Just this week I came across a 5-month-old Lemmy comment on a post like this one, but replacing the shark with a hippo. The hippo could (so the post said—based on top speed rather than long-distance speed) both swim and run faster than a human.
Assume a standard Olympic triathlon, which includes a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride, and a 10-kilometer run. Hippos can swim at speeds around 5 mph (8 kph) and run at up to 20 mph (32 kph) but these speeds are only in short bursts, not sustained over long distances.
For the 1.5-kilometer swim, at an average speed of 8 kph, a hippo could theoretically complete this segment in roughly 11 minutes. A well-trained human could complete the same distance in around 20 minutes.
However, the biking and running segments are where the hippo would struggle due to its short legs and lack of endurance. Even with a specially designed bike, let’s assume a hippo could bike at a generous speed of 5 kph due to their physical limitations. Therefore, it would take them around 8 hours to complete the 40-kilometer bike segment. In contrast, a well-trained human could complete this in around 1 hour.
For the 10-kilometer run, even if the hippo could sustain their top speed of 32 kph (which is unlikely), they could theoretically finish in under 20 minutes. However, due to their poor endurance, a more realistic time might be around 1-2 hours. A well-trained human could complete this segment in under 40 minutes.
In summary, even if a hippo performed at its absolute best and a human performed at average speeds, the human would finish the triathlon in roughly 2 hours, while the hippo would take around 9-10 hours. The limitations of the hippo in biking and sustained running, even with hypothetical specialized equipment, make it highly unlikely they could compete effectively in a triathlon.
As an amateur triathlete myself, I mostly endorse this. I’m not sure that 20/60/40 are equally impressive amateur times, but I did an Olympic distance last Sunday and finished in 2:25:27. Solidly coming in under the hippo’s predicted time.
You’d just better hope the bike race is first.
It’s not. Swim-bike-run, in that order.
If it’s a shark, you can at least hope it’s a non-violent species. If it’s a hippo… Well, just let it start first and hope it never turns around.
In that case, there’s a pretty good chance the hippo is going to murder you in the first event.
I’d probably watch that
That’s why we hope it just doesn’t look back.
I’d watch it
Or whether the shark eats you during the swim. Then again, it might get disqualified for that.
If it starts with running, you could just eat the shark first!
Mmm fast
foodsushi
Well disqualified before, during or after you have been devoured?
Well hopefully before the cycle, anyway
Sharks don’t care about disqualification.
Idk this particular shark seems very competitive
Heh
