Being exceptionally tall has many advantages, but what about when it comes to sporting endeavour, in particular when it comes to water sports. So just what are the plus and minus points of height when it comes to Swimming, rowing, water polo, canoe sports etc. How can a competitor use extra height to gain a competitive advantage over an opponent who has a different physical make up.

First and foremost is the ability to reach further. Being taller implies longer arms and legs, in turn meaning longer reach ability and longer stride ability. This is a tremendous advantage in many sports, but in particular water sports. One of the key factors to swimming is to generate long arcs with the arms and legs. This is only possible with long levers. The front crawl swim stroke requires that you have a long stroke i.e. your arms are powering through the water longer for every stroke than a shorter competitors. The longer your arms are in the water the more time you have to propel yourself in forward motion. Taller swimmers (and just take a look at who lines up for the next Olympic 200 metres Freestyle final) tend to have the textbook long, smooth stroke, whereas the shorter swimmers have a shorter, snappier stroke. Shorter swimmers, if powerful enough do however tend to excel at the more explosive and shorter events, such 50 metre breast stroke, where the long smooth stroke is overpowered by the more powerful short sharp strokes that generate forward momentum quickly.

Rowing is very much the domain of the taller athlete. Take a look any elite rowing crew and they will be tall. Even the lighter weight crews tend to be long and lean as opposed to short and muscular. Rowing is very much a team sport where all action and movement must be simultaneous to maximise effort. This is much easier to acheive if your crew of four or eight are of a similar height. Then to achieve a long stroke, maximising the oar time in the water, longer levers are required. Canoeing and kayaking can favour the shorter or longer paddler depending in the particular event. Some disciplines, such as slalom, white water event favour the shorter more balanced and powerful athlete who can generate power in a short number of strokes. Other events are more favourable to the taller athlete as they require long smooth stokes to generate forward momentum and maintain it for long period of time.