Sighting of Yao Ming at 2007 Special Olympics Event

Interesting.
I always thought Yao Ming was too tall to have suffered from Down's Syndrome.

He is certainly an inspiration, now more than ever.

 

I believe he's a victim of Up's Syndrome.

 

Why is that other chinese dude always with Yao?

 

Chinese and track and field usually don't mix. The fact that he holds a world record in a track and field speed event makes him God in China.

China has skipped 3 or 4 generations in athletics due to the "screwed" ideals of the Cultural Revolution. That's why for years sports in China were not hold high. With the new focus on making a advances in sports now, it will be interesting to see if China will be producing world class athletes in years to come.... and my money is on "YES".

 

I am referring to athletes of major professional sports of the world that attracts the best of the best "athletes". Ping Pong, badminton and other Olympic events don't really count as "Major Sports" in my opinion because they don't attract the best of the best athletes in the world. The best goes to where the money is, and there is where you'll find the best athletes.

What I want to see is Chinese athletes excel in Basketball, Soccer, Boxing, MMA, Wrestling, Track and Field, Baseball, and even extreme sports like the X-Games etc. I think it will happen if it has not already happened, and it brings many of us pride.

 

The sports with the most money would be golf, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, and any other sports that has been turned into a commercial circus.

The only sports recognised my many as world class sports are those in the Olympics. Your opinion of 'best atheletes' is merely just that... an opinion. You need alot of atheletic ability to do gymnastics, swimming and track relays. Heck, nevermind those kind of explosive sports... my opinion has always been that some of the best atheletes come from the Ironman trialthon competitions.

 

If a sport has lots of money, it's because people want to pay to watch it, not because the athletes are inherently better.

I can name many baseball players who are very poor athletes and are completely out of shape, yet they succeed because they have the hand-eye coordination to hit a baseball or throw a baseball at 95 mph. This is simply an example.

 

Agreed, that's why i put Baseball last. In a way the best "athlete" is hard to define because of the many factors involved. To me, the best "athletes" are those that dominate "explosive" type of sports where sprinting, jumping, and combination of speed and power are at the premium.

So in that regards, there are only certain sports that fits the bill. There are also endurance type of sports that emphasize endurance and those are of another category in my opinion. Therefore what my opinion of the best athletes can be different from what others opinion is. For the category that emphasize speed, power, running, jumping, China does not dominate in that yet but is definitely an up and comer. One day soon we can make a better claim but we are not there yet.