The cover of the latest issue of Time Magazine Europe
is graced by a semi-naked photo of Oscar Pistorius. Across his hypertrophied upper
body and thighs are pasted the words (in increasing font size):
MAN
SUPERMAN
GUNMAN.
As I was looking at the striking image, I though that for some athletes this (or some other deviance) might, indeed, be a natural progression. How so?
MAN
SUPERMAN
GUNMAN.
As I was looking at the striking image, I though that for some athletes this (or some other deviance) might, indeed, be a natural progression. How so?
A couple
of months ago I wrote about ultramarathoner Scott Jurek bragging that to him “hallucinations and vomiting … are like grass stains to Little Leaguers.” Could extreme physical exertion (far beyond anything
nature designed us to endure) put some super athletes in an altered state of
consciousness, a neurosomatic condition in which they become delusional and
lose touch with “reality”? This would help explain some other awkward behaviors
of star athletes which, luckily, have fallen short of cold-blooded murder –
like Lance Armstrong’s manical doping operation, or Manti Te’o’s infatuation
with a virtual “girlfriend.” Most extreme body-and-leg-builders are probably
less susceptible to this kind of side effect. But I can’t help wondering who is
next.
