From superhuman strength to impossible speed, these athletes pushed the boundaries of what we thought the human body could achieve. Join us as we celebrate the most physically gifted competitors who dominated their sports through extraordinary natural abilities and genetic advantages.
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00:00But for Usain Bolt, without question, one of the greatest achievements in athletics history.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the biggest genetic freaks in sports history.
00:10This is not real life. He is not human.
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00:3110. Wilt Chamberlain
00:32Think of all the sports heroes who change the future of their sport with their talent and their star power,
00:38and you have to put Wilt Chamberlain near the top of that list.
00:41The NBA's biggest freak, no pun intended, has to be Wilt Chamberlain.
00:45This dude was literally born to play basketball, standing 7 feet 1 inch and weighing 300 pounds,
00:50with a nearly 8-foot wingspan and a vertical leap of 50 inches, which is just bonkers.
00:54Teammates and opponents have also said that Chamberlain could bench over 500 pounds,
00:59and he allegedly outlifted professional bodybuilders.
01:02When 7-foot 1 inch Wilt Chamberlain walked onto a basketball court, he didn't block the view, he was the view.
01:08For 19 years, he used his height and his wiles to exhaust every basketball net in the NBA.
01:14Maybe it's an exaggeration, but it speaks to Wilt's mythical status as a freak athlete.
01:19Speaking of, he also holds some stats that just straight up don't seem real,
01:22like averaging 50 points per game in a season and being the only player ever to score 100 points in a game,
01:28which he did on March 2, 1962.
01:29And by the time he retired, 72 records were his personal property,
01:34including the only 100-point performance in a single game.
01:38Number 9, Wayne Gretzky.
01:40Now that is the magician, but let's see, that one's got to be a beauty, I'll tell you that.
01:46Just knew when it was going to come off the board, at what angle, put at the bar post.
01:50Hockey isn't the most popular sport in the world, but everyone still knows the name Wayne Gretzky.
01:54His greatness wasn't about raw physicality, it was an almost supernatural instinct for hockey that nobody else had.
02:00He had a hockey IQ that was almost telepathic, and even as a kid, he played at a level far above his peers,
02:05indicating the insane natural talent within.
02:07They're mauling Gretzky over in the corner.
02:11The fans go wild.
02:13Gretzky had unbelievable vision and a foresight on the ice.
02:16In fact, even if he never scored a single goal, he'd still be the NHL's all-time points leader just on assists alone.
02:22That's mental.
02:22He also holds dozens upon dozens of NHL records and scored over 200 points in four different seasons.
02:29Nobody else has even done that once.
02:31I don't think that anybody thought that 200 points was attainable in the National Hockey League,
02:36and so when I got to 200 the first time, even I was pretty excited about it.
02:40Number 8. Brock Lesnar
02:41You have to be a pretty big deal to headline UFC 100.
02:44Brock Lesnar was that big deal.
02:46This dude hit the genetic jackpot with the ability to swiftly move like a lightweight despite being 6'3 and weighing 300 pounds.
02:51His raw strength is also unbelievable, throwing around 300-pound men like a dad playing with his kids.
02:57But he's also a multi-sport beast.
02:59Lesnar was once the best collegiate heavyweight wrestler in the country,
03:02later made himself a legend in the WWE,
03:04nearly made the Minnesota Vikings, and won the UFC heavyweight title in just his fourth fight.
03:09That's unheard of.
03:10Lesnar was physically overwhelming to even the greatest veteran fighters,
03:13and he's the blueprint for what a once-in-a-generation combat sports phenom looks like.
03:18Number 7. Michael Phelps
03:19Baltimore native and legendary Olympian Michael Phelps says he's done with competitive swimming.
03:25Again!
03:26Someone called P.T. Barnum, or, you know, the modern equivalent,
03:29because we may just have the world's first half-man, half-fish.
03:32This guy's body was basically lab-engineered for swimming.
03:35He's 6'4 and has natural paddles in the form of his 6'7'' wingspan.
03:39He also had a long torso that gives him a larger surface for buoyancy and powerful dolphin kicks,
03:45with his long legs and size 14 flippers.
03:47Sorry, feet.
03:48That, of course, our good friend Michael Phelps adding another milestone to his already legendary career.
03:54That's right, he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame on Friday.
03:58He also has some insane physiology, with double the lung capacity of the average male
04:02and a resting heart rate of 38 BPM, signaling elite, almost superhuman endurance.
04:07And after setting 39 world records and winning 23 Olympic golds, the results speak for themselves.
04:12No one even comes close to matching Phelps' physicality in the water.
04:16By the way, can I just say, Boomer Phelps, already more athletic than me.
04:19There you go.
04:21By a long shot.
04:22Number 6, Shohei Ohtani.
04:24Taylor Ward comes in, Velasquez is out being called off, and Ward has it to end the inning for Shohei Ohtani.
04:317 innings, 12 strikeouts, 1 run, a masterful performance.
04:37Once in a while, a player will come along and redefine what is possible in a sport.
04:41This is what Shohei Ohtani did for baseball.
04:43Typically, players specialize in either offense or defense, so it's very rare, unheard of even,
04:48to see a starting pitcher also be an elite hitter.
04:50Shohei Ohtani leads off the bottom of the 6th inning.
04:53There's a drive! Shohei Ohtani gets the Angels on the board with his 30th home run!
04:59This ball went 493 feet!
05:04In 2023, Ohtani crushed 44 homers while notching 10 wins as a starting pitcher,
05:09a mind-boggling effort that resulted in the Dodgers signing him for $700 million,
05:14which was the largest sports contract ever.
05:16And in 2024, Ohtani was unable to pitch owing to an elbow surgery,
05:20so he became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
05:24in a single season instead.
05:26Shohei Ohtani has reached 50, and he's reached 50 on the same day, September 19, 2024.
05:35Something this game has never seen. Ohtani's done it. 50-50.
05:40Number 5, Cristiano Ronaldo.
05:42Right, we're going to talk about this guy, Cristiano Ronaldo.
05:46900 goals, and next up, he's up against Scotland.
05:49Yeah, 899 more than you, Pete.
05:52Soccer is such an insanely popular sport, with so many historic and prospective players
05:56from around the world that you have to be a genetic freak to stand out as the GOAT.
06:00Cristiano Ronaldo is a physical specimen that belongs in a lab.
06:03He's been clocked at speeds over 33 kilometers per hour, has a 30-inch vertical leap,
06:08and at one time had a body fat percentage of his 7%.
06:11In one game, he scored a header with a 2.93-meter jump, which is legit NBA territory.
06:16This dude is a track athlete who just happens to play soccer.
06:19Of course, this athleticism is translated into on-field results with his 900-plus goals,
06:25making him the most prolific goal scorer in the history of the sport.
06:27I will put the level in that eye.
06:32I wanted to reach 1,000 goals.
06:34This is, for me, it's the most important.
06:37I want that.
06:38Number 4, Usain Bolt.
06:39As David Colbert reports from the Olympic Stadium, Bolt smashed his own world record in an unforgettable run.
06:44When the fastest human being in history is the given name Usain Bolt,
06:48you have to start wondering about things like divine intervention.
06:51Bolt has a ridiculous combination of size and speed,
06:54standing 6'5 and owning some insanely long legs that allow him to take fewer strides than his competitors.
07:00He also accomplishes unreal acceleration and top speeds,
07:03even reaching 44.7 kilometers per hour in 2009,
07:06the fastest that a human being has ever been clocked running.
07:09Usain Bolt is 2-for-2, two races, two world records.
07:13In the final of the 200 meters of the World Track Championships in Berlin,
07:16the Jamaican sprinter won in 19.19 seconds,
07:20breaking his own world record set last year at the Beijing Olympics.
07:24Bolt was so dominant that he often coasted at the end of races,
07:27like casually jogging the last few meters and still leaving his competition in the dust.
07:31Bolt didn't just win races.
07:33He won by margins that made the world's most elite sprinters look slow.
07:37Are you surprised?
07:37Uh, I wouldn't say surprised because I knew that anything was possible, so I'm feeling good.
07:42Number 3, Mike Tyson.
07:44Tyson not afraid, as we expected, and Spinks ready to mix it up with him.
07:49Tyson along the ropes doing damage.
07:51For a long time, this guy was the final boss of boxing, literally.
07:54He had his own video game and everything.
07:56Prime Mike Tyson was in a world all his own, with an unreal combination of power and speed,
08:00not to mention reflexes that made him look like Neo.
08:02This guy could dodge bullets if he wanted to.
08:04Yet their strength and their speed are still based in a world that is built on rules.
08:09Because of that, they will never be as strong or as fast as you can be.
08:14Of course, most people remember Tyson for his monstrous punch,
08:17generating elite knockout power with mere inches of arm movement.
08:20In fact, scientists once analyzed Tyson's punch and measured 1,800 PSI,
08:24which is like getting hit in the face with a sledgehammer.
08:27Tyson often had elite heavyweights on the canvas in the first round,
08:30and watching him work was simply magical.
08:32And that is the first time Michael Spinks has ever been down in a professional fight.
08:37And he's down again, and in serious trouble.
08:41A right hand right on the chin.
08:44Number two, Jim Brown.
08:45Jim thought on Sundays, and these are his words, that he was a god.
08:51Some people are just naturally good at everything they try, like Jim Brown.
09:01He was an athletic monster at Syracuse, playing varsity baseball
09:04and becoming the second leading scorer on the school's basketball team.
09:07He placed fifth in the national championship decathlon.
09:10Oh, and underrated flex?
09:11He's also possibly the greatest lacrosse player of all time.
09:14They literally changed the rules of the game because of him.
09:16Brown cradled the ball so well that defenders physically couldn't knock it loose.
09:20So the rule was changed requiring the stick to be in constant motion.
09:23Oh yeah, and then there's his legendary NFL career,
09:25and he still holds the record for the highest average rushing yards per game with 104.3.
09:30So yeah, yeah, the guy was pretty talented.
09:32He is the only runner ever to average over 100 yards per game
09:37and over 5 yards per carry for a career.
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09:57Number 1. Bo Jackson
09:59To this day, Bo Jackson is the only athlete to be named an all-star in two different sports.
10:15Jackson was a freak on the football field, and despite only playing four seasons,
10:19he still left an undeniable mark.
10:21He was a one-man army bulldozing through linebackers, outrunning defensive backs,
10:24and in one game rushing for 221 yards and three touchdowns.
10:28And only one man between, and easily can't run him down.
10:32He had the angle, but there goes Bo, and nobody catches Bo, touchdown.
10:38He may not stop until Tacoma.
10:40He's gone.
10:41Portland.
10:42He just went by Spokane.
10:43And there go the Raiders into final.
10:45And he'd do all this after baseball season.
10:48You know in video games when you make a character and crank every stat up to 100?
10:51That was Jackson hitting 450-foot bombs,
10:54throwing out players from the warning track, and climbing the walls like Spider-Man.
10:57Jackson just had an aura to him that no other athlete before or since has captured.
11:02He didn't even try to hit a cutoff man.
11:04He must have thrown this ball over his cutoff men's head by 20 feet.
11:08He just turned and launched.
11:10What other freaks of nature do you know?
11:12Let us know in the comments below.
11:13The greatest day in baseball history!
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11:27All right.
11:30Jeans.
11:30We're well- eventual.
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11:32And be sure to check on our test.
11:33Because you can't train anymore.
11:34If you're finding an hour now, with a classic performance from the MMA exchange team,
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11:36You can't 138 times lead because they are nothing.
11:37Book an hour on your left.
11:38Let us know when it's gonna crumble throughout my family.
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11:39And make sure that there is to be momencie.
11:41We got an hour on walk now when we start.
11:42And let's think about this stream,
11:44You know, this line is coming from Sicher.
11:46a very small crew.
11:47We got an hour away from San Francisco State,
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11:50So, if you think about it,
11:50I could have taken for youä¹…,