This year’s Olympic athletes have achieved some impressive feats. But if animals could compete, they would take the gold every time! These 5 Olympic events prove the animal kingdom rules.
100 Meter Dash
Usain Bolt is often considered the fastest human in history. He completed the 100 meter dash in just 9.58 seconds, at a top speed of 27.8 miles per hour! This sounds fast, but a surprising number of animals can beat it. Warthogs and domestic cats seem slow, but they can both run at 30 miles per hour! Of course, the fastest land animal is the cheetah at 70 miles per hour. But in a land and air race, the cheetah would be far outpaced. The fastest animal in the world is the peregrine falcon, flying at 184 miles per hour!
100 Meter Freestyle Swim
A Chinese teenager named Pan Zhanle recently broke the record for the fastest 100 meter freestyle swim. He swam the distance in just 46.8 seconds, at an average speed of about 4.7 miles per hour! But for the animals of the ocean, that’s an easy record to beat. Despite their 50-foot long, 90,000 pound-frame, gray whales can swim at up to 5 miles an hour! That’s a heroic achievement, but the real winner of this event is the sailfish. It clocks in at 68 miles per hour, which is almost as fast as a cheetah can run!
Long Jump
For 23 years, Bob Beamon held the world record for the long jump. But Mike Powell broke it in 1991 by jumping 29 feet and 4 inches! This record is harder for animals to beat, but there are still some strong contenders. Pumas and impalas could narrowly clinch a win against humans - they can both jump 30 feet forward. Red kangaroos are a surer bet thanks to their 43-foot leaps. But in an all-species battle, the winner would be snow leopards, which can jump 50 feet! Combined with their ability to sneak up on prey, it’s no wonder these big cats are the apex predators of the Himalayas.
High Jump
In 1995, Javier Sotomayor jumped 8.04 feet into the air. That’s a lofty goal for humans, but animals can reach it with ease! Servals, a type of African wildcat, can jump 10 feet, while pit bulls have leaped 14 feet. The gold medalist in this category is the klipspringer, clocking in at 25 feet! This small antelope lives in southeastern Africa, where its speed and agility helps it navigate the rocky terrain.
Free Diving
William Trubridge holds the world record for the deepest free dive, reaching 406 feet below the surface. But compared to ocean animals, his record doesn’t hold water! Emperor penguins can beat humans on an average day - most of their dives are between 325 and 650 feet. And the deepest emperor penguin dive on record was 1,853.7 feet! In a shocking outmaneuver, a third contestant smashes all those records. Cuvier’s beaked whales can dive up to 10,560 feet deep! That’s almost 30% of the way to the Mariana Trench, the deepest point in the ocean.
Among all these contestants, it’s hard to tell which super animal reigns supreme! In an animal Olympics, which team would you root for? Click the blue button below to vote! 👓