What is the hardest sport? Well, there can be no objective answer to this question. This is because whatever answer you give is subjective. However, a basic truth that holds firm forever is that sport entertains and brings people all over the world together, in a stadium, boxing arena, or a TV screen.
As a mere spectator, you may not know the kind of pain athletes go through to bring that entertainment, and win accolades for themselves. Regardless of the pain and sweat, all sports share major characteristics; such as strength, balance, speed, and endurance.
Here is a list of 10 sports that are not the easiest to play.
List Of 10 Hardest Sports
- Boxing
- Gymnastic
- Bull Riding
- Horse Riding
- Cross-Country Running
- Swimming
- Water Polo
- Rugby
- Ice Hockey
- American Football
1. Boxing
Boxing is one of the hardest sports to play. The game brings two rivals in the ring to fight for points. A point is earned when an opponent succeeds in throwing a punch at the other.
So many argued it is not only the most dangerous and challenging sport but also the hardest in the world. A negative feature of the sport is that boxers sustain injuries that are life-threatening sometimes.
There are countless instances where renowned boxers battle serious health issues after retirement. Notwithstanding, the high level of risk, they still participate in it to entertain fans and lovers of the game.
2. Gymnastics
Gymnastics is not an easy sport. It requires a gymnast to be strong and flexible at the same time. It needs one to have agility, stamina, balance, control, and coordination. To be a master of the game, the gymnast’s entire body must agree with itself.
There is no way that a human being can exercise on bars, beams, floors, and vaulting horses without being resilient, fluid, and flexible.
3. Bull Riding
A bull rider’s opponent is the bull. You don’t need anybody to tell you how wild and dangerous a bull is. For the avoidance of doubt, this sport is meant for the strong in mind. The risk involved in bull riding should normally scare people to death, but some still compete in rodeo events.
For a rider to win, he/she must stay mounted and buckled on the wild beast for 8 seconds. The beauty of the game is to maintain balance while the bull tries to knock you off its backs. This short 8 seconds can turn bloody in a minute second.
No wonder it is adjudged the ‘most dangerous 8 seconds sports in the World’.
4. Horse Riding
Horse riding involves the jockey (horse rider) and the horse. To succeed, the rider must establish communication with the horse. In this sport, the horse and its rider are teammates, unlike bull riding where the bull and its rider are opponents.
To ride a horse and steeplechase is not easy at all. To do this, the jockey trains the horse for speed and other skills that would be needed during competitive events.
5. Cross Country Running
Cross country running is really hard. It requires a high level of endurance and mental energy to compete in this kind of sport. Runners run long distances covering thousands of meters. For instance, the IAAF standard distances for competitions of international nature are 12,000 meters (7.5 miles) for men and 2000-5000 meters (1.25-3miles) for women.
In covering such distances, runners are often overwhelmed, with some not able to complete the race. They can suffer dehydration because of the sun, or get beaten by the rains, among others.
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6. Swimming
In swimming, the swimmer uses arms, legs, and body to break through water. This requires a great deal of energy to do. Mastering the skills and arts of the game is not easy as you see on TV, it is much more.
7. Water Polo
Water polo is likened to American football. What differentiates both sports is where they are played. The game is played in a water pool that is at least 1.8 meters deep, by 2 teams of players whose aim is to score by throwing a floating water ball into each other’s nets.
What makes the game hard is the fact that a player will swim as well as catch or throw the ball with one hand. In other words, it combines football and swimming.
8. Rugby
Rugby is one of the hardest sports in the world, and it is also very dangerous. Recently, the game has been heavily criticized for its lack of safety measures. Players don’t wear headgear or pads.
This is responsible for the high rate of concussions recorded by the game according to research by Complete Concussion Management in 2018.
9. Ice Hockey
Well, Ice Hockey is no easy game at all. It is more difficult to play or learn as compared to other sports especially football. The game requires skill stamina, agility, flexibility, strength. Similarly, the hands and the eyes must work together perfectly.
To play the game, you must learn how to skate before any other thing. Learning the art of skating is a different thing altogether. It could take a couple of years’ practice to master to become a good skater. It even takes longer to master the use of stick and punk.
10. American Football
There have been a lot of arguments about American football being harder than soccer. For those opposing the view, don’t forget it is more physical than soccer.
Players get hit and tackled all the time. In fact, it is the basis of the game. You can hit a player as hard as you want, the ref doesn’t care.
The risk is getting injured is high compared to soccer. According to the Bleacher Report in 2011, American football is ranks as the 3rd most dangerous sport, with soccer in 6th place.
Examples of Other Difficult Sports
- Football
- Tennis
- Motocross
- Figure Skating
- Basketball
- Skiing: Alpine
- Wrestling
- Baseball/Softball
- Lacrosse
- Volleyball
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