What would YOUR Olympic sport be? Take the check to search out out

As the first events of the Paris Olympics kick off this weekend, many of us might be feeling inspired to start our own sporting journeys.

But with dozens of sports to try and only so much time in the day, the question of which to choose can be daunting.

Luckily for those struggling with sporting choice paralysis, your body and psychology hold all the clues you need to pick the right discipline.

While some sports require height or quick reflexes, others demand more mental attributes like focus and communication.

So whether you have the large hands and long arms of a pro-swimmer or the laser focus of a sport climber, there will be something that is perfect for you.

Lanky and unusually determined? 

Of tall the physiological traits we inherit from our genetics, height is perhaps the most obvious.

For those lucky enough to be tall and broad across the chest, the perfect place to take advantage of your natural gifts is in the water.

The most successful swimmers tend to be extremely tall as their height is believed to allow them to slip through the water more efficiently.

But swimmers can’t simply be tall, they also need to have a large chest and small legs.

To see this in action you need look no further than the world’s most successful swimmer: Michael Phelps.

At 6ft 4″, Phelps’ torso would be suited to someone 6ft 8″ while his legs would match someone eight inches shorter.

With his abnormally large and extremely flexible chest, Phelps is able to move more water in a single stroke than any other competitor.

Meanwhile, his short legs produce less drag in the water as he moves for a more efficient stroke.

These physical factors are responsible for up to 50 per cent of the success in adolescent swimmers, with arm span being the single biggest influence.

However, just being tall doesn’t necessarily mean that swimming will be right for you.

Studies have shown that high-level swimmers display high levels of self-motivation and have the ability to rigorously follow their own goals.

Coming back to Phelps as an example, many coaches have also pointed out that the swimmer is not unique in his physiological traits and that it is his intense drive to succeed which could be the biggest factor in his success.

So, if you are tall, have long arms, and are highly self-motivated, then swimming could be perfect for you.

Lightweight and laser focused?

Despite what you might think, winning in the Olympics isn’t all about bulging muscles and raw strength.

In fact, some sports favour those who are slight of frame and light for their size.

Sport climbing debuted at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is split into three disciplines: speed climbing, lead climbing, and bouldering. 

While the exact skills and strengths vary between the styles, the fundamental mechanics remain the same.

And, as you might expect for a sport involving hauling yourself up a wall, strength-to-weight ratio is far more important than raw power.

A 2019 review of research into the success of climbers found that low levels of body fat made it much easier to climb. 

Coupled with extremely high grip strength and abnormally large forearms, this gives climbers the ability to cling to the smallest of handholds. 

Of course, just being skinny won’t get you very far if you can’t put your strength to good use.

The same 2019 review cited climbers’ ‘perpetual focus and accuracy’ as a critical skill for determining success among athletes.

Likewise, research published this year found that climbers who specialised in bouldering (low-height climbs undertaken without ropes) had superior memory skills.

Skilled climbers were able to remember more holds and movements after two minutes of looking at a wall than less experienced athletes.

However, sports science experts also point out that it will be hard to excel at a sport you simply don’t enjoy.

Dr Elisabeth Blagrove and Dr Luke Hodson, sports psychologists at Warwick University, told MailOnline in a letter: ‘Being able to use your talents to excel is generally considered a surefire way to increase your sense of purpose- and general wellbeing.

‘But whereas some events require exceptional performance of fairly everyday activities, others require us to defy our natural aversion to sources of danger.’

So even if you do have a natural ability for focus and control, that won’t help much if you can’t get over your fear of heights.

This means that if you are on the slender side and excel at tasks requiring focus and recall, sport climbing could be perfect for you.

Shorter and stockier? 

For those on the shorter, less long-limbed side, it can often feel like most sports simply aren’t for you.

But while you might not be making the Olympic basketball team any time soon, there are some areas in which you can excel.

Dr Mark Burnley, an expert in exercise physiology from Loughborough University, told MailOnline: ‘Being short may be an advantage in gymnastic events and diving, in which many actions require a maximum number of rotations.

‘If you are short, you can twist faster through the air as your “moment of inertia” is smaller.’

This rule of physics is part of what helps athletes like Tom Daley, 5ft 8″, and Simone Biles, 4ft 8″ achieve their spectacular tricks.

Dr Burnley adds: ‘If Simone Biles had grown much beyond her 13-year-old stature she would probably not have stayed at the top of gymnastics, or been able to perform some of her signature moves.’

Being smaller can also convey a unique advantage in weightlifting disciplines – especially if you have shorter limbs.

In Olympic weightlifting, competitors attempt to move the heaviest barbell possible from the floor to above their heads.

Doing this successfully requires using the body like a lever to accelerate the mass as quickly as possible.

Researchers have found that, in general, having shorter limbs means that there is less distance to move the bar – meaning higher weights can be lifted.

A 2021 research paper found that shorter arms were correlated with improved weightlifting performance.

However, there is one interesting exception to this rule as the researchers also discovered that long shins were correlated with greatly improved lifting speed.

So if you are on the shorter side, and don’t fancy spinning like Simone Biles, perhaps weightlifting might be right for you.

Strong and adaptable 

Many of the Olympic sports have disciplines which require different sets of skills.

However, the various Olympic cycling styles might hold the distinction of being the most varied.

From the BMX freestyle to the individual sprint, cyclists can take a wide range of shapes and sizes.

For events on the track where speed is everything, much of your ability to perform will come down to how much power you can produce against how much air resistance you create.

Studies have shown that cyclists’ height, mass, and muscle composition can play a big role in how well they perform.

Generally speaking, riders tend to have long legs and short torsos to maximise power generation and minimise drag.

But beyond these broad considerations, whether cycling is right for you will really depend on what kind of cycling you want to do.

For longer-distance races, a smaller, lighter build might help you cut down on air resistance and use less energy.

But for sprinters, bigger builds that can pack on more muscle can give you the competitive edge.

Dr Burnley says: ‘In cycling, having very large muscles is less of a disadvantage than in sprint running because once up to speed the wheels of the bicycle can keep turning and your weight provides the momentum to push through the air.

‘This explains why track cycling sprinters are usually much more muscular than their athletics counterparts.’

That means it doesn’t necessarily matter if you are big or small, so long as you are willing to adapt to the requirements of the distance.

That level of adaptability is also something that can help cyclists at the psychological level.

One 2020 research paper notes: ‘Cyclists adjust their pace according to their anticipated and accumulated levels of fatigue, terrain characteristics, race duration, elapsed distance, and competition structure.’

This requires cyclists to be intensely aware of what is happening in their own bodies and on the track around them.

So if you are able to change up your plans at the last minute and adapt to the needs of the moment, you might be able to find a cycling discipline that suits you.

Leggy and lean? 

If you are lean and tall rather than muscular like a cyclist or swimmer, you might be able to find your sport in one of the many athletics events.

Various studies have examined the body types required for success on the track, but the general findings suggest that low body fat and long, skinny legs are the best indicators of success.

Longer legs allow athletes to cover more ground with each step and an overall lower weight helps them move without burning as much energy.

However, there is still room for lots of different body types within athletics depending on whether you are a sprinter or an endurance runner.

Compare the builds of champion long-distance runner Mo Farah and the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt.

Mo Farah weighs in at just 58kg (128lbs) and measures just 5ft 7″ tall.

Usain Bolt on the other hand weighed 94 kg (207 lb) when he was competing at the Olympics and is 6ft 4″ tall.

So if you tend to be smaller and lighter, longer distances which make the most of your efficient build would be better suited to you.

In contrast, if you are taller and have a naturally heavier frame you could make an excellent sprinter with the raw power to propel yourself forward.

However, just knowing how much muscle you have isn’t enough to determine whether you should be a sprinter or an endurance runner.

The muscles in our bodies are made up of a few different types of fibres which can loosely be grouped as ‘fast twitch’ or ‘slow twitch’.

Dr Burnley says: ‘To be an effective sprinter, you need two things: enough muscle to propel you fast, and enough of the right type of muscle fibres – those are your “fast twitch” fibres.

For example, Dr Burnley points to Colin Jackson, the Welsh sprinter and two-time world champion hurdler.

He says: ‘About 70% of Colin Jackson’s muscle was fast twitch, and more than 20% of it was known as type IIx – the fastest kind of fast twitch fibre.

‘Most people have less than 50% fast twitch fibres, and usually less than 5% type IIx.’

On the flip side, slow twitch muscle fibres don’t tire out the way that fast twitch fibres do.

So even if you don’t find yourself getting off the blocks so fast, you might just have more of the endurance specialist slow twitch fibres that are perfect for longer distances.

Calm under pressure? 

Even if you don’t feel like your body is suited to any of the Olympic sports that doesn’t mean none of them are for you.

That is because there are a few Olympic sports which do not require any specific build or body type for success.

Drs Blagrove and Hodson point out that optimal performance stems from finding a state where we find a balance between an interesting challenge and excessive anxiety. 

They say: ‘The wrong levels of challenge or stress can be disastrous if we are not able to control them effectively. 

‘The activity itself could also play a role here; if your sport requires quiet focus and precision and you are bursting with explosive energy, you get a clear mismatch, and are unlikely to experience either success or pleasure.’

Sports like archery or pistol, rifle, and shotgun shooting are more of a test of competitors’ steady hands and steely nerves than their raw athleticism.

Dr Burnley says: ‘For shooting and archery, there aren’t really any physiological traits that can enhance accuracy, but there are physiological “states” that can.

‘Calming yourself down, controlling breathing and slowing heart rate is really important, so that you shoot the rifle/pistol or loose the bow between heartbeats when the body is at its stillest.’

That isn’t to say that there are no physical elements to these sports since muscle control and strength are still needed to steady your shot.

However, for these sports, it will be your ability to control your mind and pay attention to your body which makes the biggest difference.

‘It takes a lot of training to control this, perceive the gap between heartbeats, and keep that control when a medal is on the line,’ says Dr Burnley.

So, even if you don’t feel particularly sporty, anyone with a calm head could be the next Olympic crack-shot.