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Olympic Sport Suggestion: Parkour

By Alex in Sports on Nov 16, 2009 at 5:46 pm



Photo: geishaboy500 [Flickr]

Neatorama’s own Johnny Cat has got the best idea concerning the Olympics that I’ve heard in a long time. Here it is, in his own words:

After some dull moments in beach volleyball, I realized the Games could use a little perk in athleticism, namely the greatest new sport/subversive activity: Parkour

Sure beats skateboarding. IOC, are you listening? And if you don’t know what Parkour is, here’s the founder performing a Super Mario Parkour [Google Video]


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COMMENT
  1. Dan0
    Nov 16th, 2009 at 6:49 pm

    that'd be great if it was a sport. running around and jumping over things doesn't really qualify. athletic? yes. sport? no.

  2. wigglesPEsquire
    Nov 16th, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    After reading about the origins and philosophies of parkour, I would say a competitive version would be antithetical to the spirit of parkour.

  3. Alex
    Nov 16th, 2009 at 8:11 pm

    Running and jumping over things sound a lot like track and field to me :)

  4. Monica
    Nov 16th, 2009 at 8:24 pm

    It would be cool for sure, and it would make me actually care about watching the Olympics for more than a few minutes when I channel surf... But how do they standardize parkour across Olympic games? Set up the exact same cityscape course or playground deal every few years?

  5. SenorMysterioso
    Nov 16th, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    I do not like any of the olympic games that require an element of judging. This is the same reason I wasnt a big fan of adding some of the snowboarding/skiing events even though I love to watch them. I do like boarder/skier cross because theyre strait forward races. IMO they should get rid of events like figure skating, gymnastics, half pipe, free skiing, synchronized swimming, diving etc.

    I love parkour and free running but do not want to watch them in the olympics.

  6. pwscott
    Nov 16th, 2009 at 10:16 pm

    I agree Alex. Put these guys in a track suit and see what they can do. :p

  7. Sylvain
    Nov 17th, 2009 at 5:45 am

    Please find a copy of "Banlieue 13" (2004) and its sequel "Banlieue 13 : Ultimatum" (2009) and you will see these incredible guys Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle - the one in this youtube clip - doing incredible things.

  8. Latz
    Nov 17th, 2009 at 9:55 am

    @Dan0

    it's not that tough to make a sport out of it - an obstacle course with the fastest time winning - all avenues allowed and go ...

  9. Sue Dunham
    Nov 17th, 2009 at 10:24 am

    The parkour I've seen is mostly done with movie splicing. On another note, they should remove all the events that require subjective judging. If you can't measure it or time it, then it's bull.... politics.

  10. Luka
    Nov 17th, 2009 at 10:25 am

    Parkour in Olympics, but sport climbing not? http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/

  11. Sue Dunham
    Nov 17th, 2009 at 10:26 am

    And another thing. What's with swimmers getting 8 different medals for swimming 8 different ways? How about if I Hop, Skip, and Jump and then Jump, Skip, and Hop?

  12. Another Tim
    Nov 17th, 2009 at 3:06 pm

    Isn't parkour what James Bond did when chasing that guy in Africa in "Casino Royale?" Or was it "Quantum of Solace?" In either case, it was a really cool scene.

  13. Dan0
    Nov 17th, 2009 at 3:41 pm

    Olympics are about ratings too. I can't imagine this will get the figure skating or michael phelps numbers that keep the sponsors coming. Maybe if it existed on TV and not the internet...

  14. Meep
    Nov 19th, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    Agree with the judgiung thing. How about also ditching the team sports (yawn), and tennis?
    Instead introduce combat and medieval sports, like kick boxing, mixed martial arts, cage fighting, sword fighting (not fencing) and even jousting.
    And just for a laugh, a Trebuchet event.

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