Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Phelps, The Phenomenon

  • Michael Phelps was just 11 when his coach Bob Bowman called in his parents to tell them the boy could become an Olympic champion if he just applied himself

  • His policeman father Fred & school teacher mother Debbie separated when he was only 7. Elder sister Whitney, also a swimmer, has written that she used the swimming pool as a refuge from the yelling

  • Phelps' physique is perceived to be his greatest advantage. He's got broad shoulders coupled with a huge torso tapering down to small hips & strikingly short legs - a combination that provides minimum resistance under water

  • Unlike most people, Phelps also has an extraordinarily long arm reach, with his arm span about 3 inches longer than his 6 ft 4 inch height. This means he has extra long "oars" to propel a shorter body through the water

  • When Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe said he did not think anyone could win eight races at a single Olympics, Phelps memorised the quote to motivate him for Beijing

  • Phelps' underwater turn is supposed to be his signature style - he tends to go down deeper to the wall than other swimmers, performs a dolphin kick & rockets back to the surface, leaving the other swimmers behind

  • While most swimmers tend to specialize in one or two events, Phelps has entered eight races in Beijing

  • Phelps averaged 75km a week in training & took not more than 4 days off in the four years leading up to the Athens Olympics in 2004, none of them holidays

4 comments:

Psyched said...

The pic resembles that of a Phoenix

I couldnt think of a better pic... to define the legend

Scarlett said...

Yeah its an awesome pic. Camera angles, eh?

Psyched said...

I swear...

but must admit...

Nice Selection...

Scarlett said...

Thank u Psyched :)

I love this blog!!