Michael Jordan was an athlete like no other. The way the former Chicago Bulls star dominated the sport and was the most influential athlete in the 90s was arguably second to none. The Black Cat always had a winning mentality on the court and off it as well. To make things more interesting for the impact he had, and his nickname, there is a dog who is touted to be the ‘Michael Jordan of dogs‘.
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The dog’s name is Spitfire, and it is part of the Whippet breed. Spitfire has made a name for itself after winning various competitions around the world along with his handler Sydney.
Why is Spitfire called the Michael Jordan of dogs?
A while ago, ESPN released a video of Spitfire, where he could be seen breaking record after record in dock diving, which is the sport where dogs jump into a pool as far as they can. A few years ago, he made 21 world records his own. This was when Spitfire got the nickname ‘The Michael Jordan of dogs’.
It is quite self-explanatory as to why the whippet got the title. We all know Jordan is also called ‘His Airness‘, with every reason as well. Jordan could jump so high that people thought he was levitating at times. With that said, if Spitfire was deserving of the GOAT status in his sport, which other name would be better fitting for him than the great Michael Jordan?
How far can Spitfire jump?
As mentioned earlier, Spitfire took part in various competitions and earned the prestigious nickname. After making such a huge impact in the sport, inducted into the 2022 DockDogs Hall of Fame. This just shows how justified his nickname is after all.
Spitfire jumps a distance of over 31 feet to create a new world record for the farthest leap by a dog pic.twitter.com/ReWsbuMLDE
— Farbod Saraf (@farbodsaraf) November 2, 2018
Spitfire is also called ‘The Flying Dog’, and with good reason as well. Before jumping into a pool, he can touch close to about 30 miles an hour and he can jump as far as 31 feet. At the time (in 2018) this was the world record. Another whippet named Sounders beat his record in 2019 after jumping to a distance of 36 feet 3 inches. Sounders made it even better this year by reaching 36 feet 6 inches.
Although Spitfire doesn’t hold the world record anymore, he was a dominant force on his own back in the day. This makes him similar to MJ as well, who might not have the biggest records in the sport but has made the most impact on it.