The Biggest Athletes In The World—You Won’t Believe Just How Big Some Of Them Are

NATALIYA KUZNETSOVA – 5’7″, 225 POUNDS

Professional female bodybuilder Nataliya Kuznetsova is only 5 feet and 7 inches tall—which, to be sure, might be considered average as far as the height of the typical Russian woman—but trust us, she’s scary. This lady, to her credit, will put many male bodybuilders to shame with her extremely chiseled and toned body. Also, have you seen her biceps? They are reportedly 18.5 inches in girth. She won’t just beat you in arm wrestling, she might very well rip your arm out if you try to challenge her to do it. Also, she can bench press 385 pounds—that’s more than the weight of most people in this list.

KONISHIKI YASOKICHI – 633 POUNDS

Japanese-Samoan sumo wrestler Konishiki Yasokichi, who was once regarded as the heaviest sumo wrestler in history and was given the distinction of being the first non-Japanese-born wrestler to attain the second-highest rank in sumo wrestling, was a beast in the ring during his career’s peak. Because of his size, he was called the “Dump Truck.” He was dominating sumo wrestling at the time because he was so big and unstoppable—indeed, all his wins were by yorikiri (force out). When Yosokichi finally retired from sumo wrestling, he went back to Hawaii to have gastric bypass surgery, and to its credit, was able to lose 150 pounds.

GHEORGHE MUREȘAN – 7’7″

Romanian Gheorghe Mureșan, who is 7 feet and 5 inches tall, is the tallest professional basketball player in history. Even if he was not the most skilled inside the basketball court, his arms would stretch and be able to easily grab the ring, which gave him a huge advantage as a basketball player. Interestingly enough, Mureșan’s parents were of normal stature, but a pituitary gland disorder led him to grow as tall as he is. To his credit, he was able to use his disorder as a stepping stone into a lucrative career in basketball. In retrospect, even he might consider this to have been a stroke of luck, given it was what enabled him to join the NBA, basketball’s premier professional league.

PETER CROUCH – 6’7″

Peter Crouch is, as far as we know, one of the tallest professional football players in history. The man stood at almost 7 feet. Indeed, with his height, he could have made a career in basketball if he wanted to—he certainly had the speed and dexterity for it. Unfortunately, he was described as one of the most awkward players in football. He was, no doubt, fast, strong, and effective at short distances, but he was too tall to look anything less than awkward. To a huge degree, football is one sport where height doesn’t proffer a noticeable advantage.

CHOI HONG-MAN – 7’2″

Choi Hong-Man is 7 feet and 2 inches of bulk and muscle. Consider for a moment that this beast of a man is a professional fighter. What kind of person without a death wish would want to get inside the ring with this guy? He’s so big that he looks like he can snap anyone’s torso in half in a matter of seconds. He has gotten inside the ring with some of the best fighters in MMA, to varying degrees of success, but MMA journeymen who have decided to go inside the ring with Choi Hong-Man have been folded like they were toys.

STEFAN STRUVE – 7FT

Dutch mixed martial artist Stefan Struve is 7 feet tall and the tallest fighter in the UFC (the world’s premier MMA fight league). He is definitely a guy you don’t want to meet inside the octagon without having upgraded your health insurance to include emergency brain surgery. Many of his opponents have had a hard time with Struve, particularly because of his long limbs, which can reach out and strike from unexpected angles. He’s not the most skilled in the octagon nor the most athletic, but he’s managed to win 29 of his 41 matches by throwing his fists like a sledgehammer in the general direction of his opponents.

DANNY JONES – 6’7″

Fitness athlete and personal trainer Danny Jones, whom the internet has affectionately called “The Fearsome Tree Man” (for obvious reasons), is another freak of nature. The guy is huge! He’s not just vertically impressive, but his body is also that of a Greek god, chiseled to perfection. His journey to stardom is also, to a huge degree, an interesting one. A twitter user shared some photos of Jones and compared him to a tree. For reasons that only Google’s algorithms will know, that all snowballed into making Jones this overnight internet sensation. Jones shared for an interview that thousands suddenly began following him on Instagram, and he had no idea what was going on.

AMAZON EVE – 6’8″

Erika Ervin, who is more popularly known in America as Amazon Eve, is a professional fitness trainer who stands at 6 feet and 8 inches tall. She’s been referred to in the media as the tallest model in the world. We’re not sure if this distinction is accurate, but we’re sure that she is at least among the tallest models in the world—because just look at her! Indeed, her height, which has been flooring everyone with amazement ever since, has also opened up a few opportunities for her; she appeared on the front cover of many magazines and was even given a supporting role in the hit television series American Horror Story.

HOLLEY MANGOLD – 350 POUNDS

American female powerlifting champion Holley Mangold is reportedly one of the biggest—and heaviest—female powerlifters in history. Although Mangold stood at a mere 5 feet and 8 inches tall, she weighed a whopping 350 pounds. Interestingly enough, bigness probably runs in the family for Mangold, because her brother, NFL center Nick Mangold, is huge, too. In 2013, she decided to make an investment in her health and join the reality television weight-loss competition, The Biggest Loser but was ejected for having lost only three pounds. The reason she gave for her abysmal performance on the show was that she was allergic to running on the treadmill.