When it comes to the biathlon, there’s one man who has dominated the sport in recent years: France’s Martin Fourcade.
Fourcade has won three consecutive world championships and he’s won two Olympic gold medals — but on Monday he showed the heart it takes to be a champion. Literally.
You’re looking at a measurement of Fourcade’s resting heart rate, which is a ludicrous 25 beats-per-minute. Go ahead and try to take your pulse — do it now. In five seconds you probably felt your heart beat between five and six times, which is normal. The average should be between 60-100 BPM if you’re an adult, and 40-60 if you’re an athlete.
Twenty-five beats-per-minute is on a whole other level. Michael Phelps at his peak reportedly had a resting heart rate of 38 BPM. A lower heart rate is indicative of efficiency, and means that when an athlete is working their body has a higher ceiling it can reach.
If Fourcade’s 25 BPM heart rate was officially measured it would be the lowest recorded resting heart rate in human history. It would beat a 2014 record held by a then 81-year-old British man, whose heart rate was recorded at 26 BPM.
This just shouldn’t be possible.