Reaching New Heights: The Tallest Athletes at the Olympic Games
Throughout the history of the Olympic Games, athletes have showcased not only incredible skill and determination but also remarkable physical attributes. Among these, height has often played a significant role, particularly in sports where reach and leverage are advantageous.
being tall in volleyball is advantageousTallest Athletes
Who is the tallest Olympian ever? Although we don't have the height measurements of every athlete who has ever participated in the Olympic Games, the tallest is probably Chinese basketballer Yao Ming, who competed in 2002, 2004 and 2008. The Olympic database has his height as 226 cm (7 ft 5 in) while on Wikipedia and elsewhere online it is listed as 229 cm (7 ft 6 in). Either way, he is taller than any other Olympic athlete we have found.
Some other tall Olympians:
- Paulo César da Silva played for the Brazilian national basketball team at the 1988 Olympics - 7 ft 2 in (218 cm)
2024 Paris Olympics
There is no database of height data of the athletes at the 2024 Olympics Games, though there is one athlete who stands out and is clearly the tallest in Paris, French basketballer Victor Wembanyama at 2.22m (7' 3.5").
Basketballers usually provide the tallest athletes at the Olympics. Here are the top-5 tallest basketball players participating at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
| Name | Country | Height | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victor Wembanyama | France | 2.22m (7'3.5") |
| 2 | Georgios Papagianis | Greece | 2.17m (7'1.5") |
| 3 | Rudy Gobert | France | 2.16m (7'1") |
| Uro Plavsic | Serbia | 2.16m (7'1") | |
| Khaman Maluach | South Sudan | 2.16m (7'1") |
Previous Olympics
Out of all the athletes at the 2012 Olympic Games, the tallest was 2.21m (7' 3") Chinese basketball player Zhaoxu Zhang. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, the tallest athlete stood at 2.18m (7' 2"), another Chinese basketball player, Muhao Li.
Tall Medal Winners
Who is the tallest gold medal winner? It may be Arvydas Sabonis (2.21m / 7' 3"), a Lithuanian basketballer who won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, playing for the Soviet Union.
Tallest Sports
Basketball is renowned for having the tallest players, their extreme height enhances their reach and defensive capabilities. Exceptionally tall players are also found in volleyball, especially in positions like middle blocker and outside hitter, where height provides a significant advantage at the net. The third Olympic sport with tall athletes is rowing, which tends to attract taller athletes whose longer limbs contribute to more powerful and efficient strokes.
Rio 2016
Analysis of the athlete data from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games shows the sport with the highest average height was basketball, followed by volleyball then rowing.
London 2012
From analysis of the anthropometric data from the London 2012 Olympics, basketball, volleyball and rowing again were the sports with the highest average height measurement.
TABLE: The sports with the greatest average height at the 2012 London Olympics
| Sport | Ave Height (cm) | Ave Height (ft) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basketball | 192.1 | 6' 3.5" |
| 2 | Volleyball | 189.7 | 6' 2.5" |
| 3 | Beach Volleyball | 187.0 | 6' 1.5" |
| 4 | Rowing | 185.6 | 6' 1" |
| 5 | Water Polo | 185.6 | 6' 1" |
| 6 | Handball | 183.8 | 6' 0.5" |
| 7 | Tennis | 180.1 | 5' 11" |
| 8 | Swimming | 179.5 | 5' 10.5" |
| 9 | Canoe Sprint | 179.4 | 5' 10.5" |
| 10 | Sailing | 177.9 | 5' 10" |
Related Pages
- World's Tallest in Sports
- The Shortest Athletes at the Olympic Games
- Tallest athletes at the Paralympic Games
- Anthropometry at the Olympics
- Anthropometry of Olympic Athletes in 2012, 2014 and 2016
- Procedure for measuring Height
- Converting cm to ft and in and vice versa.
- Examples of the World's tallest and shortest people
- Height growth charts — monitoring height changes over time
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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