What contributes to a sport being the ‘toughest’ in the world? Is it the extreme physical challenges that the player has to go through day after day, or one where mental fortitude goes hand in hand with athletic ability? Or maybe it is the accuracy and precision to execute something that seems impossible? Athletes in every sport will claim that their sport is the most difficult of all, which is true. Every athlete believes their sport stands at the pinnacle of difficulty, but when gymnastics phenom Jordan Chiles enters the conversation, the debate takes a fiery turn.

Chiles stands at 4’11”. So what? Be it the gravity-defining flips, or the impeccable balance work on a four-inch wide piece of wood, she packs enough reasons to drop the jaws of the viewers. Jump cut to football. Most gymnasts would be tiny, to say the least, beside the football stars. Apart from that, no one can deny the stamina and strength football demands. But Jordan Chiles is does not look to be remotely interested in these arguments as she went into a head-on debate with a football star from her university to support her sport.

In a TikTok video, gymnast Jordan Chiles is seen asking a question to UCLA Bruins Linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo: “What is harder, gymnastics or football?” to which Oladejo responded with a smile, “I mean, football, I mean, let’s be real. You know what I’m saying?”

Oladejo even asked Chiles to give her points about gymnastics. He asked, “I mean, you have to give your points on why gymnastics is harder. Like, how is it harder?”. Jordan Chiles didn’t hold back, and with a confident note, she said, “Well, in Google of all Googles, gymnastics is the hardest sport in all of the world, but in gymnastics, you have the ability to actually have a different mindset than football.”

Her further argument went beyond the statistics, Chiles said in the TikTok uploaded to Gina Chiles’ Instagram story, “All you guys do is throw footballs. I flip on a four-inch piece of wood.” Gymnastics is a game of mental challenges, and there’s very little time to strike a balance between mind and body when performing. Chiles had the last word: “Can you flip? I guess gymnastics is still harder.” Her cheeky response encapsulated the pride and confidence athletes feel about their craft.  But is the verdict that easy?

The two sports can give each other a run if we compare the two. An elite artistic gymnast will train around 40 hours per week, which is equivalent to most full-time jobs. On the other hand, NFL training is no less gruesome. Some days at the training facility will begin before 8 am and finish after 6 pm. Remember how Jonathan Owens said that he did not get to know much about Simone Biles before they met because he was “busy” with his training? Well, they actually are.

If you look at the intensity of training, both sport has its own difficulty points. Gymnastics training is based on repetitive attempts of skills and routines. One specific skill can be repeated dozens of times in a single session just to improve one element of the technique. For football, it’s the time leading up to a new season that will have the most intense training sessions as players need to get into peak physical condition. Organized Team Activities (OTAs) usually begin in April and players risk getting dropped if they are not physically ready by then.

When we talk about the skills, it might be difficult to come up with a clear answer. Because the skillset in focus is different for the two sports. While gymnastics requires supreme balance, flexibility, and agility, the strength, power, and speed needed in football have no match. In fact, football stars are quite capable of challenging the best sprinters in the world. You might not have forgotten how Tyreek Hill got into a feud challenging him for a competition. All being said, let’s take a look at how difficult it is to go pro in both sports.

According to Leagueside.com, there are 1,093,234 high school Football players in the US. Subsequently, 71,060 will play in college but only 1.2% of college players will get drafted to the NFL. That’s roughly 853 people each year making it as a pro footballer out of almost 1.1 million players (0.00075%). If that looks astonishingly low, then the number might be even lower for gymnastics.

Until recently, going Pro in gymnastics was not as straightforward as Football. Turning Pro would have ended their chances to compete in the strict amateur collegiate or NCAA gymnastics. To turn professional, a gymnast had to almost certainly have podium success at the Olympics, and the endorsements and sponsorship that went with it.

But in July 2021, 12 US states passed laws allowing college gymnasts to also profit from their name, image, and likeness (NILs). This now allows top young gymnasts to turn pro, make money, and still compete in the NCAA program. Exactly how many more gymnasts will effectively turn pro is yet to be seen. Scrambling to decide which side to take? Do have a look at another factor as well.

Gymnasts sit at the top, but how long?

You might not have missed the retirement talks of Simone. While she has kept the intrigue in the matter, she has recently announced the opening of a restaurant in Houston, Texas, called ‘Taste of Gold.’ The restaurant will be in partnership with The Playmakers Group. Is it in preparation for life after retirement? We are still clueless. But she is not alone in the line.

Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade has also shared an emotional retirement letter (she wrote before the Paris Olympics). Andrade won four medals in the 2024 Olympics, and her consideration for retirement was a major shock for her fans and the gymnastics community. Though Jordan Chiles has not revealed any retirement plans, it looks like she has found a new passion. Chiles got her real estate license, and it looks like she doesn’t want to stick to one lane. Chiles stated, “We’ll see. We’ll see. I don’t know yet.” 

One point to note here is all these talks are going on when these super-capable gymnasts are in their 20s. Truth is, football stars do not have to face this reality. Despite football being a brutal and highly physical sport, the players can continue up to an age that the gymnasts can not even think of. Take a look at this.

In an article from September, FOX Sports put together a list of the 10 oldest active players in the league in 2024. Aaron Rodgers and Marcedes Lewis sit at the top at 40 years of age, and Morgan Cox and Josh Johnson tie for the 10th place at 38 years old. Compare that to the fact that at 27 years old, Simone was the eldest Olympic gymnast to have ever competed for the USA. Yes, that much short-lived their career is. After you know this, which sport you think is the toughest? Let us know in the comments.