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Russell Westbrook is the Ultimate Olympian

Of all the professional athletes out there in the world, is there only one athlete that can play all the Olympic sports and events and be good at it? Absolutely.

Russell Westbrook is the Ultimate Olympian
Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the very few people in the world who is a freak athlete. Photo: Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports
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By Sully Akbari

On paper, choosing just one athlete to compete in every Olympic sport/event seems easy than it really is. However, here are some stats on the Rio 2016 Olympics that makes it difficult in choosing just one athlete: over 200 nations participated in the Olympic Games and over 10,000+ athletes competed in 30 sports consisting of 306 total events. Sounds overwhelming, doesn’t it? However, which athlete would I choose to participate in every sport/event? Well, there is only one stands out for me. His name is Russell Westbrook, an NBA player for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Why is it that I choose Russell Westbrook? Simply put, there is no one with his size, strength, athleticism, hustle, heart, and determination at 6’3”, 200 lbs. His play on the basketball court cannot be questioned as does it all on offense and defense. His country is also a dominating force on the court as well as the U.S. just racked up their third straight Olympic gold medal.

Russell Westbrook stands at 6’3” and weighs in at 200 lbs. Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images North America
Russell Westbrook stands at 6’3” and weighs in at 200 lbs.
Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images North America

However, basketball is not the only sport in the Olympics but that does not mean that Westbrook cannot dominate the other sports/events in the Olympic field. He can be a killer on any track and field event, swimming event, gymnastics event, cycling event, boxing event, weightlifting event, whichever event you can think of, Russell Westbrook will be up for the challenge and is only focused on winning.

But how will Westbrook get this done? Well, all the skills he has on the court such as his speed, his strength, his endurance, his focus, his jumping ability, and his flexibility, can be translated to whichever Olympic event he is put in.

Russell Westbrook going strong to the hoop as he always does. Photo: Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports
Russell Westbrook going strong to the hoop like he always does.
Photo: Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports

For these reasons, it is without question that Russell Westbrook would be the one athlete that I would choose to compete in every Olympic event.

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About the author
Sully Akbari
Sully is a journalist who covers the NBA and is the Lead NBA Editor for VAVEL USA. He graduated from the journalism program at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sully resides in Toronto but is loyal fan of all-things Houston. His mantra is: Heart with Houston, Soul with Toronto. You can reach him through email at [email protected] or Twitter: @Sully_i3