Animal olympics © Getty

Animal Olympics: 9 species that could smash human world records

From the long jump to fencing, how would the animal kingdom's most able athletes compare to human Olympians? We got an expert to crunch the numbers.

Helen Pilcher

Published: July 29, 2021 at 6:00 am

As Tokyo welcomes the world’s best athletes to the 32nd Olympic Games, let us also celebrate the athletic abilities of the wider animal kingdom.

From fencing flatworms, to the big cat that could beat Usain Bolt, please be upstanding for the world’s greatest animal Olympians.

1. Longest Jumper

Top 10 animal Olympians © Getty
Mike Powell and a snow leopard © Getty

Human record: 8.95m – Mike Powell (USA)

Animal record: 15m – Snow leopard

2. Highest jump

Top 10 animal Olympians © Getty
Javier Sotomayor and a White-tailed jackrabbit © Getty

Human record: 2.45m – Javier Sotomayor (Cuba)

Animal record: 5.7m – White-tailed jackrabbits

3. Fastest sprinter

Usain Bolt and a cheetah © Getty, Shutterstock
Usain Bolt and a cheetah © Getty, Shutterstock

Human record: 44.72km/h – Usain Bolt (USA)

Animal record: 114.5km/h – Cheetah

4. Fastest swimmer

Michael Phelps and a sailfish © Getty
Michael Phelps and a sailfish © Getty

Human record: 7.08km/h – Michael Phelps (USA)

Animal record: 40km/h – Sailfish

5. Deepest Diver

Absolutely everything you want to know about dinosaurs © Getty
Ahmed Gabr and a Cuvier’s beaked whale © Alamy, Shutterstock

Human record: 332m – Ahmed Gabr (Egypt)

Animal record: 2,992m – Cuvier’s beaked whale

6. Weightlifting

Lasha Talakhadze and an African elephant © Getty
Lasha Talakhadze and an African elephant © Getty

Human record: 485kg – Lasha Talakhadze (Georgia)

Animal record: 1,000kg – African elephant

7. Marathon running

Eliud Kipchoge and an ostrich © Getty
Eliud Kipchoge and an ostrich © Getty

Human record: 2:01:39 hours – Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)

Animal record: 45 minutes – Ostrich

8. Fastest punch

Keith Liddell and a mantis shrimp © Getty
Keith Liddell and a mantis shrimp © Getty

Human record: 20m/s – Keith Liddell (USA)

Animal record: 23m/s – Mantis shrimp

9. Fencing

© Getty
Daniele Garozzo and a flatworm © Getty

Human best: Daniele Garozzo (Italy) – 2016 Olympic gold medallist

Animal best: Flatworm – Fence with their penises as part of courtship

Helen Pilcher

Science writer, presenter and performer.

Helen Pilcher is a tea-drinking, biscuit-nibbling science and comedy writer, with a PhD in cell biology. She contributes regularly to BBC Wildlife and BBC Science Focus, and has penned many popular science books. Life Changing: How Humans are Altering Life on Earth was The Times 2020 Science Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation. Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-extinction was Radio 2’s Fact Not Fiction Book of the Week, and was described by comedian Sara Pasco as ‘science at its funniest.’ In other news, Helen is science advisor to the Beano, and owns a genetically-modified wolf called Higgs. Her favourite bird is the kakapo, her favourite moth is the Merveille du Jour and her favourite beverage is a warm, milky brew; no sugar.
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