The HIGHEST Jump In Sporting History (THE G.O.A.T Of The Vertical) 

Spud Web winning the slam contest is really an underrated event. He's basically the height of an average Jr. High schooler.

Being under 6 ft and getting his chin over the rim makes me want to belive him

Josh Imatorbhebhe’s 47 inch standing vert is the most impressive imo. I feel like he can legitimately hit 55 inches with a running start

Wilt's vertical leap is not actually 48 inches and has been shown to be around 38-40 inches which is still amazing considering how massive wilt actually is

Stefan Holm shares the unofficial "highest jump over one's own height" record with Franklin Jacobs, who at a height of 5'8" high jumped 7'7". Both jumped 59 cm (almost 2 feet) over their height,

Biggest smile on my face when I saw Ziani on here. Grew up watching his videos trying to imitate them on 8 foot hoops. Truly a legend

We had a substitute P.E. teacher when I was in junior high. His name was Charlie Dumas. He was the '56 Olympic high jump champion and the first man to jump 7 feet. I was told he could jump so high he could dunk the ball from his hip. I always wondered if this was truly possible.

I was a high school and collegiate high jumper. Joined half way through my senior season. I was able to clear 6’2 being ab 6’2 myself. I was pretty proud of going from no training to 6’2 basically in my freshman season for track, though I did start much later and had football plyometric training and a personal trainer. I remember the highest jump against me was 6’9 from a little 5’10 dude. Watching him grace himself up and over the bar is literally insane to still think about. I eventually got up to 6’8 after only another year and a half of practice. It still haunts me that I was a 6’4 college sophomore and a 5’10 dude has a better PR 😂 good times brother. Track is such a great sport

A standing 47" vertical is unreal.

The thing with Holm's jump isn't just the height but that he took off from so far away. Given his takeoff point, that he even could get his shoulders over the bar, let alone the rest of him is just wild. He took off from so far away you'd expect him to just fly into the bar.

3:30 dude literally floated for a full second and no one is talking about that 😳 he fucking paused in the air unbelievable.

I’ve seen a lot of impressive jumpers, but none of them were getting 50” off the ground. Until I recently saw a guy named Anthony Height. He’s 5’6” and there’s a video of him touching 11’8”. It’s incredible. Legit 50+

I used to play Basketball in Kadour Ziani's hometown in France. Sometimes he came to play and dunk with us... I can tell he had a very impressive jumping ability but I don't know if he really had 56 inches. He was also fearless and very explosive.

Leonel Marshall of the Cuban volleyball team had a vertical of 50 inches, but he was also tall. There are videos of him bouncing an overpass from the back row. Man absolutely flew!

6:40 wow… how did he do that? How did he kick that? Freak. That’s without a doubt one of the most phenomenal things I’ve seen lol 😅

Spudd webb shocked the world with that dunk man i remember that i was a lil kid barely conscious and still remember that

I saw Ronaldo in the title and was excited that you were going to talk about that legendary jump that he did there

I met Kadour Ziani back in the day when he came to "The Cage" in Brussels, Belgium. He could jump out the building but he did not have a 56" vertical. NEVER. That would imply he would have had his chin at the rim and he never ever got that high. But this is not to discredit him in any way. I love his dunks and athleticism and he definitely was an inspiration for an aspiring shorter athlete like myself.

Bel hommage rendu à Kadour, il le mérite !! Légende 🇫🇷✨

Standing vertical jump at 47" is more power focused training. They usually cant jump higher with runup (they need more time to generate force). While Kdaour Ziani was a high jumper, he never reached 56", even if he claimed it. That would be half of his head above the basketball rim. Stefan Holm had performed the highest jump on 1 foot, which was measured at 51.5 inches. When looking at 2 foot jumpers, ive seen a few getting around 51-52". But Anthony Height KILLED it with 54-55" two foot jump.

2:59 wilt is so powerful he just levitates over his obstacles

I remember seeing that clip of Stefan Holm floating over those head high hurdles when I was a kid, has been stuck in my head since.

I’d say Barry Sanders, that was a running back for the Detroit lions would have a pretty good vertical leap. He competed in a slam dunk contest with a professional swimmer once, and won. He was 5’8”, and that swimmer (don’t remember his name), was 6’7”. Barry did a very impressive 360.

your vids are great

Seeing a guy like Wilt sprinting, is ghastly terrifying

3:42 Bro was literally floating, holy shit.

Wilt Chamberlain Archives produced a video in 2013. The author of the video wanted to estimate his incredible vertical. He based his video on his NCAA high jumping record which was 6'6.75. We know exactly Chamberlain's Central Point of Pelvis (CPP) was 45.75". To put his CPP @6'6.75" (or 78.75"), Wilt Chamberlain needed to elevate between 39.6"& 40.35" in order to clear the bar. It is important to note that Wilt Chamberlain always failed to clear 6'7" in competition. According to Wilt Chamberlain Archives, his highest reach with a running start was measured at 12'9" [according to Google Archives], while he was playing for the Philadelphia Warriors at a mere 250 pounds. With a standing reach of 9'6" barefoot, Wilt Chamberlain "only" needed to jump 39.6" in the air in order to reach it... and even if Wilt Chamberlain was able to almost reach 13', his sergeant would be under 45". Here is an extract from the study of Michael Jordan vertical in his jumping prime : MICHAEL JORDAN VERTICAL JUMP. Krugh J, LeVeau B. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel = Hill, NC. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study, which was part of an advanced master motion analysis class project in 1983, was to determine Michael Jordan's maximum vertical jump. SUBJECT: Michael Jordan METHODS: Surface markers: Left lateral malleolus, left femoral epicondyle, left greater trochanter, left pelvic crest, and right distal phalanges of digits 2 and 3 of the hand. Tasks (in order) were: Vertical reach while standing flat-footed - baseline Vertical reach during a jump from standing Vertical reach during a jump from running Vertical reach during a 1 hand dunk Vertical reach during a 2 hand dunk All tasks, except baseline vertical reach were done with free swing of the upper limb(s). Equipment / instrumentation: Camera, lighting, markers, meter stick, and standard basketball. Location: Fetzer Gymnasium, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. DATA ANALYSIS: Distance measurements were analyzed by comparison to a meter stick in view of the camera. Displacement measurements of reach (pelvis) involved measurement of vertical height to the tip of fingers 2 and 3 (pelvis) during a task minus vertical height to the tip of fingers 2 and 3 (pelvis) during bilateral flat-footed stance. Velocity measurements were analyzed by dividing vertical height distance traveled divided by time taken for the tasks. A VanGuard Motion Analyzer was used to analyze motion frame by frame. RESULTS: Maximum measurements: Vertical reach while standing flat-footed 93.67 in. Floor to pelvic crest while standing 49.00 in. Vertical reach displacement during a jump from standing 35.93 in. Vertical displacement of the pelvis during a jump from running 38.07 in. Vertical velocity during a jump from running 701.00 o/sec. Vertical reach displacement during a jump from running 45.76 in. Vertical reach displacement during a 1 hand dunk 41.70 in. Vertical reach displacement during a 2 hand dunk 40.93 in. During the vertical reach from standing, push from the floor was with both feet. During the vertical reach during a jump from running, push from the floor was with one foot and momentum of the body, two upper limbs, and one lower limb was used to the maximum. CONCLUSION / CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Maximum displacement for vertical reach was achieved with a jump from a running start, a 2 hand dunk, a 1 hand dunk, and a jump from standing, respectively. This is consistent with use of momentum of the body and limbs to assist with the vertical displacement. Michael Jordan vertical jump ability during several tasks provides a standard with which athletic achievement by others can be compared. In other words, 45.76" was his maximum vertical.

I can name about 100 players who jump higher than Wilt and MJ. If Wilt had a 48, his whole head would be above the rim.

I LOVE when TRP does these kinds of videos adding other sports

I was at NCState when Spud Webb played, I saw him in person. He dunked the ball over future NBA centers, he could catch an ally-oop and dunk, spin 360 and dunk, he was extremely exciting and FAST, he's be by you in the blink of your eye and dunking it. His small size made it even more impressive, no one else that height was doing that at the time he played in the mid and late 80s.

Stefan Holm effortlessly jumping over those hurdles is insane. I would have loved to see him dunking basketballs.

Amazing!

I loved this video.. I used to watch Stefan Holm jumps and Kadour Ziani's dunks many times, 'cause I was a triple jumper who loved the dunk gesture. I'm 1,75m and I was able to dunk double handed, but only with a sponge ball. Great satisfaction but nothing to compare with those aliens.

Love your Video, for me Ziani is a living legend. He had a measured 147 cm (57.8 inches) vertical. He did some high jump once and he jumped a 218cm (85.8 inches) bar (so "only" 20cm under holm) with little to no training in a competition. This guy is a monster. I remember discovering him and the slam nation on a documentary on the french television long time ago (think it was in 1998?) and I was shocked. It was obvious that the nba dunk contest at this time couldn't compete with what those guys did. They were ahead of their time: verticality, creativity, consitency, they got everything. Ziani put so much work into this jump and his dunks, it's unreal. He didn't care about money or anything, he just wanted to jump as high as he can. The guy still dunks at 47 years old.... it says a lot to me. The fact that he's not tall for a dunker emphasize even more how high he can get, it's always mind blowing to me 20 years later to check the slam nation mixtape. Im' not saying he's the best or the highest ever but he rightfully belongs to sky.

Ziani's dunks are a thing of graceful beauty

I love the fact his "Airness" still holds the record. He really was something magical to witness. It didnt matter if you liked him or not you respected him and marveled at his abilities. It still saddens me he left to play baseball for awhile because we could of had that many more highlights from him.

Highest high jump: Javier Sotomayor 2.45m (8feet 1/2inches) (Sotomayor is 1.95m (6'4 &4/5inches) tall ) Highest jump above own height: 0.59m (23.22 inches ) Stefan Holm 2.40m (at 1.81m (5'11.5) body height) and Franklin Jacobs 2.32m (at 1.73m (5'8) body height) Highest standing high jump: Rune Almén 1.90m (6feet 2&4/5inches) (Almén is 1.88m (6'2) tall) Highest standing jump (from floor up onto a pile of plates) Evan Ungar: 1.616m (5'3) (Ungar is 1.79 (5'10.5) tall Highest vertical leap (NFL scouting): Gerald Sensabaugh 1.17m (46 inches). Edit: Apparently it has been beaten by Josh Imatorbhebhe who jumped 1.196m (47.1 inches) Highest high jump using the scissor technique(?): Mutaz Essa Barshim 2.15m (7 feet 1 inch) Barsim is 1.89 (6'2.5) Also, when Bob Beamon jumped 8.90m his lowest body part at the highest phase of the jump was 1.87m above the ground. And his center of mass was 2.06m above the ground. Also THIS: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--qTAeVGl_e8.html&ab_channel=MichaelStewart and THIS: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WVZ3ZcorTF0.html&ab_channel=supersiem edit: There's also Vince Carter (1.98/6'6) who leaped over Frederic Weis (2.18/7'2) to dunk and score a two-pointer in the Sydney Olympics

3:52 For a moment I thought he just froze.

5:55 it is unreal, is like a video game.

Amazing documentary

me waiting for a volleyball player:🤨

Dude, your channel is spectacular. Your ability to research history and then conveyed in such a fluid manor is bar none.

David Thompson, I saw multiple times as a wolfpack at NCS jump 48” and that was in 75 and 76.

I was 5ft 9 when I got my 1st dunk on a regulation rim when I was a sophomore in High school and that was only with my right hand..I loved the look on people's faces when I got airborne and sort of remained up there a bit like the taller guys..I was only able to dunk with both hands if someone gave me a proper alley oop..😎

I've never heard that Jordan or Wilt had a 48' vertical until this video. I know that Darrel Griffith had a true 48' vertical jump. His name was in the Guinness Book of world records for years as having the highest vertical jump. It may still be, but I haven't seen one of those books in years.

He just enlightened me as to how elegant and beautiful a high jump can be. Just look at how he leads with his hand. He also cleared that bar by about a half foot. Amazing.

Legend.

He jumped over my ceiling.😂❤

Very glad, very happy you didn't stick with household names and went as far as promoting Kadour Ziani. I knew the story and i even met him once in the early 2000. I don't know if the 56 inches story is true, might not be, but anyways, he was truly incredible. Really good job, than kyou.

3:37 Uh... wtf just happened here? Was that a camera trick or did dude literally just float mid-air for a second?

His warm-up reminded me of Dangerfield's character Mellon in "Back to School" before he did the Triple Lindy.

That was so graceful

Always love your videos man, Jordan was always a Beast

I was a high jumper in HS also. A 5A school. I'm 6' even. I started jumping in the 6th grade and I fell in love with the event. As I said, I kept at it into High School and made the track team. I did other events too. But the "Fosberry Flop", where one jumps backward over the bar, came very naturally to me. I was able to clear my own height of 6' pretty easily. I think my best was about 6'2" or so. But there were other guys going higher than I could. So I gave it up for the soccer team. My experience was in both Soccer/Football and pure high jumping. I see many comments here about great jumpers in Basketball and Soccer/Football. I'm not commenting in order to take away from their hopping prowess, but to me, getting your entire body over a fixed point, without knocking over the bar, is the truest measure of jumping high! Therefore, Javier Sotomeyor's record makes him the goat, from my point of view. In the other sports, it's jumping very high but, it's not the High Jump.

Spud Webb jumping 46" at just 5'7" is NUTS!!

3:36 homie literally levitated

This video lines up with everything that has been inspiring my jumping journey lately. If you want to become the best jumper you possibly can be, flexibility is the missing factor. Research Kadour Ziani and how incredibly flexible he was to get inspired to work on flexibility 💪

man if that football player had a run up with his jumps when he was tested he probably couldve got over 50 inches

An excellent performances

2:21 i remember looking up vertical stats all the time when i was younger. Jordan always came up at 36in. And if i remember correctly, Vince Carter was 40in. I wonder what changed

Darrel Griffith had a 48" vertical. This is well known, and he was shorter than both MJ and Wilt.

Weird ending. I thought you would end with Stefan Holm's jump analysis..as in ratio of body height vs jump

3:48 he was literally floating

AMAZING

Actually, Dennis Smith Jr. has the highest vertical leap in the NBA measured at 48 inches and he isn't the only one. Keon Johnson literally made headlines when he broke the 2021 NBA Draft combine record for a max vertical leap with 48 inches.

David Thompson during his yrs at North Carolina State before he ruined his knees in the pros had a fantastic vertical jump. He used to be able to grab stuff off the top of the back board in his heyday. He was the king of leapers in ACC in the yrs before Jordan. James Worthy in his UNC tar heel days was no slouch at jumping and he made the biggest leap I ever saw in real life. He could reach the top of the back board from time to time in his youth.

Ziani was a insane leaper. That two handed dunk. Where his head is eye level with the rim. Makes me believe he could have a vertical over 50. Not sure how much over. But damn he could leap.

I swear I’ve seen a video exactly like this one before, like word for word

I respectfully dispute your information. Michael Jordan's highest recorded vertical jump is 45.5 inches. There is one NBA player with a certified, recorded vertical of 48 inches: Darrell Griffith of the Utah Jazz (1980 - 1991).

Technique is a huge part of the high jump. It's not just about raw jumping ability. You can have amazing hops and still knock the bar over. You can have amazing technique and subpar hops and still beat the competition.

Respect 🥇🥇🥇

David "Skywalker" Thompson deserved a mention. Standing vertical of 44", and running of 48".

After over 20 years of seeing many dunkers, Kadour Ziani and T-dub are the most impressive. Seems they hang in air more than anyone else.

Dude.....thanks for including Wilt, perhaps the greatest athlete of the 20th century.

That's high for real!

Legend

Wilt chamberlain was built different man...greatest freak athlete of all time

0:16 - pause it…. Look that the hand 😂 Straight styling on em🔥💯

That's about right. The guys with the highest vertz usually around 5-9 to 6'2. I think it might have something to do with weight to explosive muscle ratio or somethings. I have seen track/football players do around (unofficial) 44-50 vertical leaps on their best days (especially during the late 90s and to the 2010s (when everybody in the hood was trying to get out (via sports))). There were so many guys that could jump out of the gym. I remember this one kid was in the 9th grade. He was 5'10 and two hand dunking during summer league games like it was nothing (and the next week in (youth) jail for robbing somebody). I knew this nerd (caucasion guy) that used to ball with us from the farm and he had a like 46 vertical and he was about 6'2. We literally called him the wild card, because nobody ever knew he could ball like that. He played d1 somewhere, but never got a shot to nba (because again, everybody was atheletic back in the day).

What about volleyball? The spikers of the Cuban and Brazilian National Teams jumped at amazing heights!

in RPG terms, Kadour Ziani is what you get when youre creating a character and you take all the points from charisma, strength, dex, stamina, and put them all into agility.

Earl Manigault !!! The true GOAT of vertical! That is all!

Spud dunked for the first time when he was 4'11". Haven't heard of the last guy but he was impressive. I still gravitate to Jordan Kilganon as the best professional dunker though. Not sure what his vertical is; however, he can do a two-handed behind the back dunk so there's that.

These individuals took their disciplines to new heights 😉

you should look into Jordan Kilganon verticals too🔥

This is THE most difficult thing to do in ALL of sport-high jumping. I hate when people say it’s to hit a Major League Baseball. No that’s not hard. I just swing and hope i make contact. High jumping 7 feet is impossible.

To Danny Gomez. What do you know of Darrell Griffith? He is just a bit older than me, but in the very early 80’s, it was said he had a 54 in h vertical. I know I saw him in an exhibition against the Soviet national team through w one down over a 7’10” center. This was late 1980 or 1981. The Soviets didn’t quite know what to do when they saw that. It was said that he also jumped over a Soviet player in another exhibition.

Great video

I love your videos. It’d be great if you could always mention all measures in both feet and metres though. I’m not used to feet and inches and sometimes don’t understand the dimensions. It can also just be on the screen, doesn’t need to be said out loud! Thanks!

Wilt story was likely made up. His vertical is at best high 30’s to low 40’s

"He says 56 inches which seems too much to believe, but i believe it". Great analysis

the fact the first guy jumped off of one foot is actually insane

Ofc Ziani's 56 inches is hard to believe, because he didnt have nowhere near that vert. So the only evidence we have is that he said so? Nice. So now we are all gonna believe that Dexton Crutchfield dunked 12 feet cuz he said so? Ziani is legend, there is no arguing that. He is the godfather of dunking. But 20 years ago, ppl had no idea the difference between 45 and 55 inches vert (a lot of regular ppl still dont know it ofc, if they dont follow sports that require jumping). A lot of people nowadays are claiming to have 50+ inches vertical ,but only a very very few of them really have it. And a very few who have it, are like 50-51 inches. Nowhere near 56 inches. People dont understand the difference between 51 and 56 inches .adding 5 inches on a regular guy's vert is a big progress. Adding 5 inches to 51 inches is impossible (or so so close to impossible). If i had to guess, id say Ziani's vert was 45-48 inches,and thats crazy high vert, dont get it twisted.

No way in hell did Jordan have a 48 inch vertical. His head would be far above the rim if he had it. There is not a single picture where Jordan`s head is even being close to that. Fairy tales.

Holm is pretty amazing. It would be interesting to confirm that when you add vertical leap, plus length [standing reach], he could touch a higher point than any other athlete ever.

I was an all state jumper in high school who consistently jumped 6’2 in competition (6’3 is my height) I think it’s important to note that even though my vertical wasn’t necessarily impressive the reason I was able to clear these heights was my focus on form, which in terms of high jumpers Stefan holm had impeccable form which in combination with his jumping ability made him insanely good. I genuinely believe if he was more built for the sport (taller) he would of been one of the best of all time.

4:02 I love how he stands in the air.

I believe Dominique Wilkins had a 48 inch vertical. Also there was an Arizona State player years ago that had a 50 inch vertical. You also might want to check Franklin Jacobs vertical. Jacobs was well under six feet and was outstanding in the high jump and developed a technique called the “Jacobs Slope”.

I'd like to see Mondo do a vertical jump test. I bet it's up there with any NBA player.

That football looks like he hung in the air snd levitated for a sec. Sick