4 athletes show the perfect body types for Olympic sports
Skye Gould/Tech Insider
The Olympic athletes competing in the Rio Games are the elite of their sports. You see the best cyclists, runners, and swimmers in the world, battling to see who can take home the gold.
A ton of factors go into getting there: Talent, technique, training, and physique all play a role.
And as far as physique goes, over the past few decades, there's been a "bit of a size sort" in different sports, Dr. Michael Joyner, a physician and Mayo Clinic researcher who is one of the world's top experts on fitness and human performance, told Business Insider. Some athletes have started to focus on the sports they may be suited for based on their body type.
There are always exceptions and in some cases, skill can be more important than a physical trait. But in general, Joyner says (and has written in the past), elite competitors in each sport tend to share similar physiology.
Those ideal body types are well-represented in Rio, and it's fascinating to see how much top athletes differ from each other.
Check out how four Rio contenders epitomize the build needed for their particular sport:
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Kotak Mahindra Bank shares tank 13%; mcap erodes by ₹37,721 crore post RBI action
- Rupee falls 6 paise to 83.39 against US dollar in early trade
- Markets decline in early trade; Kotak Mahindra Bank tanks over 12%
- An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema
- Data Analytics for Decision-Making