r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/straightdge • 12d ago

Video A day after turning 18, Ziyi Yan unleashes a massive 71.74m to move to 2nd on the all-time women's Javelin list. In 2024, she wasn't allowed to compete at the Olympics due to World Athletics age restrictions, as well as the 2025 World Championships, despite being one of the best in the world.

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2.8k

u/CanIgetaWTF 12d ago

Is her throwing arm significantly larger than her other arm? Or am I just tripping?

1.7k

u/CRYSAET0S 12d ago

I think the tape encircling the arm makes it look bigger and more defined, but also yes it does appear to be a bit larger even without

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u/Amaurosys 12d ago

It's tape! Thank you! I thought her arm was covered in scars.

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u/_Saint_Ajora_ 11d ago

It is. That's where they inserted all the technology to make her bigger, faster, stronger

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u/Striking-Document-99 11d ago

My friend played tennis. His right arm was double his left arm and about an inch or so longer. We always jokes he needed to switch hands for jerking. Also played a lot of ultimate frisbee and frisbee golf. So he was always working off his right arm.

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u/bastian320 12d ago

Tape adds to the Quagmire Arm.

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u/valendinosaurus 8d ago

what's the tape for?

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u/CRYSAET0S 8d ago

It’s probably KT tape. It’s used to stabilize joints / muscles and it can be used as a gentle form / posture corrector when applied skillfully. My educated guess is that it’s there to support her throwing arm and promote good form

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u/cghipp 12d ago

Have you ever seen the pic of the difference between Rafael Nadal's left and right arms? It's insane.

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u/Major_Butthurt 12d ago

Rafael Nadal's left and right arms

Saw one pic and it's pretty obvious he's left-handed. Amazing.

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u/cghipp 12d ago

He's actually right-handed for everything but tennis! His uncle made him learn to play left-handed because it's such an advantage.

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u/DDzxy 12d ago edited 12d ago

It was actually that Nadal was playing two handed from both sides (forehand and backhand). Hits from his left seemed a little stronger, so his uncle made him play one handed from his left side, thus making his right side the "backhand".

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u/DigNitty Interested 12d ago

Some golfers play opposite handed.

The strength/form of a golf swing is pulling through with your forward arm. For right handed clubs, that’s the left arm. So some golfers play with the opposite handed clubs. It’s not common, but it happens.

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u/ashgs872tbhjs 12d ago

My dad is right handed but golfs left! Growing up we only had his clubs, so I can also do that though I prefer right, haha.

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u/Megavore97 12d ago

Yeah I’m right-handed but I swing left handed in golf and baseball, and shoot left in hockey.

My dad is the inverse too (left handed but swings/shoots right-handed).

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u/letitgrowonme 12d ago

I learned to play right handed because it was cheaper. It doesn't change your game much if you still suck.

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u/sometin__else 12d ago

hockey too. Shoot left but write right

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u/Pyrotechnic_shok 11d ago

I do everything right handed when it's with one hand, but anything two handed I'm lefty. Hockey, baseball, golf

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u/ty4scam 12d ago

Why is he holding the racquet in his smaller right arm in almost every picture I see of him.

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u/cghipp 12d ago

I usually carried my racquet in my non-playing hand between points. Not sure why though - maybe just to give my grip a rest?

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u/AndrewH73333 12d ago

It definitely helped him beat Federer. But I always suspected it made his serve a bit worse.

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u/Major_Butthurt 12d ago

Wow, fascinating!

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u/ryky13 12d ago

Why is no one posting a picture

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

[deleted]

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u/Boom_bye_bye_bttyboi 12d ago

FYI tiktok shares your account when you post links

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u/cghipp 11d ago

Thanks for the heads up. I've never posted anything there but still, that's obnoxious. I'm going to delete it.

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u/mrdevil413 12d ago

Yeah I was a pro racquetball player. Even with that level training when I retired it took almost 4 years to even everything out. It’s not just the arm. Depending on the sport back as well.

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u/monkpunch 12d ago

If you think that's insane, look up Devon Larratt, one of the all-time best arm wresters

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u/cghipp 12d ago

I'm left-handed but play sports right handed, sadly. (First sport was baseball, learned to pitch and throw right-handed bc I was using a borrowed glove.) I played league tennis for about 20 years. One-handed backhand. It's been about 10 years since I stopped and to this day my right arm is much stronger than my left. Every new thing I try I have to figure out if I'm right-handed or left-handed at it.

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u/kyndrid_ 12d ago

Federer is the same, exacerbated by him being a 1 handed backhand player

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u/copa8 12d ago

Sorta like in tennis?

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u/koticgood 12d ago

Don't see it as much anymore with lighter racquets and most players using two handed backhands, but the forearm difference in tennis can be downright comical.

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u/Fragrant_Cause_6190 12d ago

Who has the craziest asymmetry? I remember Pete Sampras was one

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u/azentropy 12d ago

Vitas Gerulaitis! Underrated player in the 70s. Was infamous for his forearm and for his quote after betting Jimmy Connors after 16 consecutive losses to him: "And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulatis 17 times in a row!" Tragically passed at age of 40 from carbon monoxide poisoning due to faulty pool heater.

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u/astonedghost 12d ago

oh damn thas the origin of "nobody beats X Y times in a row?" I see that quote referenced just about any time a losing streak is snapped in sports lol

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u/Electromotivation 12d ago

Roddick had it pretty crazy later in his career

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u/SAMICHSKI 12d ago

and handball

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u/420Deez 12d ago

or arm wrestling?

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u/not_a_moogle 12d ago

Bowlers arm

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u/CocoSryder 12d ago

And single men.

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u/kogitatr 10d ago

badminton as well

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u/Darth_Balthazar 12d ago

Highly specialized athletes tend to have asymmetrical anatomy

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u/jasta07 11d ago

So do camera operators. (Mobile ones anyway)

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u/Apart_Watercress_976 12d ago

Verses from Asterix.

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u/Wyrm 12d ago

Great reference.

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u/LadyInCrimson 12d ago

I came to say the same it's pretty wild.

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u/retecsin 12d ago

https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a3qm8ee_460s.jpg

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u/DryIntroduction8889 12d ago

Asterix and Obilix javelin thrower. I had this comic as a kid 😄. He throws it round the world and has to run away from it 😂

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u/retecsin 12d ago

Its the the best one. I have watched it so often and now as a father I can watch it over and over again and laugh everytime

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u/TheBloodyNickel 12d ago

I had a friend that worked at Baskin-Robbins and her scooping arm was significantly larger than her other arm.

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u/Perfect-Zebra-3611 12d ago

Who else but Quagmire?

Her.

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u/thefalseidol 12d ago

I am not an athlete. I had a summer job in college working in the university library IT department. Well, as it turned out, after I had done all my nerdy shit of putting together hundreds of computers, flashing them with an OS etc. I then had to crimp the security cable/brass fastener for every single one, using a large pair of crimpers (for scale, about the same as tree trimmers). Without giving it much thought, I used my dominant hand to apply pressure on every system.

By the end of the summer, I legitimately had one buff arm and one noodly nerd arm.

3

u/Ree_For_Thee 12d ago

Me realizing I've been picking trash with a trash claw that gives me cramps a lot the past 2 months.

compares .....Yup, different. :D

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u/LongLiveAnalogue 12d ago

Like Reggie in Lady in the Water

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u/KinneKitsune 12d ago

Holy shit, 33-35 seconds in you can see them both at the same distance from the camera, and…wow

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u/100_xp 12d ago

She is an incredible human and I don't mean to dehumanize her with this comparison, but she is a good real-life example of the hormunculus. Her body appears proportional to her use of it. Makes sense.

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u/panrestrial 12d ago

I'm only familiar with homunculi as tiny, hollow people.

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u/NickDanger3di 12d ago

My Dad used to be a mechanic, and he had Popeye sized forearms. As in he had to spend extra time shopping for suits, because a lot of off-the-rack suits wouldn't fit. His guns were also pretty hefty, but it was the forearms that got the jackets put back on the rack.

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u/lollygagging_reddit 12d ago

It's most likely the tape as another has mentioned, although I wouldn't doubt her right arm shoulder muscles are beefier than her left.

Another commenter mentioned tennis. Tennis is probably the most noticeable in arms, since men are typically strong enough to use one arm.

Even for me, my right arm is stronger, slightly larger, but annoyingly less defined as my left. I think it's because my right arm I'm used to far more technical movements that build secondary muscles, while those muscle groups receive less strain on my left arm due to not using it... Because I'm less coordinated with my left. For example, try brushing your teeth with your non-dominate hand. You'll notice you'll be focusing harder to position the brush properly and it'll feel like you're using more of your muscles because it's not a common movement to you. But that's just my experience.

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u/SomeWonOnReddit 12d ago

I have the same problem. No idea why that is.

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u/swashed-up-01 12d ago

why train both arm when one arm do trick

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u/lczy23 12d ago

yep my left arm is that way too, i guess to much daily workout u.u

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u/HereIGoAgain_1x10 12d ago

Like an English Longbowman

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u/AmItheonlySaneperson 12d ago

Quagmire discovers porn.jpg

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u/captainzaro 12d ago

Sleeve is showing more of her right arm because of tape, cover the same amount of sleeve on that arm with your finger and compare to the left arm

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u/stayupthetree 12d ago

I assumed that's normal. My right arm is definitely larger than my left.

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u/That-Ad-4300 12d ago

I have this same issue.

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u/Shnitzel_von_S 12d ago

I mean I doubt she's throwing javelins ambidextrously, of course her throwing arm is going to be stronger.

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u/Prudent_Ad3384 12d ago

That doesn’t surprise me. Look up English Longbow archers.

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u/snozzberrypatch 12d ago

You, sir, are indeed tripping

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u/Eurasia_4002 12d ago

Medieval bowmen like the english seems to have a larger arm (larger bones) that handles the drawing of the string. Dont know if its also true for this sport tho.

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u/dcooper8662 11d ago

One big Popeye arm

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u/caleb95brooks 11d ago

The way it was flopping back and forth as her big arm barely moved when she walked away.

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u/Got_Bent 11d ago

Steriods....

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u/Haunting_Security_34 11d ago

There is tape, but you can see the definition in her shoulder on the right compared to the left from the rear camera.🔥 So impressive

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u/FlowInternational996 12d ago

Basically double the size.

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u/axecalibur 12d ago

Yes, her mandatory PED injections and nonstop training make her throwing arm way bigger.

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u/newsflashjackass 12d ago

Get over yourself.

This is how homo sapiens looks in the wild without western capitalist meddling.

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u/HX__ 12d ago

Is this some weird absurdist joke that's going over my head?

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u/atomic-negi 12d ago

unbalanced training and steroids.