Height can significantly influence success in sports, depending on how the design of the sport is linked to factors that are height-biased due to physics and biology. The balance of the intricate array of links will determine the degree to which height plays a role in success, if any.
Advantages
Below average height Advantages for below average height include: Greater strength to weight ratio Greater power to weight ratio Faster rotational capability Greater agility Greater endurance Greater balance and lower centre of gravity Lower risk of heat exhaustion Less likely to break bones (as they are more dense) Lower weight (significant advantage for sports like Horse racing)
Above average height Advantages for above average height include: Greater absolute strength Greater work capacity (force multiplied by distance) Greater work per unit of time (power) Greater weight Greater reach (very important in sports such as basketball and boxing) Greater visibility Lower resting metabolic rate Lower heart rate Less likely to become dehydrated Longer limbs and shorter torso produce a larger blocking area (important for goalkeepers)
Amateur wrestling Height can be both helpful and detrimental in wrestling. Since taller people have more bone mass, they will generally be slightly weaker than shorter people in the same weight class. This difference is made up in part by their longer arms, which allow them to have a longer reach and an easier cradle. Long legs are detrimental in that they can easily be attacked by a lolly. They do, however, assist in performing some actions and positions such as throwing, sprawling to counter a takedown or riding legs. The heights of amateur wrestlers vary greatly with successful athletes being as short as Sushil Kumar at and as tall as Alexander Karelin at , though with such variances in height, variances in weight are inevitable so wrestlers within a given weight class will tend to be in the same height range.
American football A 2014 CNN survey reported the average NFL player was and weighed .
In American and Canadian football, a tall quarterback is at an advantage because it is easier for him to see over the heads of large offensive and defensive linemen while he is in the pocket in a passing situation. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, standing at and respectively, are both examples of tall players who are considered to be among the greatest quarterbacks. At , Doug Flutie was initially considered to be too short to become an NFL quarterback despite his Heisman Trophy-winning success at the college level. In addition shorter quarterbacks have an advantage with their lower center of gravity and balance, which means they are better able to duck under a tackle and avoid a sack. According to the former Washington Commanders quarterback Eddie LeBaron, being shorter means you can throw the ball higher instead of a sidearm release, meaning it is harder for the defense to knock it down. Shorter quarterbacks also generally have a quicker release time than taller quarterbacks.
Tall wide receivers have an advantage of being able to reach considerably higher than shorter wide receivers to catch higher thrown passes. Of the flip side shorter receivers are generally quicker and more agile than taller receivers. Of course advantage has limits because exceedingly short receivers' lack of reach may make it harder for QBs to get them the ball while covered, and exceedingly tall receivers may not be agile or fast enough to get open. Tight ends are usually over because they need greater body mass to be effective blockers and greater height is an advantage for them as receivers, since they run shorter routes based less on speed. By contrast, shorter defensive backs are utilized because of their typically greater agility, as the ability to change directions instantly is a prerequisite for the position.
Offensive and defensive linemen tend to be at least and are frequently as tall as to be massive enough to effectively play their positions. However, a handful of the better offensive and defensive linemen are even taller, such as defensive lineman Ed "Too Tall" Jones and offensive linemen Nate Solder, Alejandro Villanueva, and Kolton Miller all being . Height is especially an advantage for defensive linemen, giving them the ability to knock down passes with their outstretched arms.
Short running backs are at an advantage because their shorter stature and lower center of gravity generally makes them harder to tackle effectively. In addition, they can easily "hide" behind large offensive linemen, making it harder for defenders to react at the beginning of a play. Thus, in the National Football League and in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I football, running backs under are more common than running backs over . Former Heisman Trophy winner and Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders, thought by some to be the greatest running back in history, is a classic example of a running back with an extraordinarily low center of gravity, as he stood only .
Artistic gymnastics In artistic gymnastics, being shorter is an advantage. A lower center of gravity can give an athlete better balance. A smaller athlete may also have an easier time manipulating their body in the air. Simone Biles, holder of the record for most medals by a US gymnast, stands tall.
Association football In association football, or soccer, a player's height may somewhat determine the position that they play; however, people of all heights have an equal opportunity to excel professionally at the sport. Goalkeepers, centre backs and "target" heading forwards tend to be taller, while players in wide and attacking positions tend to be shorter. A study of the greatest male players in history showed that the distribution of heights approximated the average man and, when also looking at the typical weight distribution, an estimated 95% of the world's population would fall into the body type distribution of great footballers. A sample of reasonably select players from ages 11–18 in the United States tended to approximate the height distribution of the population. However, there is an overwhelming tendency for the 11-most picked players in a squad to be shorter than their teammates, which could suggest a bias in the scouting system.
For wide and attacking positions, the players are generally relatively shorter. Many of the world class players have been shorter than average to average and in many cases gained an advantage from their low centre of gravity. Examples include Lorenzo Insigne, Ryan Fraser, Sebastian Giovinco , Bernard, Ludovic Giuly , Aaron Lennon, Diego Maradona, Marco Verratti, Shaun Wright-Phillips , Thomas Häßler , Mathieu Valbuena, Romário , N'Golo Kanté, Roberto Carlos, Santi Cazorla , Alexis Sánchez, Garrincha, Pedro , David Silva, Franck Ribéry, Lionel Messi, Paul Scholes, Philipp Lahm, Xavi , Andrés Iniesta , Dani Alves, Luka Modrić, Philippe Coutinho, Robinho, Sergio Agüero, Zico , Eden Hazard, Michael Owen, Bobby Charlton and Pelé . However, height is considered advantageous for forwards who aim to score with their heads. Forwards who are particularly noted for their strength in the air include Lacina Traoré , Jan Koller, Nikola Žigić and Peter Crouch . Many of the world's best forwards and midfielders are taller than average, while still possessing a high all round level of technical ability, such as Zlatan Ibrahimović , Nemanja Matić , Luca Toni, Patrick Vieira , Sócrates , Paul Pogba , Frank Rijkaard, Romelu Lukaku , Sergio Busquets, Yaya Touré , Didier Drogba, Eric Cantona, Harry Kane, Marco van Basten, Michael Ballack, Ruud Gullit, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Thierry Henry , Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Rivaldo , Fernando Torres and Kaká . Players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Robert Lewandowski and Zinedine Zidane , with their height being seen as an advantage for their heading and physical ability, adding to their completeness, are desired for modern top-level forward and midfielder positions.
Height is often an advantage for central defenders, who are assigned to stop forwards from scoring through the air, as exemplified by players like Matej Bagarić , Per Mertesacker , Brede Hangeland, Jannik Vestergaard , Dan Burn, Naldo , Daniel Van Buyten , Sebastián Coates , Joël Matip , Christoph Metzelder, Gerard Piqué , Marco Materazzi, Sami Hyypiä, Virgil van Dijk , Jérôme Boateng, Laurent Blanc, Mats Hummels , Raphaël Varane, Tony Adams , Jaap Stam, Leonardo Bonucci, Nemanja Vidić and Vincent Kompany . There are, however, central defenders who are not of above-average height, such as Héctor Chumpitaz , Daniel Passarella, Iván Córdoba , Javier Mascherano , Fabio Cannavaro, Franco Baresi , Roberto Ayala , Carles Puyol and Gaetano Scirea .
Goalkeepers tend to be taller than average because their greater arm spans and total reach when jumping enable them to cover more of the goal area. Examples of particularly tall goalkeepers include Simon Bloch Jorgensen , Kristof Van Hout , Vanja Iveša , Jason Mooney , Costel Pantilimon , Zeljko Kalac , Fraser Forster, Goran Blažević, , Andreas Isaksson , Asmir Begović, Thibaut Courtois , Maarten Stekelenburg , Edwin van der Sar , Dida, Diego López, Joe Hart, Petr Čech , Vladimir Stojković and Wojciech Szczęsny . In addition, there are examples of successful goalkeepers who are not significantly taller than average, such as Jorge Campos , František Plánička, Óscar Pérez , René Higuita , Gyula Grosics and Ladislao Mazurkiewicz .
Athletics Sedeaud et al. (2014) listed the following mean heights of male track athletes and runners by athletic event.
Marathon: 171.9 ± 6.28 cm 10,000 metres: 172.37 ± 6.44 cm 3000 metres: 175.02 ± 6.55 cm 400 metres: 182.75 ± 6.24 cm 200 metres: 180.99 ± 6.17 cm 100 metres: 179.20 ± 5.94 cm
Longer-distance events tend to be dominated by shorter runners, while shorter distances tend to have taller runners, since it is thought that blood circulates more easily around the body in shorter athletes than in taller athletes.
Australian rules football
In Australian rules, a footballer's height is considered an advantage. This is evidenced by statistics and trends from the professional (Australian Football League) level, including an average player height of as well as an ongoing trend in the recruitment of tall athletes from other sports, particularly basketball such as Dean Brogan at and rugby football such as Mike Pyke at .
In the sport, players frequently compete for possession of the ball above the shoulders. Players gain "free kick"s from a marking, that is, catching the ball in the air from a kick. As such, height combined with a vertical leap ability are advantageous attributes. Long arms assist in marking and ruckwork and defensive spoiling and long legs add leverage for long distance kicking - all key components of the sport.
Each Australian rules football team has at least one ruckman, a specialist position requiring height and leap. Much like basketball centers these players contest first possession of the ball or "hit out" after each goal or when the ball bounces out of the playing arena. At professional AFL level, the average height of ruckmen is over tall.Maine, Jim. "Aussie Rules For Dummies". pg 20 In addition, "key position" players also gain significant advantage in height. Attacking key positions such as centre half-forward, such as Lance Franklin at and full-forward such as Tom Hawkins at gain an advantage by being taller than their opponent centre half-back such as Heritier Lumumba at and full-back such as Mal Michael at and vice versa.