Vertical Leap Record Holder?

[Bruce Kritzler]

James White, I believe is the guy who played basketball and hj'ed(7-1) at U of Florida, then b-ball and long jumped(25-6) at U of Cincinnatti.
Ziani ?, if he is French, has hj'ed about 7-2.

[jhc68]

We've been through all this before, but I never get tired of it!!!

One footed-stepping-forward and two footed-flat take off actions utilize entirely different mechanics and emphasize different muscle groups. Great rebounders are not often spectacular dunkers, and in volleyball great hitters (a forward jumping skill) are not always great blockers (often a two footed-flat take off skill.) There is another, maybe more complex skill that Spud Webb and all the high flying volleyball players and some gymnasts have mastered: a running two-footed take off.

Trying to measure and/or compare vertical jumps is a fool's errand. Other threads have belabored the difficulties of defining the jump and the methods of measurement. As noted previously here, most of the numbers put forward are purely imaginary. Even comparing jumpers within a specific discipline is tough (was Soto really a better jumper than Franklin Jacobs or Holm?) No matter, it is still fun to see someone really sky and fun to argue about who flew highest.

Ziani is certainly spectacular but some of those rims in the videos DO look lower than others. It is seldom that you see photographic evidence of anyone actually getting head-high on a 10 foot basketball hoop. Unless I am delusion (again!) I recall a pic from 30 years ago showing Franklin Jacobs in mid-flight on a BBall court peering down into the basket. And the video of Holm's big jump at the indoor Euros a couple of years ago is jaw-dropping. Tough to think anyone ever got their feet higher off the ground than these two.

[figo]

i did a slow mo on Ziani dunks looking at the hand on the rim, body, feet and floor position. the dunks all look legit because the distances between the various body parts seem the same from stadium to stadium....

but my measurement technique is suspect, really i don't know...

[cullman]

...the guy stands at 5 ft 11 they say,
that puts the vertical at about 4 feet 1 inch (to rim) and say 4 inches over gives
a 53 inch vertical on that particular jump.

53" would match the vertical of former Cuban volleyballer, Diego Lapera who did his from a two-footed standing take-off.

cman

[paulthefan]

I remember bobby jones, teammate of Julius Erving having a similarly breathtaking vertical and he actually was a HS or college HJer... not sure what his PR was but it would be a good way to calibrate some of these guys potential... most of those vertical numbers should get the same credence as one should give "Andre the Giant drank down a Keg of beer inside of 30seconds" .

as for dunking from the foul line, it certainly is no big deal, even a marginal athlete like paulthefan in his prime could take off from about two feet inside the foul line and still slip it in.

[figo]

bobby jones is an all time great.

[jazzcyclist]

Walter Davis can dunk from the top of the key. Is he the fastest triple jumper ever?

[tafnut]

Walter Davis can dunk from the top of the key. Is he the fastest triple jumper ever?

We'll need a video of that (not that I wouldn't put it past him).

[Pego]

Walter Davis can dunk from the top of the key. Is he the fastest triple jumper ever?

Michael Conley's 200 was very close to 20 flat(I am too lazy to look up the actual figure). Is WD quite that fast?

[gh]

Not sure I've never seen anyone who looked faster than Jonathan Edwards.

In terms of 100 PRs (which don't mean much because of infrequency of running), Conley ran 10.36, Edwards 10.48, Davis 10.42w. But as w/ PV and LJ, for the TJ you only have to be fast for your last step.

[tafnut]

Two notable jumpers' 200 PRs

Myricks 20.03
Conley 20.21

[lonewolf]

Not sure I've never seen anyone who looked faster than Jonathan Edwards..

He did look fast on the runway but the thing that most impressed me was he seems to almost levitate on his step phase.

[Dietmar239]

This is an article from 2005. LOL :lol:

http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2005/ ... fIddaUtama

His ability is unquestioned. Standing at 6-foot-6, Utama is projected to play small forward, and with a vertical leap of 70.5 inches (almost six feet), he can literally jump over your average point guard on his way to the hoop. The owner of the previous best vertical leap is Harlem Globetrotter Michael “Wild Thing” Wilson, who can rise 55 inches off the ground. Wilson also owns the world record for highest dunk, which he did on a 12-foot hoop. Utama has successfully dunked on a 14-foot hoop.

[Pego]

This is an article from 2005. LOL :lol:

http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2005/ ... fIddaUtama

His ability is unquestioned. Standing at 6-foot-6, Utama is projected to play small forward, and with a vertical leap of 70.5 inches (almost six feet), he can literally jump over your average point guard on his way to the hoop. The owner of the previous best vertical leap is Harlem Globetrotter Michael “Wild Thing” Wilson, who can rise 55 inches off the ground. Wilson also owns the world record for highest dunk, which he did on a 12-foot hoop. Utama has successfully dunked on a 14-foot hoop.

LOL is right.

[tafnut]

The date on that article is April 1 . . .