Any athletes?

[mikbone]

One of my children was cleaning out the garage and stumbled on some of my ancient photos developed in a drug store.  He was so excited and questioned, this is you right?

Yup. 1989 Texas Stadium pole vault portion of the decathlon.

He is 16 and has been trying to dunk a basketball. I’ve been giving him advice that he has somewhat been listening to.  After discovering the picture he has been more intent on following my coaching.

I’m looking forward to the olympics in Paris. 

Edited June 19, 2024 by mikbone

[Carborendum]

Very nice.  Yet again, you make me jealous.

I was a high school athlete.  I did track events.  But I couldn't do the field events (which mostly favored upper body strength).  I basically hit puberty at 18.  And I filled out by 24.

Pretty impressive vault.

[mikbone]

28 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

I basically hit puberty at 18.  And I filled out by 24.

We lived in Hawaii from grades 2-3 and they did not teach cursive.  When we moved to Texas the counselor recommended that we repeat the 3rd grade to learn cursive.  We had started school early, but this made us (I’m a twin) a little bit older than the majority of students.  Turned out to be great for athletics.  

I just about peaked athletically in HS.  Got a full ride due to my good marks and when I got to college they transitioned me to the decathlon.  I got much stronger but my speed and jumps didn't improve much.  I also didnt do steroids which hurt me competitively…

My 2nd year of college I was working out in Houston and Carl Lewis took one practice long jump (from a half run) and went 26 feet - 2 feet more than my best ever.  At that moment I recognized that my hopes of a professional career were delusional and I determined to focus much more on academics at that point. It was probably one of the best decisions I made.  Thanks Mr Lewis.

I then went to Chile on the mission.  I transferred to BYU on returning to the states and still competed but was just above average.

Without athletics I probably would not have gone to college.  The athletic background led me to Orthopedics.  

I support my children’s hobbies and have put them into sports that they were interested in but we are hard core on education.

I don’t have many pictures of my sports career and the quality is super poor.  Would have been nice to have Iphones back then.

[LDSGator]

43 minutes ago, mikbone said:

I just about peaked athletically in HS.

I’m a late bloomer athletically. I sat the bench/got cut on all my high school teams. In my late 30’s I earned my TKD black belt and started participating in local “weekend warrior” type tournaments. I got a gold medal this weekend at one of them. 

 

I go for my third dan test in November. I get by on hard work and obsessive practice rather than athletic talent or “natural ability.”

Edited June 19, 2024 by LDSGator

[mikbone]

Strength, agility, and beauty are fleeting.

Wit and intellect just keep getting better (almost until the bitter end).

D&C 130:18 Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.

19 And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

 

[Vort]

6 minutes ago, mikbone said:

Strength, agility, and beauty are fleeting.

I never considered myself to be any of those things. But when I compare myself now to how I was at 25 or 35 or even 45, I was very strong, both physically and mentally/emotionally, in ways that I am weak today. Agile? I was downright athletic. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, but I used to look like a young, happy man, and with my beautiful young wife and our little children, I was on top of the world. Now I look like a frowny old guy, even when I'm not frowning.

6 minutes ago, mikbone said:

Wit and intellect just keep getting better (almost until the bitter end).

In some ways, I get smarter as I get older. I keep finding new avenues of interest, and my understanding of many systems and principles/applications has deepened. But in other ways, my mental agility is noticeably less than it was. I occasionally come across something I wrote on this forum ten or fifteen years ago, and sometimes I marvel at my own insights of the time and wonder how I could have forgotten. (Other times, I have a distinctly different reaction to what I wrote. But we'll just leave that there.)

6 minutes ago, mikbone said:

D&C 130:18 Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.

19 And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

I believe these verses are not talking about understanding chemistry or physics or biology better. I think the intelligence spoken of is something more spiritual, involving our understanding of Godly things and of our place in His universe. And I'll admit in the relative anonymity of this forum that I often despair at my own foolishness and wonder how I will account to God for my life. People have sometimes called me intelligent, but for a supposedly intelligent guy, I'm often amazingly stupid.

[mikbone]

56 minutes ago, Vort said:

I believe these verses are not talking about understanding chemistry or physics or biology better. I think the intelligence spoken of is something more spiritual, involving our understanding of Godly things and of our place in His universe.

I think its some of both -  but heavily weighted toward spiritual intelligence

Sometimes when I look at the world around me, I surmise that I will be way, WAY ahead of many of the knuckleheads.

Then I compare myself to people like Boyd Packer, Clayton Christensen, or Neal Maxwell and then I recognize that I gots a lot of work to do.

I may be 3+ standard deviations above the mean. But when you see someone that is 6+ SD you are truly amazed.

Edited June 20, 2024 by mikbone

[mikbone]

https://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/2024/06/us-olympic-trials-for-track-and-field-live-updates-results-from-day-2.html?outputType=amp

 

[Vort]

2 hours ago, mikbone said:

https://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/2024/06/us-olympic-trials-for-track-and-field-live-updates-results-from-day-2.html?outputType=amp

The sad truth is that I would have rooted against her just because of those nightmarish fingernails.

[mikbone]

I linked it for the results of the 2nd day of the T&F olympic trials.

The format is crazy. 10 days for a track meet? The stands are empty. I understand that they want to mimic the pace of the olympics but it is pretty boring compared to a 2-3 day meet.

And the field of athletes is too big.  Who wants to run 4 qualifying rounds of the 400 meters?

The Eugene stadium is beautiful though. 

Heath Baldwin a 23 y/o from Michigan State won the decathlon.  Nice marks across the board.

 

100m  10.85

long jump  7.46 or 24-5¾

Shot put  16.52 or 55-2 1/2

High jump  2.13 or 6-11¾

400m 48.58

 

110H 13.77

Discus 43.67 or 143-3

Pole Vault 4.85 or 15-11

Javelin 66.69 or 218-9

1500m 4:41.87.

Total points 8,625

Edited June 23, 2024 by mikbone