The athletes

Olympians come in all shapes and sizes. As they descend on London for the start of competition this weekend, the Post presents our analysis of the height and weight of all 10,343 contenders, showing the enormous range of body types represented in the spectrum of Olympic events and by the countries taking part.

Different sports, different bodies

The chart below shows each of the thousands of athletes represented by a square, with blue for men and red for women. With each Olympic sport requiring specific physical attributes, a massive range of human body shapes are on display. On the right are some of the extremes.

No data

Some athletes were not included on the chart as their body height and/or weight was unavailable.

Our athletes

Hong Kong's athletes are generally lighter and shorter than the average Olympian, while China is fielding a wider range of competitors.

Born to do it

High jumpers tend to be lighter and taller than other athletes, while weightlifters are relatively short with the sport containing some of the heaviest athletes.

Source: BBC database