Could an ant weightlift more than an Olympic champion?

The Olympic Games are a chance for some of the world's best athletes to battle it out to see who's at the top of their powers.

But, have you ever wondered how they would compare to the athleticism of animals?

Well luckily scientists and conservationists at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have been thinking the same thing and they've come up with some epic comparisons.

When it comes to strength, speed and agility can humans match up to the animal kingdom... who would win the gold medals if they went head-to-head?

Keep reading to find out how animals compare to athletes!

On your marks, get set, go!

Let's start with the 100m sprint, which is arguably the biggest event in the Olympics!

The current men's world record is held by Jamaica's Usain Bolt - the fastest person in history - who could sprint at a top speed of 45km/h (28mph), covering 100m in 9.58 seconds.

However, if Bolt raced against a cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, he would be left behind on the track!

According to WWF experts, running at speeds of up to 98km/h (60mph), a cheetah could run 100m in just over 3 and a half seconds - that's nearly three times as fast as Bolt!

But, if you put both of them up against the world's fastest bird, neither would stand a chance!

The peregrine falcon, which can be found in the UK, has been clocked diving at speeds of over 311km/h - that's an incredible 200mph!

In the water

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is widely seen as one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

He won a whopping 28 medals - 23 of them gold - between 2004 and 2016.

Phelps could swim at a super quick speed of 8km/h (5mph), but he’s far from the fastest mammal in the water.

The WWF says that record goes to the common dolphin.

They are full of energy and can swim at speeds of up to 60km/h (37mph)!

High flyers

Olympic athletes can clear well over two metres in the high jump with a single leap.

But even the men's and women's high jump records combined cannot reach the heights of a puma.

Pumas have been recorded jumping seven metres straight up from a standstill - which is nearly seven times their height!

Lift off!

The Olympic records for weightlifting were set at the last Olympics in Tokyo, where a new women’s record of 180kg was achieved, while in the men's category, a whopping 265kg was lifted!

However, the African savannah elephant can lift 6,000kg - that's roughly the same amount as its body weight, and even their trunks can lift over 200kg!

But just like in the Olympics, strength isn’t all about the heavyweights.

In the lightweight category, many types of ants can often lift objects that are multiple times their bodyweight.

For example, WWF experts say an Asian weaver ant has been recorded lifting an object 100 times heavier than its own bodyweight... ooof!

Not even our strongest Olympians can match that.

So, if Olympic athletes go up against the animal kingdom, it's clear that there's only one winner!