People often think that tall people are so appreciated in the sports world. With a 6-foot height, long arms and legs, and relatively good mobility, you are basically “built” as an athlete. But is that what matters for all types of sports? Others claim that the conditions you are born in can be compensated for with effort. Yet, is there any limit to what your diligence can help you achieve? There is a rough pattern of physique observed in different sports activities, and most of the time, they do not occur by coincidence. They are either the conditions that would facilitate the practice of a certain sport or formed by the continuous strengthening of a certain part of your body.
It is quite easy to imagine how height contributes to certain sports. All sports that contain vertical jumping could benefit from height: volleyball, basketball, soccer, track, and even more. However, one can indeed make the argument that an exceptionally high vertical can make up for that, and in fact, there are such people. For instance, Yuji Nishida, a 6’ 1 Japanese volleyball player, has a vertical reach of 350 cm and a jump height of 110 cm. On average, he has a vertical jump of 36-40 inches. For reference, the average height of male volleyball players on Team USA is 6’ 6, with an average vertical of about 32-36 inches. When taking a wider perspective, most players who are aiming for the national level probably had a similar amount of training and ability, with which height comes in extra crucial, and in fact, can save a player a lot of extra effort.
Look at the career path of Dana Rettke, a current member of Team USA women’s volleyball, with a height of 6’ 9, which places her as one of the tallest female volleyball players in the world. She started playing volleyball at fifteen, which is not exactly early for a professional athlete. She broke several records while playing for Wisconsin, with leading kills and blocks, joined the USA national team right after finishing college volleyball, and got put on the Olympic roster competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Again, it may not be an indication of less effort being put into from the athlete’s side, but the least height does is to make them a lot more noticeable in the recruiting process.
Athletes of other sports may also benefit from some height. For instance, the taller a swimmer is, the further they can cover in one stroke. Yet, that is not the most prominent feature of swimmers. Swimmers are known for their long torsos, long wingspan, and relatively shorter legs. The main reason for this is that it helps maintain the center of mass of most swimmers closer to their lungs, which is the center of flotation. The closer they are, the easier it is for the body of swimmers to float. Thus, with such autonomy, the torso would generally be longer, displaying a triangular shape. And shorter legs help add power without creating a lot of drag.
For some athletes, height could be a potential hazard, or at least, a disadvantage. The most obvious example would be gymnastics. Simone Biles, the owner of 11 Olympic medals and 30 world champions, is 142 centimeters (4’ 8”), the height of an average female gymnast, significantly shorter than the average height of women which is 5 ’4”. For programs that require a strong balancing skill, like a balance beam or simply trying to have a stable land without tipping over, a lower center of mass can be quite helpful. In addition, for a lot of the gymnastic movements, there is some sort of turn and circular motion involved, in which the whole body works as leverage. The taller the body of a gymnast, the more strenuous it will be to perform those actions. Considering the fact that most gymnasts start training from an incredibly young age, a lot assume that the repetitive moves may stunt their growth. But scientifically there is no direct relation between such, as height is a factor mostly determined by genes or diet. If gymnastics has any impact on the athletes' height, it’s probably due to the diet that is paired with it.
The relationship between different sports and athletes' body types is quite fascinating. Looking at the distinctiveness of their physique provides an insight into the amount of commitment each athlete puts into their sports. Moreover, the diversity of body types within sports exemplifies the diverse means and potential of approaching excellence.
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