The question of “who are the toughest athletes in sport?” has been kicked around more times than this writer can remember. The most common answers to the question include football & hockey players, MMA fighters, boxers and others. But there is one set of athletes that are rarely mentioned, bull riders.

You could make the case for any rider in rodeo events, but bull riding is truly man vs. beast. You’ve got to survive hanging on for 8 seconds and whatever time you reach on the bull is just half the fight. You then have to make sure you get out of the bull’s path before he takes you down. Some may argue that 8 seconds isn’t a long time to have to hang on. Those who say that are insane.

The average male weighs between 160 to 190 lbs. while the average bull weighs in around 1700 to 1800 lbs. That works out to roughly ten times bigger than the average full grown man. Now throw in deadly blows from the bull’s hooves and horns and you have disaster waiting to happen.

Sure athletes in hockey, cycling, football, MMA and more can carry their own case for toughest, but bull riding has to come into consideration. The sheer adrenaline, the wear and tear on the body and the possible lunacy that it takes to be a bull rider are things that can’t be looked over.

Judge for yourself on if bull riders are the world’s toughest athletes when Championship Bull Riding returns to Lubbock on February 2nd at the City Bank Coliseum. Tickets are on sale now at any Select-A-Seat Location or can be purchased online.

 

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