Revealed! Top 15 tallest athletes in the world at the moment

Revealed! Top 15 tallest athletes in the world at the moment

Babu Tendu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:22 PM

Sportspersons worldwide are of different kinds in terms of their physical appearance. They all have a unique body form that distinguishes them from all their opponents and friends in the game. Of these physical traits, height is one of the most conspicuous aspects of one's body. Some of the tallest athletes in various sports tend to be very intimidating.

Tallest athletes
The post delibarates on discussing about the tallest sportspersons ever seen on the biggest stage. This is including Gheorge Muresan and others. Photo by Takashi Aoyama. (Modified by author).
Source: Getty Images

It is commonly known that the tallest athletes play basketball. However, this post will prove that tall people also play other sports, including volleyball, football and netball. Most of these sportspersons are above two metres tall.

What sport has the tallest athletes?

According to many publications on the internet, there are many tall sportspersons in the sporting industry. However, in this post, Sportsbrief will focus on the top 15 tallest athletes in the world at the moment.

15. Loek van Mil (2.18 m)

Ludovicus Jacobus Maria "Loek" van Mil was a professional baseball pitcher from the Netherlands. He was a member of the Nippon Professional Baseball teams Curaçao Neptunus and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. He is the tallest baseball player in the world.

Tallest baseball player
Pitcher Loek van Mil throws in the top of the tenth inning during the World Baseball Game between Japan and Netherlands at the Tokyo Dome on March 12, 2017, in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Matt Roberts.
Source: Getty Images

14. Aleksey Kazakov (2.18m )

Aleksey Valerevich Kazakov is a Russian volleyball sportsperson. He was born in the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic's Naberezhnye Chelny. Kazakov was a member of Russia's bronze-medal-winning team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He had won a silver medal four years earlier in Sydney. He is 2.18m tall, making him one of the world's tallest athletes.

13. Costel Pantilimon (2.18m)

He is 6 feet 8 inches tall. The tallest Romanian football player is a goalkeeper for both Nottingham Forest and his country's squad. Since tall goalkeepers are frequently preferred, the majority of goalkeepers appear on lists of all-time tallest athletes and football players.

Tallest footballers ever
Costel Pantilimon of Nottingham Forest during the Sky Bet Championship match between Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough at the City Ground, Nottingham, on Monday 22nd April 2019. Photo by Jon Hobley.
Source: Getty Images

12. Kyle Hudlin (2.18m)

English soccer star Kyle Hudlin now competes for Solihull Moors F.C. in the professional league. With a height of 6 feet 11 inches, he established himself as the tallest soccer player in the world.

The English footballer, who is 21 years old, can play as a centre or forward. After entering the sport professionally, he became one of the tallest athletes in 2023.

11. Simon Bloch Jorgensen (2.19m )

After making a career switch to football, Simon Bloch Jorgensen reorders the list of the tallest soccer stars in the world. This enormous Danish football became a goalkeeper for the Accrington Stanley football team. He has an incredible height of 2.19 m and is one of the tallest athletes ever.

Tallest athletes ever
Accrington Stanley's Simon Bloch Jorgensen during the Carabao Cup match between Accrington Stanley and Preston North End on August 8, 2017, in Accrington, England. Photo by Kevin Barnes.
Source: Getty Images

10. Margo Dydek (2.19m)

Margo Dydek, a Polish professional basketball player, was the only female athlete on the list. She was renowned for being the most prominent female athlete in the world and the only professional female basketballer, being 7 ft 2 in (2.19 m) tall.

She was a coach for the Northside Wizards of the Queensland Basketball League and a centre for the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA. She ranks among the WNBA's tallest female basketball players and one of the tallest athletes of all time.

9. Paulo César da Silva (2.19m)

Paulo César da Silva is a former Brazilian basketball player playing for the Brazilian team in the Olympic Games. Giant Silva is a professional wrestler, martial artist, and martial arts fighter. The world's most prominent athlete. (7' 2" tall).

Tallest athletes of all time
Carlos Tevez of Boca Juniors controls the ball against Paulo Da Silva of Libertad during a September 29, 2020 match in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo by Agustín Marcarian-Pool.
Source: Getty Images

He was both a face and a heel in numerous professional wrestling promotions. He was a super-heavyweight wrestler with the ability to perform significant aerial manoeuvres and power moves.

8. Manute Bol (2.31m)

He is a political activist and basketball player of Sudanese descent. Along with Gheorghe Mureşan, he was one of the tallest men to ever play in the National Basketball Association at 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) tall.

Tallest athletes in the world
Manute Bol of the Washington Bullets sits on the floor waiting to enter an NBA basketball game circa 1986 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Photo by Focus on Sport.
Source: Getty Images

According to official measurements, he is the tallest individual in the Guinness Book of World Records at 7 feet, 6 3/4 inches. He is thought to have been born in Turalei or Gogrial, Sudan, on October 16, 1962. (now South Sudan).

7. Gheorghe Mureșan (2.31m)

Along with Sudanese star Manute Bol, who was also 7 feet 7 inches tall, he is one of the tallest players in the history of the NBA. The shoe size of Gheorghe Mureşan is 19. During the 1992–93 season, he played professionally in the French league with Pau–Orthez and quickly became popular with the crowd.

He attracted the attention of the NBA, and the Washington Bullets selected him in the 1993 NBA Draft. From 1993 to 2000, Gheorghe played in the NBA, displaying early promise for a career cut short by injuries. He is one of the tallest athletes in history.

6. Boban Marjanovic (2.31m)

He represents the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association as a professional basketball player from Serbia (NBA). He competes internationally for the Serbian national basketball team as well. He was chosen for the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2015. He has performed as an actor in several movies. He is one of the world's tallest athletes.

Top 15 tallest athletes
Boban Marjanovic, #51 of the Houston Rockets, warms up before playing the Dallas Mavericks at Toyota Center on January 02, 2023, in Houston, Texas. Photo by Bob Levey.
Source: Getty Images

5. Yao Ming (2.31m)

He was a former National Basketball Association player for the Houston Rockets and is a retired professional basketball player from China. He stood 2.31 m tall during his final season, making him the NBA's tallest player (7 ft 6 in). He is one of the tallest athletes of all time.

Top 15 tallest athletes in the world ever
Yao Ming reacts following the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup match between Australia and China at Sydney Superdome, on September 30, 2022, in Sydney, Australia. Photo by Mark Metcalfe.
Source: Getty Images

4. Shawn Bradley (2.31m)

He is an American–German retired basketball player who played centre for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, and Dallas Mavericks of the NBA. Bradley was one of the tallest players in NBA history. Bradley was born in Landstuhl, West Germany, and grew up in Castle Dale, Utah. He is 7 feet and 6 inches tall.

Worlds tallest athletes
Shawn Bradley #44 of the Dallas Mavericks listens to the National Anthem prior to a game against the Sacramento Kings on April 26, 2004, in Dallas, Texas. Photo by Ronald Martinez.
Source: Getty Images

3. Sun Mingming (2.36m)

Chinese basketball player Sun Mingming. Although Suleiman Ali Nashnush of Libya was taller, Guinness World Records claims he is the tallest player ever to have played professional basketball.

Mingming is 2.36 meters tall and 370 pounds (168 kg). Sun Ming wears size 20 shoes. He occasionally appears as an actor as well.

World's tallest athletes
Sun Mingming shoots a free throw during the Friendship Games Tournament match between the Shanghai Sharks and the Beijing Ducks on September 19, 2010, in Perth, Australia. Photo by Paul Kane.
Source: Getty Images

2. Hasheem Thabeet (2.36m)

The Memphis Grizzlies selected him in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft. According to many pundits, one of the "worst failures" in NBA history is the player who was selected second overall in the draft. Thabeet, a free agent, played basketball in college for UConn. One of the few athletes on this list who is still competing is Thabeet.

Tallest athletes in history
Hasheem Thabeet shoots the ball during the 2022/2023 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) match on October 19, 2022, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. Photo by VCG.
Source: Getty Images

1. Gogea Mitu (2.38m)

Because of his incredible height, he was highly sought after by both those who wanted to benefit from his exceptional size and those who tried to understand the cause of his gigantism.

What sport has the tallest athletes
World welterweight champion Canadian Lou Boruillard with Romanian heavyweight boxer Gogea Mitu, the world's tallest boxer at 7 ft 4 inches, on December 18, 1935. Photo by Underwood Archives.
Source: Getty Images

Gogea Mitu was said to be very intelligent; he taught himself to read at the age of three despite not attending school and having the build of a child between the ages of five and six. Gogea Mitu started his professional boxing career after earning his degree from the prestigious Paris School of Boxing.

The tallest athletes in the world include Gogea Mitu and Hasheem Thabeet. These are sportspersons with stunning heights above 7 feet, and their height defines them as giants of the game.

READ ALSO: Here is a list of famous athletes who became politicians

Sportsbrief recently posted about athletes who are now politicians. It is not surprising that there are so many athletes who go on to become politicians later in life because athletes naturally make good leaders.

While many professional footballers decide to relax and reap the fruits of their careers, these players decided to change the political structure of their respective countries. Find more info by clicking on the link above.

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