• Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Oh he’s the only tall broad shoulder swimmer body man who competes in the olympics

    Obviously not. He has several genetic advantages that other top swimmers don’t, as detailed in the article you clearly didn’t read.

    Here’s a short summary:

    • He stands tall at 6’4″, which is the ideal height for swimming. The average height of an Olympic finalist in 2016 was 6’2″

    • His arm span is 6’7″, 3 inches more than his height. Generally, a person’s arm span is equal to their height, but Phelps is not an ordinary person. This anomalous characteristic gives him an absurd amount of pulling power in the water. Basically, his arms work as powerful propulsive (boat) paddles in a more efficient way than his competitors.

    • His upper body is that of a 6 ‘8 “man. With each stroke, he can have amazing reach, pulling him through the water ahead of the competition.

    • his lower body is only 5 ’10 “long, which is beneficial as it reduces drag against water.

    • Phelps has huge palms that support his paddling ability, essentially acting as flippers

    • he also has abnormally large feet with extremely flexible ankles, basically functioning like the tail fin of a shark

    • Phelps’s body produces half as much lactic acid as his rivals, significantly shortening his recovery time and allowing him to endure longer swims without slowing down.

    Source: Science ABC