shawndomgaard
Photo Story
Within the realms of athleticism, there are those who defy the principles of nature, overcoming gravity with feats of strength, agility, and endurance. The heroes are rewarded with parades, a myriad of fans, and, perhaps a few fireworks; whilst those who fail are pushed to the side, told to dust themselves off, and try again next year. We often think of these people as the basketball or football star. Yet more frequent is our neglect for the bona fide athletes of our day. Athlete as defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.” True, other sports contain parts of this definition, but none as fully as that of the regularly forgotten sport of Track and Field. The epitome of this sport are the decathletes: men and women who dedicate themselves to not just one event, but ten.
These athletes usually start off focusing on single events in the track world, perhaps running the 400 or the high jump. Then they move forward into brighter frontiers where they attempt even more events, maybe adding a throw such as the javelin or the shot put. If a coach sees some potential, or the individual sees it in them self, they decide to make the great leap into the elite class of decathlete. The decathlon consists of ten events over the course of two days. The first day events include: 100 metres, long jump, shot put, high jump, and 400 metres; while the second day events are: 110 metres hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and the 1500 metres. As the athletes progress through each event, their endurance is tested, as each event allocates its pain toward different muscles. Those whose muscle memory is trained for one specific purpose begin to find they are no match for the endless toil of a day full of a full body work out. Not only do these events necessitate the players ability to perform them; furthermore it requires the surpassing and succession of their competitors in those same events. So, besides the races, these aren’t a one time performance and continue on to the next event kind of thing, it requires the process of elimination, repeating the attainment of success by eradicating the weak from the group one by one by heats, and finally climbing to the top by exhibiting superior strength, agility, and stamina.
Disregarded in this portrayal of pure athleticism is the worshipping fans, the celebratory fireworks, and the parades in their honor. Most track meets resemble a practice than an actual event, as those who attend usually consist of nothing more than those who are related to someone on the team, or are actually participating in another event on the same day. SUU's Wade Nielson, Brent Springall, Shaye Maurer, Cheyenne Thatcher, and Sasha Russell; these are names that are little known in main stream society, yet there needs be more credit where credit is due, if we say we support the other superstars for their athletic ability, then we must give it up for these true athletes.
By Shawn Domgaard
Photo Story
Within the realms of athleticism, there are those who defy the principles of nature, overcoming gravity with feats of strength, agility, and endurance. The heroes are rewarded with parades, a myriad of fans, and, perhaps a few fireworks; whilst those who fail are pushed to the side, told to dust themselves off, and try again next year. We often think of these people as the basketball or football star. Yet more frequent is our neglect for the bona fide athletes of our day. Athlete as defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.” True, other sports contain parts of this definition, but none as fully as that of the regularly forgotten sport of Track and Field. The epitome of this sport are the decathletes: men and women who dedicate themselves to not just one event, but ten.
These athletes usually start off focusing on single events in the track world, perhaps running the 400 or the high jump. Then they move forward into brighter frontiers where they attempt even more events, maybe adding a throw such as the javelin or the shot put. If a coach sees some potential, or the individual sees it in them self, they decide to make the great leap into the elite class of decathlete. The decathlon consists of ten events over the course of two days. The first day events include: 100 metres, long jump, shot put, high jump, and 400 metres; while the second day events are: 110 metres hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and the 1500 metres. As the athletes progress through each event, their endurance is tested, as each event allocates its pain toward different muscles. Those whose muscle memory is trained for one specific purpose begin to find they are no match for the endless toil of a day full of a full body work out. Not only do these events necessitate the players ability to perform them; furthermore it requires the surpassing and succession of their competitors in those same events. So, besides the races, these aren’t a one time performance and continue on to the next event kind of thing, it requires the process of elimination, repeating the attainment of success by eradicating the weak from the group one by one by heats, and finally climbing to the top by exhibiting superior strength, agility, and stamina.
Disregarded in this portrayal of pure athleticism is the worshipping fans, the celebratory fireworks, and the parades in their honor. Most track meets resemble a practice than an actual event, as those who attend usually consist of nothing more than those who are related to someone on the team, or are actually participating in another event on the same day. SUU's Wade Nielson, Brent Springall, Shaye Maurer, Cheyenne Thatcher, and Sasha Russell; these are names that are little known in main stream society, yet there needs be more credit where credit is due, if we say we support the other superstars for their athletic ability, then we must give it up for these true athletes.
By Shawn Domgaard