Sports history is full of amazing athletes, but some stand out not just for their talent, but for their incredible size and strength.
These colossal athletes are known for their height, weight, or power, making them unforgettable in their sports.
Here are the biggest and strongest athletes from different sports that show how their size helped them achieve great things.
1. André the Giant
- Height: 7 feet 4 inches
André the Giant was a famous wrestler and actor. He was known for his incredible size and strength. He was born with a condition called acromegaly, which caused his body to grow very large.
He became a legend in professional wrestling and was also well-known for his role in the movie The Princess Bride.
2. Shaquille O’Neal
- Height: 7 feet 1 inch
Shaquille O’Neal, often called “Shaq,” is a retired basketball player. He played in the NBA for teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.
Shaq is known for his dominant presence on the court and his playful personality off it. He won four NBA championships and is a Hall of Famer.
3. Jon Rauch
- Height: 6 feet 11 inches
Jon Rauch is a former professional baseball player. He was a pitcher and known for his tall stature, which gave him an angle to pitch from.
Rauch played for several MLB teams, including the Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals. His height was a key factor in his success as a pitcher.
4. Hafthor ‘Thor’ Bjornsson
- Height: 6 feet 9 inches
Hafthor Bjornsson, also known as “Thor,” is an Icelandic strongman and actor. He is famous for his impressive strength and has won the World’s Strongest Man competition.
Thor also played Gregor Clegane, also known as “The Mountain,” in the TV show Game of Thrones. His size and strength make him a standout figure in strongman competitions.
5. Yao Ming
- Height: 7 feet 6 inches
Yao Ming is a retired Chinese basketball player. He played for the Houston Rockets in the NBA. Yao was known for his height, which helped him excel in basketball.
He is considered one of the greatest international players in NBA history and has also been an ambassador for basketball around the world.
6. Suleiman Ali Nashnush
- Height: 7 feet 1 inch
Suleiman Ali Nashnush was a Moroccan basketball player who gained fame in the 1950s. He was known for his height, which made him a dominant player on the court.
Nashnush played in several countries and was a key figure in the early development of basketball in Morocco.
7. Mariusz Pudzianowski
- Height: 6 feet 1 inch
Mariusz Pudzianowski is a Polish strongman and mixed martial artist. He is known for his incredible strength and has won the World’s Strongest Man competition five times.
Pudzianowski’s athleticism and power have made him a notable figure in both strongman competitions and MMA.
8. Paul ‘Big Show’ Wight
- Height: 7 feet
Paul Wight, better known as “Big Show,” is a professional wrestler and actor. He is famous for his enormous size and his career in WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).
Big Show’s large presence and strength have made him a memorable and entertaining figure in wrestling.
9. Adebayo Akinfenwa
- Height: 6 feet 4 inches
Adebayo Akinfenwa is a Nigerian-English footballer known for his impressive size and strength. He has played for various football clubs and is celebrated for his physical presence on the pitch.
Akinfenwa’s size makes him a powerful player, especially in terms of holding the ball and battling defenders.
10. Manute Bol
- Height: 7 feet 7 inches
Manute Bol was a Sudanese-American basketball player famous for his extraordinary height and shot-blocking ability. He played in the NBA and was known for his incredible defensive skills.
Bol’s height and reach made him one of the most effective shot-blockers in basketball history.
11. Nikolai Valuev
- Height: 7 feet
Nikolai Valuev is a former Russian boxer and two-time world heavyweight champion. His massive size and strength made him a tough opponent in the ring.
Standing at 7 feet tall, Valuev was one of the largest boxers ever, and his powerful punches earned him the nickname “The Beast from the East.”
12. Emmanuel Yarbrough
- Height: 6 feet 8 inches
Emmanuel Yarbrough was an American sumo wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor. Known for his immense size and weight, Yarbrough held the record as the heaviest athlete ever to compete in MMA, weighing over 600 pounds.
13. Dalip ‘The Great Khali’ Rana
- Height: 7 feet 1 inch
Dalip Singh Rana, better known as “The Great Khali,” is an Indian professional wrestler and actor. He became famous in WWE for his enormous size and strength, often dominating his opponents.
Standing over 7 feet tall, Khali’s impressive height made him one of the tallest wrestlers in WWE history.
14. Aaron Sandilands
- Height: 6 feet 11 inches
Aaron Sandilands is a retired Australian footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was known for his towering height, which made him one of the tallest players in AFL history.
Sandilands used his height to dominate in ruck contests, where his job was to tap the ball to his teammates.
15. Ivo Karlović
- Height: 6 feet 11 inches
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player known for his height and powerful serve. At nearly 7 feet tall, Karlović’s height gave him a significant advantage on the court, especially when serving.
He is considered one of the best servers in tennis history and has set several records for the most aces in a match.
16. Francis Ngannou
- Height: 6 feet 4 inches
Francis Ngannou is a mixed martial artist from Cameroon. He is known for his incredible strength and knockout power in the UFC. At 6’4″, he became the UFC Heavyweight Champion and is famous for his intense punching ability.
17. John Isner
- Height: 6 feet 10 inches
John Isner is an American tennis player known for his towering height and powerful serve. At nearly 7 feet tall, Isner’s height helps him serve faster than most other players.
He is famous for playing one of the longest matches in tennis history, which lasted over 11 hours at Wimbledon in 2010.
18. Tacko Fall
- Height: 7 feet 6 inches
Tacko Fall is a Senegalese basketball player known for his extraordinary height. Standing at 7’6″, he is one of the tallest players ever in NBA history.
His height made him a great shot-blocker and a dominant force near the basket. Fall played for the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.
19. Shawn Bradley
- Height: 7 feet 6 inches
Shawn Bradley is a retired basketball player who played in the NBA. He was known for his incredible height, standing at 7’6″, making him one of the tallest players in NBA history.
Bradley was a great shot-blocker and used his size to defend the basket. He played for teams like the Dallas Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers.
20. Zdeno Chara
- Height: 6 feet 9 inches
Zdeno Chara is a Slovakian ice hockey player who is one of the tallest to ever play in the NHL. His height and long reach made him an excellent defenseman, and he captained the Boston Bruins to a Stanley Cup victory in 2011.
Chara’s size gave him a strong presence on the ice, and he became one of the most respected players in the NHL.
21. Konishiki Yasokichi
- Height: 6 feet
Konishiki Yasokichi is a retired sumo wrestler from Hawaii. He became famous for being one of the heaviest sumo wrestlers in history, weighing over 600 pounds during his career.
Despite not being as tall as some others, his size and strength helped him dominate in the sumo ring, earning him the nickname “The Dump Truck.”
22. William ‘Fridge’ Perry
- Height: 6 feet 2 inches
William “The Fridge” Perry is a former American football player who played as a defensive lineman. Known for his massive size, weighing over 300 pounds, Perry was an imposing figure on the field.
He played for the Chicago Bears and helped them win the Super Bowl in 1985, even scoring a famous touchdown as a running back in that game.
23. Troy ‘Escalade’ Jackson
- Height: 6 feet 10 inches
Troy Jackson, also known as “Escalade,” was a streetball player and the younger brother of former NBA player Mark Jackson. At nearly 7 feet tall and weighing around 500 pounds, Escalade was a big presence on the basketball court and became famous for his ball-handling skills in the AND1 Streetball Tour.
24. Gheorghe Mureșan
- Height: 7 feet 7 inches
Gheorghe Mureșan is a retired Romanian basketball player who played in the NBA. Standing at 7’7″, Mureșan is tied with Manute Bol as the tallest player in NBA history. He played for teams like the Washington Bullets and New Jersey Nets.
25. Aaron Judge
- Height: 6 feet 7 inches
Aaron Judge is an American baseball player who plays for the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB). At 6’7″, Judge is one of the tallest players in baseball history.
His height and power have helped him become a home run hitter and one of the biggest stars in the sport, known for breaking the American League home run record in 2022.
26. Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch
- Height: 5 feet 11 inches
Eric Esch, better known as “Butterbean,” is an American boxer and mixed martial artist. He became famous for his large size and powerful punches.
Despite being shorter than some others on this list, Butterbean weighed over 300 pounds during his fighting career. He was a popular figure in toughman competitions and boxing, known for knocking out opponents quickly.
27. Choi Hong-Man
- Height: 7 feet 2 inches
Choi Hong-Man is a South Korean kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He is famous for his incredible height, standing at 7’2″, making him one of the tallest fighters in combat sports.
Choi used his size and reach to his advantage in fights, and his towering figure made him a standout in both kickboxing and MMA.
28. Sharran Alexander
- Height: 6 feet
Sharran Alexander is a British sumo wrestler. She became well-known for her size and strength, competing as one of the heaviest female sumo wrestlers.
At 448 pounds, Sharran earned a spot in the Guinness World Records for her accomplishments in sumo wrestling. She’s also been an advocate for body positivity and breaking stereotypes in sports.
29. Margo Dydek
- Height: 7 feet 2 inches
Margo Dydek was a Polish basketball player and is known as the tallest female basketball player in history. Standing at 7’2″, Dydek dominated the court as a center, using her height to block shots and score points.
She played in the WNBA and became a two-time WNBA blocks leader.
30. Holley Mangold
- Height: 5 feet 8 inches
Holley Mangold is an American Olympic weightlifter. Although not as tall as the other athletes on this list, she is known for her strength and size and competed in the super heavyweight category.
Holley represented the U.S. at the 2012 Olympics and became famous for her impressive lifting abilities. She comes from a sports family—her brother, Nick Mangold, played in the NFL.
31. Peter Crouch
- Height: 6 feet 7 inches
Peter Crouch is a retired English soccer player known for his incredible height, especially in a sport where most players aren’t as tall. At 6’7″, Crouch was one of the tallest players to play professional soccer.
His height helped him score many goals using headers, and he played for top clubs like Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
32. Bob Sapp
- Height: 6 feet 5 inches
Bob Sapp is an American kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler. He became famous for his huge size and strength, weighing 350 pounds during his fighting career.
Sapp has competed in MMA, kickboxing, and wrestling, and his large frame made him a powerful figure in all these sports. He’s also had a career in acting and entertainment.
Each of these athletes used their size to make a lasting impact. They will always be remembered as some of the biggest and best in sports history.
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Martha A. Lavallie
Martha is a journalist with close to a decade of experience in uncovering and reporting on the most compelling stories of our time. Passionate about staying ahead of the curve, she specializes in shedding light on trending topics and captivating global narratives. Her insightful articles have garnered acclaim, making her a trusted voice in today's dynamic media landscape.
