Endurance is the common factor for all athletes to achieve success and win titles and medals, but some sports require much more effort than others, and only a few athletes can practice them and achieve the desired success.
In this report, the "sportsshow" blog reviews a number of the most difficult sports that require special physical abilities, high fitness and exceptional endurance.
1- Gymnastics
The blogger mentioned that gymnastics requires being strong, flexible, agile, coordinated and with a high endurance. And by doing gymnastics, you can develop the muscles of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest and abdomen.
Although the period of playing gymnastics is short, the general effort and hard work required of the athletes make it one of the most difficult endurance sports.
2- Badminton
Badminton is one of the sports that depends on the way the participants play, as some competitors prefer to play quietly and fun. On the other hand, some players prefer to practice it in a serious and tiring manner for the opponent. Although many consider it one of the easiest sports to play, others consider it the hardest of all.
On the professional level of play, stamina in athletes is unavoidable since it involves using all parts of the body in a rapid manner. The overall speed makes the game one of the most challenging sports out there. To win, players must focus on their stamina to last longer during the game periods.
3- Swimming
One should use all of one's body to swim in the water. Swimming, which is one of the most followed sports, can be practiced independently or as part of a team. In addition, there are rules regarding the types of swimwear, hats, accessories, and athletic tape that are allowed in competitions. This sport requires regular and intensive training for international competitions. As a result, it is classified as one of the most difficult endurance sports.
Injuries can occur in the body as a result of swimming, such as tendinitis in the shoulders or knees. According to the site, the sport of swimming appeared in Egypt around 2500 BC as a recreational activity. It has been proven through archaeological evidence that the ancient Greeks and Romans used swimming as part of the preparation exercises for soldiers before battles. For this purpose, they built swimming pools that differed from their baths.
4- Squash
Two players play a game of squash on a four-walled enclosed court using a small hollow rubber ball. The rackets are swung to hit the ball against the four court walls during the game. The technique of continuously hitting the ball for a long time makes this game the most difficult endurance sport in the world.
The object of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is unable to play a valid return. This game is played in more than 185 countries and up to 20 million people participate in it regularly. For this reason, squash is one of the most popular sports in the world. Squash has its origins in the ancient racket game that was played in the London prisons in the nineteenth century.
5. Boxing
The sport of boxing involves two people directing punches to each other for a predetermined period of time in the boxing ring while wearing protective gloves and other equipment, such as mouth guards.
This sport requires a lot of courage and hard work to bear and direct heavy punches. It is worth noting that boxing does not only require strong strikes, but the athlete must use all members of his body during the game. For this reason, many experts consider it one of the most difficult endurance sports today.
6- Cycling
Cycling is a popular sport that is practiced by millions of people around the world, but when it comes to the professional world, this sport is known as one of the most difficult sports that require endurance due to the long distances and time periods races, and high physical fitness to withstand long distances and arduous roads.
7- Rowing
Playing this sport requires a lot of physical fitness and good training due to the dependence of its players on all parts of their bodies, which makes it among the most difficult endurance sports in the world.
In the early 17th century, professional navigators organized regattas on the River Thames in London, leading to the development of rowing into a competitive sport. The first clubs appeared at universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, and are considered one of the oldest sports in the modern Olympic Games.
8- Cross-Country Skiing
As the name suggests, skiers navigate snow-covered country terrain using their forearms rather than ski lifts. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sporting and recreational activity, but some use it for transportation, and it appeared mainly in Scandinavia about 5 thousand years ago as a means of traveling on the snow using skis.
Since its introduction as a competitive sport, cross-country skiing has become one of the most difficult winter sports to ever play.
9- Water polo
Water polo is a team sport that is practiced in the water, and brings together two teams of 6 players each, in addition to a goalkeeper. The goal in the game - as with soccer - is to score as many goals as possible by shooting the ball into the opponent's goal.
Goalkeepers are the only players who do not participate offensively or defensively. The game is usually played in a deep pool so that players cannot touch the bottom, and the difficulty of this sport lies in the players maintaining their balance and relying on their muscle strength to withstand playing in the water for a long time.
10- Marathon
The marathon is considered the most difficult endurance test in athletics, as the official marathon distance is 42.195 km. There are two ways to complete a marathon, either by running or by walking fast. Many of the participants fell during the marathon due to their poor health, so Al in this competition requires high physical fitness and good preparation for this race, as only the runner who has a high stamina can complete it.
Although the marathon is one of the oldest competitions in the modern Olympic Games, as it was adopted since the first session in 1896, the length of its distance was not precisely determined until 1921.
All over the world, there are more than 800 marathons every year, the vast majority of runners are non-professional athletes, and the races have tens of thousands of participants.