Wife Carrying (11). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_carrying

Just think of the crap you would get if you lost ;) the race may only be 253.5 meters but the outcome would live on forever!

+1 to water polo. hardest sport i've ever played.

for anyone who hasn't played, imagine the first 30 seconds of an open water swim for an hour, with a ball and no goggles. and thats playing with swimmers, who have a little different build than real polo guys, who are built more like NFL linebackers than a triathlete.

sample heights/weights from the US national team -
6'7 - 240
6'5 - 240
6'7 - 230
6'1 - 195
6'3 - 192

yeah, i realize this is the second best team in the world, but just think about swimming with these guys while trying to make the turn around your next buoy...

Volleyball is a 5.

As a born Canadian I have to put in a bid for ice hockey here.
Like football and rugby, collisions take a toll on the body, and in hockey the combined speeds of players in collision can reach 40kph, (see Youtube)

and then there are the boards. It is standard fare to slam your opponent into the boards anytime he puts his head down. Then there is the cross-checking, the slashing and the fighting..

On the plus side, I have it on good authority, from a Page Three Model who has dated pros from baseball, ice hockey, basketball and football teams, that hockey players have the best bodies!
She should know. :)

PoC

These relative toughness ratings are interesting, but it can vary a great deal depending on how you're defining toughness...

- toughness as in "tough" people play it...then football, water polo, rugby, hockey would lead the way
- toughness as in it takes mental toughness to complete...endurance/ultra-endurance sports win here
- toughness as in it is tough to be skilled at it...this is more open, but it would bring baseball and golf back into the equation since the coordination required is something many athletic people never have
-toughness as in it hurts to perform...contact sports and anaerobic endurance sports (XC skiing, crit cycling, rowing, etc...) would fall in this category I'd say

So in other words...it depends.
FWIW...rowing a 2000m race is probably the most painful way I can think of to spend 5-7 minutes w/o injuring myself, so if I'm looking at the pain involved...I'd put it up there.

Personally, I don't think I'm talented enough to push myself as hard as Mark Allen, Macca, the Norminator or even Paula Newby-Fraser, so I'm likely never going to know how tough IM really is. Doing it in 14-15 hours like I do is relatively easy compared to the hammering I take in a rough-ish hockey game.
I was tired of spending most of my season sitting out, re-habbing injuries, so I swapped collision sports for triathlon.

PoC

Throw MMA into that ring... That stuff is crazy.

I agree. Sorry, but endurance sports can't really hold a candle to combat sports IMO. It would be like finishing a race then getting punched in the face.

"Tough" as in physically and mentally challenging to compete in. I don't think it is ridiculous at all to engage in this thread. I think it is interesting how we all perceive the things we do or watch in terms of how difficult they are. My stand alone marathons are ranked higher than the IM in terms of overall difficulty because of the physical punishment combined with the mental strength I needed on those days to reach the finish line. Not once in my IM did I consider quitting. In the case of my 4 hour Boston run, I wanted to quit that day more than I ever wanted to quit anything. It was also the "toughest" thing I ever did because of the mental place I was in, the heat, the cramps, etc.

Remember, this is personal.

I don't even want to include combat as "sports."
I know all about the history, the tradition, but there is very little "sporting" about them.
Not kicking, attacking a man when he is down, not attacking the genitals, is about the only nod to being "sporting," that combat activities allow.
I frown on fighting being allowed in hockey too.

The discussion comparing how "tough" triathlons, marathons, and other endurance sports are is pointless if you include activities where your opponent is allowed to whack you with a stick, eg. kendo, hockey, hurling, lacrosse. And to include in the discussion, those activities where the goal is to disable your opponent by hitting him is, in my view, pointless.

Remember that IM came about directly from a discussion about who was the fitter, the swimmers, the runners or the bikers.

The Tour de France, if not the number one most demanding endurance event is right up there with say, the Marathon Des Sables, or swimming the English Channel but cycling is not the TdF and the TdF is not cycling. As difficult as it is, to make a fair comparison, you have to make the tests very similar.

PoC

By virtue of being the world record holder in the 400IM and 200 Butterfly, I would consider Michael Phelps to be the most fit person in the world.

The toughest from an endurance sport definition, ceratinly not, he doesn't go more than 3:30 at a time, but the level of fitness requird to perform at that level is off the charts.

Marathon elites and triahtlon elites are very close, generating high levels of speed for unbelieveably long periods of time, but neither generates the power of the world class swimmer.

They also all put in roughly the same training time per week and per year. I wuld argue it takes more mental toughness to stare at the bottom of a pool for 30 hours per week than to bike or run.

Interesting perspective as always, POC. Body type and genetics plays a huge role in what we perceive to be the toughest sport.

As far as MMA goes, it definitely is brutal and barabaric. But there are rules and there is a huge history to it. What style of fighting, defense, etc. is better. As old as human beings. I saw a cool history channel show on how Bruce Lee influenced today's UFC phenomenon.

I agree with another poster above - IM contains a marathon, and if you are trying to "race" then an IM would be a more difficult effort than a plain marathon. Both are difficult, but I'd rate 9.5 for IM.

On another note, MMA is a flat out 10. You gotta be in top shape AND be able to take a serious beating. It may only be a 9.5 in shear "difficulty" but those guys are in there and ready to take you out. It's not like boxing - these guys don't play for points. They are there to beat you down. That extra 0.5 comes from the "oh crap" factor - as in you step into the ring and realize you chose the wrong sport....

I like that definition.

this guy swims at the north pole in a speedo.... i can barely get in an ice bath lol

Lewis Gordon Pugh astounded world by becoming 1st person to swim at North Pole, to raise global warming awareness

There are so many aspects to sport that can make any one sport "difficult" especially to get good at it. Pole Vaulting, and even CURLING are very technical sports that may not make a competitor pass out, but good luck just stepping in there and getting the job done. I loathe baseball and golf, but I can appreciate the technical aspects of them. Doesnt mean I agree they should get paid what they do.

Tris? Sure they're hard. But even on the IM level, how goes it compare to say- ropeless big wall free climbing? Endurance? Check. Technical? Check. You mess up you die? Double check. Makes even the water polo players look soft, no?

That said, organized sports like water polo, rugby, soccer, and ice hockey are very difficult in most respects. I've done a lot of martial arts, and its not fun to get the crap beat out of you, and it is very technical, requires a bit of endurance, but I'd get in the octagon before I got into an ice hockey rink.

Agree, 2 different levels here, at least: individual and team sports. What about the 16 year old who sailed solo around the world. Sport? I think I'd have to agree on ropeless big wall free climbing as one of the toughest sports out there.

Team sports, maybe a toss up between ice hockey and rugby.

ropeless big wall free climbing = just plain stupid... maybe tough, but alot more stupid than tough

I think rock climbing and sailing and all those "feats" are just that, impressive to accomplish, but not a sport. are they difficult? yes. but when the goal is just to survive, that's a whole different thing than winning and losing.

and i am going to come to golf's aide here, in high school I was a scratch golfer. i'm not saying its a sport but it takes more toughness than you think. it takes SO much patience, attention to detail and focus. sitting on the driving range for 2 hours, hitting the same shot, with your hands covered in blisters and while its 95 degrees is not fun, and feels way longer than 2 hours of running.

a round of golf, at a high level, is as daunting mentally as a half ironman. i know, you are sitting there laughing, but go out and play a round at even par when the guy next to you is shooting one under, and the last few holes, you'll understand why the game is so mentally draining, every shot must be perfect. there are peaks and valleys, it is unpredictable, each round is a roller coaster of emotion. and also, pro golfers are strong, don't believe me? look at their foerarms. when a normal person tries to hit out of 5 inch rough they'd be lucky to go 100 yards, a pro can hit shots all day from the rough and still shoot a decent number. flame away...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nOmN6G3XXY

that's another link that is semi hilarious.........Hurling is a sport played in Ireland, It needs lots of courage or you will get very badly hurt.
Rock climbing I tried, it's the most physically draining.
I ran a half marathon, it was a mentally tough thing.
I cycle to and from Monaco to my home in the hills in Nice, I hate it, I climb nearly 2000 ft in total on the way back alone........I hate it.....but it's not tough.
Oh I spent two weeks in hospital as a teenager playing Hurling.... Running around for 80 minutes with a big stick and a tiny ball, I can assure you it's tough. but toughest??? F1 driving.

How about platform diving or gymnastics? I would rate these are high as 8.

As a former diver I think it takes just as much mental toughness to make yourself jump off of a 10 meter platform and do a series of twists and turns on the way down as it does to run a marathon after 112 miles on the bike. I imagine gymnastics is the same way. Sure an IM is about mentally talking yourself into keeping moving forward and the time spent training is greater but diving is just as tough on the body. The impact day after day of hitting the water or the mat plays hell on the knees, wrists, ankles, head...

Sooner, i'm cracking up :)))) i can't stop laughing at work....
I never understood why they call Golf a sport along with other games you mentioned. Also curling looks like a tough endurance sport.

Since I played Rugby before I got into Triathlon, Rugby hurts a damn lot longer than any soreness I have self inflicted in Triathlon. 91/2 would be a better rating.

Since there is two codes of Rugby (League & Union), I played, league. One is more stop start (Union) and the other is just plain athletism and brute force (league). There were games I dont even remember due to being hit so hard.

Since I havent done that continuous triple IM race in Mexico, I would give that the 10. Man that looks like you wouldnt be able to be able to walk for over month after that.

Try the decatriathlon in Mexico (that's 10 Ironmans). If I remember correctly the swim is in a pool, the bike is a short loop and I don't remember the run course. I also read online that in 1998 they did a double deca, 20 freaking Ironmans!!!

Check out the results http://www.multisport.com.mx/deca/index.htm

I love how some people say, "oh...you think that's tough, watch this." Pushing the human body to its limits is a wonderful thing isn't it?

And I agree, rugby players are nuts.

I met Reinhold Messner, who solo-climbed Everest WITHOUT oxygen bottles, and his partner Peter Habeler, who also ascended without oxygen with Messner previously. I worked for Habeler in Mayrhofen, Austria back in 1974-76 as a ski instructor. He is a toughie too.
Both men are incredibly talented and tough, mentally and physically. They hold (held?) the record for the fastest ascent of the Eiger, North Face in 10 hours and were considered the bright lights of Austrian climbing when they were just teens. They were driven, competitive, proud men.

I could take 'em over 140.6 of an IM though. heh.

PoC