The Winter Olympic are here, and in honor of the occasion we wanted to feature a few of our favorite tallest Olympic athletes! You've probably heard of them before, but we bet you don't know these facts about them.
You may notice all these athletes are summer Olympians, but the sad truth is: there just aren't many tall winter Olympic athletes! (I mean, Shaun White is only 5'9" and that's simply not going to cut it;). Hopefully you'll still be able to enjoy these tall summer Olympian profiles ~ they are quite entertaining and impressive.
Being a tall guy yourself, you'll definitely be impressed with their accomplishments. And maybe you can learn a thing or two yourself. Let's dive in (no pun intended;).
At the height of Michael Phelp's Olympic training, he supposedly ate 12,000 calories a day to recover from the rigorous conditioning he endured. He reportedly ate crazy amounts of carbs, like two pounds of pasta or entire pizzas for his casual lunch. At the time, Phelps said, “Eat, sleep and swim. That’s all I can do. Get some calories into my system and try to recover the best I can.”
Phelps also has an unnaturally wide wingspan of 6'7" from fingertip to fingertip, even though he's "only" 6 feet 4 inches tall. His crazy wingspan helped him win 28 Olympic medals throughout the years, and it's why many claim he has the perfect physique for swimming.
You may know Usain Bolt as the fastest human alive, but you probably didn't know he's actually 6'5" tall. Weighing in at 207 lbs., he's extremely tall for a sprinter. He battles scoliosis, but he didn't let it stop him from competing in the Olympics. He's been running in competitions since he was 14, and he can run up to 23.7 mph. The guy's insane.
A few funny facts you might not know about Usain Bolt: he claims to have eaten McDonald's chicken nuggets before running in the 2008 Olympics, taking home a gold medal right afterward. He also ran his second 100-meter record with an untied shoe in 2008.
At 6 feet and 7 inches, Jeff Powers is the tallest Olympic Athlete on the men's water polo team for the United States. He holds one silver medal and was an All-American at the University of California, Irvine. All considering, he's a pretty accomplished tall guy.
He now has twin daughters and a wife who supports him through all the training, long hours, and travel. As the years have gone by, most teammates on the men's US water polo team have gotten married and had kids, and Powers loves how the dynamic has matured and grown throughout the years.
Phil Dalhausser was nicknamed "The Thin Beast" for being one of the most lean and mean beach volleyball Olympians on Team USA. He actually didn't start playing volleyball until his senior year in high school, but fell in love with the sport right away.
Since 2003, Dalhausser has become one of the most decorated beach volleyball players in history. He can easily leap up and spike the ball with incredible force. He's a fearsome opponent to anyone facing Team USA (although being almost 7 feet tall helps).
Matt Anderson is the tallest Olympic athlete we'll be profiling today at 6 feet, 10 inches tall. He's one of the tallest Olympic athletes ever, and his height certainly gives him an advantage when he plays indoor volleyball. He holds a bronze medal and is a three time Olympian, making him quite the intimidating tall athlete, indeed.
Anderson is married and has one son with a daughter on the way. His entire family are huge Harry Potter fans, and they threw a Harry Potter themed birthday party for their son's first birthday. Besides being a big family man, Anderson is quite the accomplished athlete.
Hope you learned something interesting about your fellow tall dudes! These guys don't let lanky arms or a tall and slim physique get in their way. If they can harness the power of being tall and slim, so can you. Happy Olympics season!
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