Influencers in endurance sports 2013

influencers_endurance_sports

There are many champions in the world of sport but only some of them are “Influencers”.

An Influencer according to the philosophy of almostthere is a sportsperson that is able to pursue objectives of a higher order, not only or even necessarily winning, not only or even necessarily in the world of sport.

For almostthere a winner is not the person with the greatest number of medals around their neck but above all, a great person inside a perfect container.

A person in which there is a synergetic interaction between their sporting activities and their life outside of sport, resulting in the achievement of exceptional endeavours and making them an example and point of reference for many people across all fields.

We are about to tell you the stories of 10 great men and women. We would have preferred not to assign them an order, because certain achievements simply cannot be measured or assigned a grade.

We believe that in reading these stories you’ll be convinced of the fact that the winner is not only the person who crosses the finish line first.

 

 

Kilian Jornet

Kilian Jornet

Sport: Skyrunning, Nation: SPA

For his exemplary logic…”because the important thing in life is the passion to try to do your best at what you love in order to be happy”. For his epic record on the Matterhorn. For the records he has yet to achieve.

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Shannon Galpin

Shannon Galpin

Sport: Cycling, Nation: USA

An example of how a sporting achievement can be a driver of cultural emancipation for an entire country.  The crossing of the Valle del Panjshi in Afghanistan by bike to give a voice to women how had been victims of abuse, is an action that goes way beyond sport.

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Mohamed Mo Farah

Mohamed Mo Farah

Sport: Running, Nation: GBR

Because knowing how to lose whilst enjoying yourself and with an attitude of fair play, after having won everything, is really world class.

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Chris Mac Donnel

Chris Mac Donnel

Sport: Triathlon, Nation: USA

On the list because for him it is never a race, but just part of the journey.  Because certain pledges are more important than others.

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Diana Nyade

Diana Nyade

Sport: Swimming, Nation: USA

“You are never too old to pursue a dream”. These were amongst her first words having just achieved her lifetime’s dream: to swim from Cuba to Florida in 53 hours, covering a distance of more than 110 miles, the first person to do so without the aid of a shark cage.  A professional swimmer in her youth, she had tried four times previously, and each time had had to give up.

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David King

David King

Sport: Running, Nation: USA

A runner, he finished the Boston marathon in 03:12:11. Shortly after his finish he was called back to the hospital where, as one of their top surgeons, he had to treat many of the injured in the bomb attack.

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Roger Federer

Roger Federer

Sport: Running, Nation: CH

Roger is King Roger.  This is enough to make him an influencer in the world of sport. But the declaration of his intention to run a marathon following his retirement from tennis is an unparalleled endorsement for the running movement (from minute 20:30 in the video).

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Kyle Dempster

Kyle Dempster

Sport: Mountaineering, Cycling, Trekking, Nation: USA

His is a personal achievement, almost solipsistic, but full of important, sometimes exemplary, meaning.  His adventures in Kyrgyzstan, documented in this extraordinary video, earn him a place on this list. Beyond sport!

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Pietro Mennea

Pietro Mennea

Sport: Running, Nation: ITA

He always ran fast with elegance and discretion, both inside and outside of the track.  And his record for the 200m lasted almost to infinity. He left us, perhaps for the infinity, in 2013.

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Javier Gomez

Javier Gomez

Sport: Triathlon, Nation: SPA

For having survived and having won this sprint in the Grand Final ITU World Cup in London against Jonathan Brownlee, a year after his defeat in the London 2012 Olympics to Alistair BrownLee (Jonathan’s brother) who arrived in 15th place.

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If you’d like to contribute to the compilation of the 2014 Influencer list, send a story (perhaps even your own) to the email address influencers2014@almostthere.eu with the email subject “influencers 2014”.

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