Even the most effective training only improves you so much. The Olympics is for the best of the best, not for the middle-of-the-pack of the neighborhood.
No, it isn't and that's a fact, if you have the time and money, then it is worth a shot, otherwise when you are older you'll regret giving it a go.
I started Taekwon-do when I was 5, stopped after about a year and when I was 10 I started up again and by the time I was 13 I was one belt away from getting my black belt. However I quit due to school exams, and college commitments, and if I'm honest..a little bit of laziness to. In 2012 a 19 year old (same age as me) won a gold medal in Taekwondo (that was the first gold medal for GB in Taekwondo)...I can't get over the fact that that could of possibly been me if I had stayed on and continued to train in Taekwondo.....You get my point?
It's more about whether you can convince your country's' team that you stand a chance of actually winning a medal. There are athletes in their mid 30's winning medals, I can't say for sure whether you'll be successful, you'll have to find that out for yourself, but if you have the time and money then there is no excuse to not give it a shot.
It's people like the other two answers that will try to stop you from doing what you want to do, even though they are just politely giving advice...You need to tell yourself that you can do things and don't listen to people that say you can't.
Fodaddy, I was an regional champion 3 times and I made it to the semi-finals twice in the GTUK annual tournament, I have also taken an instructors course. I know what I am talking about , if you knew anything of the sport you'd realise that just because you are a high grade at a younger age, it doesn't necassarily mean you are fitter or more knowledgeable ( I knew some black belts who were lazy and half-arsed about the activities we did, and also lacked enthusiasm). At no point did I say I am an Olympic hopeful, I was merely demonstrating a point. If I have offendied you by merely giving someone hope and advice, then I apologize and I would also like to say thankyou for giving yet another reason, to loose faith in humans beings. Good day.
" In 3 months I got that down to 21m 22seconds."
Uh yeah, that's not really going to get you into the Olympics. That won't even get you in the top 5 in local 5k fun run. The last 5k I was at (more of a fun run for charity), the winner was a high school kid who did it in around 17 minutes. which apparently wasn't particularly fast either. Olympic-caliber runners will do the 5k in under 14 minutes.
Sorry man, it's not happening.
Also, I think phexsis is just telling you what you want to hear. Which is almost always counter to what the reality of the situation is. No offense, but getting a black belt at age 12 in TKD doesn't mean much in grand scheme of things, I know two 13 year olds that are 2nd degree TKD black belts, I really doubt if either one of them are going to the Olympics. If you plan on being an Olympic athlete (in most sports) you have to be truly exceptional at your sport, a lot of it is just natural talent, if you don't have it, no amount of training will get you to Olympic-caliber ability. It's fun to dream about what might've been, but realistically your chances were what? 0.00001% Pretty long odds. I don't believe in giving people false hope.
Edit: I wasn't trying to be dismissive of your abilities or anything, I was just making a point that of people who dream about reaching the pinnacle of whatever they do, the odds are that they won't make it, and while it's fine to have dreams, those dreams are not likely to come true if indeed you want to be an Olympic athlete. To suggest to someone that "you can do it if you really believe in yourself and try your best" or some variation of that, is patronizing at best. The key is to have realistic goals. The OP's goals of making to the Olympics in all likelihood isn't going to happen, however a goal of say, breaking 18 minutes in the 5k is probably attainable. If you set pie-in-sky unrealistic goals, you're just going to end up disappointed.
Your too old to become an Olympic athlete but by the sound of it you'd do great in local district events
Ps my friend who is a 14yr old girl can run the 5k faster than you so to be honest definitely no chance of the Olympics for you
no
I've always been fascinated by Triathlon & Endurance in general & I'd love to set myself the amazing goal of competing in an Olympic Games.
Ive never competed in an endurance event and used to run easy an easy 5k (30 minutes) most days just to keep fit. A few months ago I decided to see how fast I could go (5k), In 3 months I got that down to 21m 22seconds.
I'd always been constrained by time & having to work office hours but now I have a work-from-home job where we only have to work 5 hours a day.
So I have the time, I have the money for equipment and training, Is 20 too old to start this thing?
