in the world. His 24-hour record is 303.5 km, or about 185 miles. Last fall he put up 172 miles on a day that was much too hot for ultramarathoning (80s and high humidity).

[Guest]

Re: Freaks of Nature

University of Southern California, during this last college season, had a top TJer who was:

1. White
2. Very tall (6"7"-ish)
3. Very skinny (170 lbs. by the looks of it)

This beanpole could jump!

[Guest]

Re: Freaks of Nature

In the early 1970s (just when I began subscribing to our favorite magazine), there was a sprinter named Willie Deckard. His calves were bigger than his thighs!

[Guest]

Re: Freaks of Nature

>University of Southern California, during this
>last college season, had a top TJer who
>was:

1. White
2. Very tall (6"7"-ish)
3.
>Very skinny (170 lbs. by the looks of it)

This
>beanpole could jump!


He's not exactly alone, though, is he? He sounds like he has a good build for the TJ. Olsson has a very similar build.

The fact that he is white isn't exactly unusual for a TJ'er (look at Olsson, edwards, Saneyev, and all the other East Europeans of the 1970-90 era).

The fact that he's tall must only help him (Willie Banks, Olsson, Conley, Kapustin are all fairly tall).

His skinniness I can only put down to the fact that he's young - maybe he'll bulk up soon. Still, Jonathan Edwards, Willie Banks and Mike Conley have all proved that you don't need to be powerfully built for the TJ.

[400guy1]

Re: Freaks of Nature

Powell wrote this on another thread:
Anyone heard of Tim Goebel? He's a German sprinter who made the World Indoor final at 60 meters AS A JUNIOR (a week after his 19th birthday). Well, he's 6-7.25. He hasn't been able to progress much since then due to injuries, but he definitely was a huge talent.

[400guy1]

Re: Freaks of Nature

What is with those Germans? Schwarthoff, Goebel, Schultz...so tall.


Anybody think McMullen is a freak? When he toes the line, he looks like a bouncer in a midget bar...lol.

[Guest]

Re: Freaks of Nature

>Anybody think McMullen is
>a freak? When he toes the line, he looks like a
>bouncer in a midget bar...lol.

Great line! Seriously, though, Larry Rawson talked a while back about how skinny middle-distance runners have become in the last 20 years. This coincides with a switch towards mostly rabitted races, where tatics mean very little. McMullen, on the other hand, does his best work in tactical races, due at least in part to the fact that he can't get pushed around.

[Guest]

Re: Freaks of Nature

J. Squire,
I read a recent Ultra result that listed Yiannis Kouros as age 46. He truely is a freak of nature (in a good way). His natural endurance is amazing. In his 24 Hour world record he averaged 7:38 per mile for 188 miles straight!

Not sure which is more impressive, his physical endurance or his mental strength and determination.

[Powell]

Re: Freaks of Nature

Let me also add this was in 2001. Goebel's bests that year were 6.58 and 10.21. Not too bad for a 19-year old... As I mentioned, he's been injured most of the time since then, but being only 21 now, he could definitely come through in the future.