Human world records represent the pinnacle of the human abilities – the highest standard in a field achieved by the best amongst us. But how does the best of human physical feats fare against the average animals around us? Read on to find out.
Hundred Meter Dash
Everyone knows that Usain Bolt is the fastest human on earth. The flamboyant Jamaican set the world record in August 2009 by running a hundred meters in just 9.58 seconds. So, we can say that the absolute best speed that is humanely possible over a very short distance is a little over 40 kmph. This is not even fast enough to face a domestic cat who can easily run in nearly 50 kmph. A Southern Dart butterfly is 10 kilometres even faster. The fastest land animal is the Cheetah which can run at 120 kmph – thrice the speed of the fastest man on earth.
Hundred Meter Freestyle
It is one of the blue-ribbon events of the Olympics and over the years, many hugely talented swimmers have come in and made their mark as the fastest swimmer in the world. The current record is held by Brazilian Cesar Cielo who swam hundred meters in record 46.91 seconds in Rome in 2009. This puts the best human swimming speed at about 7.5 kmph, between an emperor penguin and a grey whale. The best performer of the animal kingdom when it comes to swimming is the sailfish with a top speed of almost a hundred kmph – almost fifteen times more than the fastest human swimmer.
Long Jump
God bless Mike Powell for his record long jump of 8.95 meters because it is now comparable to an Impala or a Puma who can jump similar length. If you compare that with red kangaroos, they can jump to about 13 meters which is about fifty percent more than a human. The best long jumper however, is not the kangaroo but the snow leopard which can jump in excess of 15 meters when needed.
High Jump
The record for the highest jump has been broken by many since we started recording in 1912. The last three times, it was broken by Javier Sotomayor of Cuba. In July 1993, he jumped a height of 2.45 meters – a world record that still stands today. A serval cat on the other hand can jump up more than 3 meters without any run-ups. Even the Munk’s devil ray can jump up to the same height from water. Even a pit bull can easily jump up to anywhere between 4-5 meters. The absolute best jumper in the animal kingdom is the klipspringer who can jump up to 25 feet (more than 7.5 meters).
