Soccer
Cristiano Ronaldo
Footballer, five-time Ballon d'Or winner
All evidence
5 records, newest first. Strength changes with age and weight class, so check the date and context before you compare.
2019
- Header jump in a match28 in
“Ronaldo reached a height of 2.56 meters when he made contact with the ball, according to the Juventus website, having jumped 71 centimeters”
Figure from the Juventus website, reported by CNN (syndicated on KVIA); Malay Mail (AFP) gives the same 71 cm and 2.56 m. 2.56 m is the head height at contact; 71 cm is the jump. A jump in a match, not a lab test; the source does not say how it was measured.
2013
- Header jump in a match32 in
“With a bigger run-up against Man Utd, Ronaldo climbed approximately 2ft 8in off the ground.”
2ft 8in = 81.28 cm, the outlet's approximation from photos of his headed equaliser, not a measured test. Date from the match (the article ran the next day). A Sports Illustrated page (citing Olympics.com) says his jump in this match 'was measured at 9.6 feet, or 2.93 meters'; that is a head height, not a jump, and was not used.
2012
- Match sprint, about 96 m10 s
“The Real Madrid man sprinted approximately 96 metres in just 10 seconds during a counter attack from Real.”
Distance and time are the outlet's approximation from the broadcast (own six-yard box to the Atletico six-yard box), not tracking data. Date: the article (2012-12-03) says 'on Saturday night', which is 2012-12-01. Distance is not a standard sprint distance; compare with care.
2011
- running vertical jump30.7 in
“This enables him to reach heights of 44cm in the air from a standing start and 78cm with a run-up”
Jump with a run-up; not comparable with a standing vertical jump. Changed 2026-10-21: date 2021-06 -> 2011 and source switched to the Daily Mail (same University of Chichester tests as the 44 cm record). The Daily Mail graphic gives 2ft 6in (76 cm) for a two-step run-up; the text gives 78 cm. Effort kept as max.
- Vertical jump17.3 in
“This enables him to reach heights of 44cm in the air from a standing start and 78cm with a run-up”
Changed 2026-10-21: date was 2021-06 (the date of The National's article); the Daily Mail says the jump 'was measured during biomechanic tests on the forward at the University of Chichester in 2011', for the Castrol film 'Ronaldo: Tested to the Limit'. Source switched to that article; The National (thenationalnews.com, 2021-06-29) and Deccan Herald give the same 44 cm. The Daily Mail graphic gives 1ft 5in. Effort kept as max: a measured lab jump, not an official federation test.