What is an "Athlete"?

[bijanc]

Is "Tiger" Woods an athlete? Are NASCAR's Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch? Do you consider Michelle Kwan as having been an athlete?

What factors in your definition?

[TrackDaddy]

Michelle Kwan, yes.

And while I have respect for what the other people you listed do, in the purest sense of the word, not in my opinion.

What they do to some extent is indeed physically demanding, but I see them moreso as technicians.

[jazzcyclist]

I think in golf, putting is a matter of skill and hand-eye coordination. You don't have to be a great athlete to put, just a very skilled athlete. However, I think that some degree of athleticism is required to drive the ball off the tee the way Tiger does, and I'm quite certain that it puts a good deal of strain on the body. Perhaps bambam can weigh in.

[Friar]

Moving with some sort of strategy involved. Requiring either speed, balance, strength, stamina or a combination.

The US Amateur Golf Champion one year was 6'1, 305 lbs. He was a good shot-maker, but couldn't walk the course day after day. If motion may cause illness or inj. you probably are a technician and not an athlete!