KingDamager

I swim a lot. I used to swim more. It's fair to say I've done my fair amount of research on Phelps. Let's go through some of the list of things that make Phelps tick:

• Wingspan relative to height. Phelps has a wingspan of 6'7 despite being 6'4 tall.

• Torso length is disproportionately longer than legs for his height - reduce drag and help propulsion

• size 14 feet attached to double jointed ankles - flexibility is king in swimming generally and Phelps foot size combined with his double jointed ankles means he's swimming with fins

• ADHD gives him unnatural levels of energy

• lactic acid dissipation for Phelps is at something like twice that of most other swimmers

Not to mention the fact that the dude is incredibly goal orientated and lives and breathes swimming. In a recent interview he mentioned that he could get his time right on 50m swims to a tenth of a second.

Phelps is genetically built to swim. Read the ESPN article on him and the struggles he faced before 2012 and realise how well he still did despite that. Supposedly he's truly tuned in to these games. It could be amazing to see what he can do despite his age. The fact that Phelps has come back from retirement so easily despite the struggles that other greats like Thorpe and Hackett have faced speaks volumes.

For reference, if you want to talk about other crazy American swimmers. Katie Ledecky. Not entirely genetics. But dear lord she's impressive

How many times do you get 'Classic Schmosby' because that's what I was coming to comment...

This might sound like a stupid question, but Why? I'm aware this is quite an open question, but I think that gives the possibility for a cooler answer :) (Think its a great idea, just want to hear more about it from your perspective)

How did you feel at the end of the opening ceremony to be the guy sitting in the house?

Really felt you deserved that credit btw.

Ever considered upgrading to something like a sprinter with more space?