Another sport vs. art thread?
Please. We have like five hundred of these things. You have been in on enough of them recently that you cannot say that you didn't know.
Fine.
Hard training in preparation for a timed athletic event that is 99% mid to high kicking techniques and may require to fight in several matches will almost always produce superior cardio results to training for a violent encounter.
Hard training in preparation for a violent encounter that is mostly hands and mental fortitude will almost always produce superior skills specifically geared towards ending the fight quickly (either via escape or incapacitation of the attacker) as compared for training for a timed athletic event.
So long as your attacker is unarmed and alone, either student will likely fare well in a violent encounter, though if the former isn't careful with those high kicks, he or she may find themselves in serious trouble if the leg is grabbed.
If the attacker has a knife, my money is on the latter, but in all seriousness, the best defense against a lone guy with a knife is distance. Thus the track star is superior to both.
If the attacker has buddies, chances are that both are equally equipped (or ill equipped) unless the latter has involved a solid amount of hard training against multiple opponents.
If the attacker and buddies have knives, both are equally screwed.
If the attacker is alone and has a gun, both are equally screwed.
If you want to do well in tournaments, train your backside off and get good at it.
If you want to survive violent encounters, train your backside off and most importantly, develop your common sense, awareness and verbal skills. They will serve you far better than either athletic prowess or SD techniques.
One last note: the guy or gal who knows his or her personal limitations, who exercises common sense, and acts accordingly will fare the best overall. Best of all, no martial training is really needed for that.
Daniel