Wetass Sport #365–Underwater Walking: I’m amazed someone didn’t think of this before. I mean you have underwater chess, underwater hockey, underwater, well, everything. But last month a resort in Malaysia staged The Ocean Race, the first-ever underwater walking competition. Sounds pretty simple, but there were rules (there are always rules…): hands must be placed behind backs, no leaping or, duh, swimming, 5 pound ankle weights must be worn. Oh yeah, competitors also had to wear dive booties in case they stepped on a deadly scorpion or stonefish. So, is it exciting? Here’s racer Graham Wood (from the UK, of course):

“When the hooter sounded, all I remembered was seeing the backs of other racers as they rushed ahead across the sandy surface. Even though the judges were finning normally, I could see they were scarcely able to keep up with the race leaders, who had put on an incredible turn of speed…The going got tougher as the seabed suddenly lurched uphill for the final straight to the finish line, but I managed to adapt and came home in eighth place.”

Umm, well, maybe there’s a reason no one has ever done this before. They all just decided to go scuba diving instead….



It’s Easy To Get Left In The Sand: “Hey, they jumped the gun! And isn’t that a 3-pound ankle weight I see? Ref?! Ref?!”