Out of all humans in history, who has the greatest vo2 max to ever live?

Matt Carpenter apparently had one of the highest vo2 max ever recorded (Leadville 100 and pikes peak marathon course record holder). Kilian Jornet is pretty high too. In general cyclist, tri athletes and XC skiers have had the highest recorded vo2 maxes.

Can you give an example of someone who had a vo2 but never lived?

All you need to know about the430miler...

Just Google Barrett Dahl.

Ha, that was a good tustle, they both took some lumps. "Injun Pimp" on a Redskins jersey, that's some solid in-person trolling.

I would guess that cyclists in general would tend to have the best measures of any sport. That pesky kg in the denominator gives a boost to guys who are super aerobically strong but still carry some muscle mass.

Did you ever read David Epstein's The Sports Gene? Fascinating book filled with tons of anecdotes like Mantyranta

Pheidippides ran 150 miles in 2 days....then died but still.

I'm not sure you understand what VO2max is. In standard unit is mL/kg/min of oxygen that can be utilized by the body. Not brought into the lungs, but brought into the body and converted to CO2 by metabolic work, mainly muscular.

#1- Budimir Šobat (world record for holding his breath, 24 minutes 37 seconds)

A breath holder does not strictly need a high VO2 max, the value is likely slightly raised by apnea training, but not the nearly the same extent as simple aerobic exercise.

#2- sir edmund hillary- first mnt everst climber
#3- tenzig norgay- 2nd mnt everst climber (no gas mask)

These guys are incredible, but the rate of work during expedition climbing is unlikely to bring VO2max to the same level as high-intensity aerobic exercise. Keep in mind as well that there are 3 main parts of the VO2max equation: lung capacity (least limiting), blood O2 capacity, and muscle O2 uptake. These sherpas have an amazing blood O2 carrying capacity, but there is little reason to believe their muscle O2 uptake is high enough to compete with top-level athletes.

#8- Methusula- oldest person to ever live, indicating very high vo2 max

A joke, I'm sure, but VO2 max and age are not correlated in the way you're thinking. A low VO2max can be an indicator of increased mortality, but it is more an indicator of other risk factors (obesity, inactivity, cardiac issues). Having an absurdly high VO2 max is not a prerequisite for longevity.

relative VO2max (mL/kg/min): some aerobic beast who is super tiny, like Matt Carpenter

gross VO2max (L/min): some aerobic beast who is giant and muscular, like a cross country skier or a rower

"Well, one fella came close. Went by the name of Homer. Seven feet tall he was, with arms like tree trunks. His eyes were like steel, cold, hard. Had a shock of hair, red like the fires of hell."

Joe Louis?

The one human in history with the greatest VO2 max ever was that 49-year-old guy who pounded on the podium after coming in second at the local 5K behind the Kenyan lady, that one time.

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you don't really understand that lung capacity (breath holding world record) is veryyy different than vo2. that makes the rest of your assumptions probably wrong.

Steve Prefontaine had one of the highest Vo2 max recorded among runner2 of 84 but I hear cross country skiers are higher yet and several have exceeded 90

Luciano Pavarotti. Massive lungs and heart.

There's no need to take anything the430miler writes seriously.

***Last I saw it's been every year for at least a decade.