Small but Mighty: The Shortest Athletes at the Olympic Games

Throughout the history of the Olympic Games, athletes have showcased not only incredible skill and determination. While much attention is often given to towering athletes, the shortest Olympic athletes have made equally significant contributions to the history of the Games. These athletes, despite their short stature, have demonstrated that height is no barrier to achieving greatness.

height is no barrier for gymnasts

Shortest Olympic Athletes

Who is the shortest Olympian ever? Although we don't have the height measurements of every athlete who has ever participated in the Olympic Games, here are some short Olympians that we know of:

• Rosario Briones 1.27 m (4' 2") - Mexican gymnast in 1968
• Lyton Levison Mphande 1.27 m (4' 2") - Malawian boxer, 1988
• Flavia Saraiva 1.33 m (4' 4.5") - Brazilian gymnast 2016
• Asuka Teramoto 1.36 m (4' 6") - Japanese gymnast 2012

2024 Paris Olympics

There is no database of height data of the athletes at the 2024 Olympics Games, so we don't know who is the shortest. We are keeping an eye out at the artistic gymnastics. The gymnastics all-around winner Simone Biles is the shortest on the USA team, at 1.42m (4 ft 8 in), though there may be shorter gymnasts in other teams.

Recent Olympics

Out of all the athletes at the 2012 Olympic Games, the shortest was Japanese gymnast Asuka Teramoto at 1.36 m (4 ft 6 in). At the 2016 Rio Olympics, the shortest athlete was 17-year-old Brazilian gymnast Flavia Saraiva, standing only 1.33m (4' 4.5") tall.

Short Medal Winners

Who is the shortest gold medal winner?

• USA gymnast Kerri Strug (1.41 m / 4' 8") won gold in the all-around team event in 1996

Some other short gold medal winners:

• American gymnastics all-around winner Simone Biles is just 1.42m (4' 8") tall.
• American Mary Lou Retton was 1.45 m (4' 9"), won the gold medal in 1984 in the individual all-around competition.
• On the track, Kenya’s Nancy Langat was just 1.53 m (5' 0") tall, and won gold in the women's 1500m at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Shortest Sports

Basketball is renowned for having the tallest players. At the other end of the scale, the shortest athletes are often found in gymnastics, a sport in which short stature can indeed be advantageous. Shorter gymnasts often have a lower center of gravity, which can help with balance and agility. They can also rotate more quickly in the air during flips and twists, which is crucial for performing complex routines. Similarly, short divers have a lower center of gravity and therefore a better ability to rotate quickly in the air. Thirdly, in weightlifting, shorter athletes often have shorter limbs, which can provide mechanical advantages. They don't have to lift the bar as far, and they can generate more power relative to their size.

Rio 2016

Analysis of the athlete data from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games shows the sport with the lowest average height was gymnastics, the next shortest weightlifting. While divers are expected to be quite short, their data was included with swimmers, who tend to be tall, thereby dragging down the average height of the aquatics athletes.

London 2012

From analysis of the anthropometric data from the London 2012 Olympics, artistic gymnastics was the sport with the lowest average height measurement, followed by diving, trampoline and weight lifting.

TABLE: The sports with the lowest average athlete height at the 2012 London Olympics