European Union Forums

[Dixie678]

I've been transfixed with the Olympics. I'm 30 and have never done a sport. Is there ANY kind of sport I could start now to be in time for qualifying for London 2012.I want to experience the same sense of pride those atheletes feel when representing their countries.
I only have four years.

No silly answers please.

[Pru]

4 years is not enough im afraid. these people have spent their lives preparing. sorry but there is no hope. you need to have been going since the age of like 15.

[FlorrieXXX]

Archery or Sharpshooting would be a good thing to do.

[FlorrieXXX]

Well, I just started swimming and I picked it up very quickly, so try out for swimming. Its easy.

[Bea17]

Honestly try Archery.Get a qualified trainer.Quite a noble sport.

[Billie78]

table tennis.
here's a website about the sports they do:http://www.mahalo.com/Olympic_Sports_List

[Mamie]

Walking. Look out your window. Everybody walks. It's easy to do.

[Bea17]

you cant
im a swimmer i have been swimming since i was about 4 like a lot of people but started to go to proper classes at the age of about 10 i started doing competeions and came 1st in many of them
even after all this time i was only 54th in the country im now 15 and am still swimming but i am no where near getting to olympic level yet

[Lulu]

I agree with others here that you have probably not enough time to develop the skilss of a sport where strategy and instinctive action or reaction are required.

You best bet is to figure out ONE fitness based and/or skill sport based on your physique (remember at 30, your physique is pretty well established so, for example, you may not want to look at running as your sport if your physique is good for weightlifting).

Don't forget to consider sports you may not have much experience in. For example, you may have a very good physique for archery even though you have not really done it competitively!

N.B. You HAVE to have a passion for your sport. You will be doing it all day every day and it will cause you more pain and heartache than you can imagine, so you better love it enough to get you through these rough times to the good times!

Next practise, practise, practise! Find a good club, with a GREAT coach and kiss your social life goodbye for 4 years. Sport at this level is all about sacrifice. It is not just the endless hours of training, it is also about the free time between training when you rest instead of partying, when you read up on technique/competition instead of going to the movies, when you travel to and from competitions instead of going camping.

Most people want to do this as a part time gig but the ONLY way to get there is if you treat it as a fulltime job AND you are lucky enough to be genetically blessed! That is why we all admire these athletes, they are the very best of the very few!

Good luck and give me a wave from the Gold Medal podium in 2012!

[Johnnie]

An Australian was picked up by the coach of the rowing team, four years ago. She had no athletic background. He told her that she had the build to be a rower. She participated in the Beijing Olympic games. It's possible, but if you want to do it, you need to work HARD!!! Good luck.

[Mamie]

Maybe something like archery.
its a little to late to try anything like swimming or track.

[Lil]

this is kinda a silly answer but four years isnt enough time to get to olympic standard, these people train from when they are 10 and some people even younger.

[Bea17]

Don't worry about what the other people are saying. "you can't do it in 4 years"

Bull.

Over 300 athletes started training 4 years ago and made it to beijing, including 10-50 that made bronze medals or higher.

(one even got gold from what I remember, a runner)


A good example would be the american pole vaulter. She was sitting down watching the olympics 4 years ago and she wanted to do pole vaulting, In 2008, she won the pole vaulting silver medal. And the only reason she lost was due to the first place being a world record holder, (Who broke it again in beijing)

You don't need time, you just need dedication.

If you want, try pole vaulting.

(And Charxx, the reason you're not olympic level is not because you're not good enough, but you're too young specifically for swimming, if you look at michael Phelps / etc. You need to be at least 18+ With a long lean body for hydro-dynamics.)

[Dru987]

it could happen look out the window you see people waling