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Athlete at a late age

I am almost 18, is it possible to start any individual sport and still become a professional athlete like compete in the Olympics? if so then please suggest ideal sports.

Reply 1

Drewski

19

Original post by lovelyDimples

I am almost 18, is it possible to start any individual sport and still become a professional athlete like compete in the Olympics? if so then please suggest ideal sports.

You're doing it the wrong way round. Find a sport you love and stick with it.

If you're picking one just to get to the Olympics, then you'll never make it.

Reply 2

username5737602

17

Why would you want to go to the Olympics when you don't even know what sport you want to do?

Reply 3

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

20

Original post by lovelyDimples

I am almost 18, is it possible to start any individual sport and still become a professional athlete like compete in the Olympics? if so then please suggest ideal sports.

Most sports require high aptitude to read the game as well as exceptional talent.

Also when you push yourself to elite standards small biomechanics things really start to come into play and without having had years of correct strength & conditioning building up the right muscle memory will make the physical aspects tough.

Realistically you would need to find a simple sport where the need to read the game is low, and you are physically suited to it. Probably some low popularity sports like fencing maybe, I think rowing is one of a lot of people move onto later.

Reply 4

username5486204

OP

8

Original post by mnot

Most sports require high aptitude to read the game as well as exceptional talent.

Also when you push yourself to elite standards small biomechanics things really start to come into play and without having had years of correct strength & conditioning building up the right muscle memory will make the physical aspects tough.

Realistically you would need to find a simple sport where the need to read the game is low, and you are physically suited to it. Probably some low popularity sports like fencing maybe, I think rowing is one of a lot of people move onto later.

Thanks a lot

Reply 5

nulli tertius

21

Original post by lovelyDimples

I am almost 18, is it possible to start any individual sport and still become a professional athlete like compete in the Olympics? if so then please suggest ideal sports.

Sinead Diver took up running at 30 having just become a mother. That was 14 years ago. This week she was 10th in the Marathon at the Olympics.

Reply 6

username5486204

OP

8

Original post by Drewski

You're doing it the wrong way round. Find a sport you love and stick with it.

If you're picking one just to get to the Olympics, then you'll never make it.

I don

Original post by tej3141

Why would you want to go to the Olympics when you don't even know what sport you want to do?

I don't necessarily want to go to the Olympics but I want to be able to compete in competitions and I already have sports I want to do, Karate and swimming but I am just checking for other suitable ones I might be able to love.

Reply 7

Kallisto

Entertainment Forum Helper

22

Original post by lovelyDimples

I am almost 18, is it possible to start any individual sport and still become a professional athlete like compete in the Olympics? if so then please suggest ideal sports.

Joining a sport just in the hope of to compete in the olympics is the wrong attitude for a beginner. Apart from it, these olympic athletes begin to train in their sport sooner, approximately at the childhood age as a rule. Look for a sport you like - with realistic ambitions!

Reply 8

rr0

8

Since you don't necessarily want to go to the Olympics then how about foosball (table football).

Believe me, it's much more than a bar game.

I took up foosball at the age of 18 and came 2nd in the UK championships after playing for a couple of years. Although, many of the current top players started earlier and usually came from a foosball family.

In 2019 I was a member of the UK senior (age 50+) team that came 2nd in the Foosball World Championships.

There are many tournaments both in the UK and abroad.

In the 12 months before covid I competed in tournaments in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic.

There's not much money and no fame so if those are what you are after then look elsewhere, but it is very competitive and loads of fun.

The tournament that pays out the most is held in the USA and if you won the 3 main events (open singles, open doubles, mixed doubles) there then you would win somewhere beteween $15k and $20k.

Here's a YouTube video from the 2019 Foosball World Championships showing the finals of the women's and men's team events ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThLqTam6MKE&list=PLS_VrWBLP_Q4W6C5Xodr9ZSMm_Bo62r-e&index=16
Skip to 6hrs 16mins for the Women's final.
Skip to 9hrs 19mins for the Men's final.

Athlete at a late age

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