Jousters 'needed skills of modern sportsmen'

LONDON - In medieval England it was one of the top combat sports as knights on horseback competed against each other in jousting contests.

New research published by English Heritage and the University of Bath has revealed that competitors needed the fitness of professional soccer players, top tennis stars and Formula 1 drivers.

Modern-day jouster Roy Murray was put through his paces at the University of Bath, performing a range of physiological assessments commonly used to measure today's Olympic athletes.