![]() ![]() Leonidas competed in four successive Olympiads in 164 BC, 160BC, 156BC, and 152BC, winning three different foot races in each of these.Īn Olympic athlete who won three events at a single Olympics was called a triastes-there have only been seven triastes, and Leonidas is the only one known to have won the honor more than once. Over 2,000 years ago there lived an athlete known as Leonidas of Rhodes. That extra flexibility allows for a fuller range of motion, which propels Phelps through the water more efficiently.īecause Phelps has legs that are proportionally shorter than normal, his kicks are more efficient, enabling him to make the best of his natural swim fins. Adding to this, Phelps also has extremely flexible joints, including, most importantly, his ankles, which are capable of 15 degrees of greater movement than an average man's. At that size, they’re more akin to swim fins. That’s huge-well beyond what most of us have. They work because they increase the surface area of our feet, and that surface area acts on the water, pushing us along-the bigger the surface area, the harder we’re pushed along. That’s left to discipline and dedication, which Phelps certainly has.ĭo you remember that moment, as a child, when you discovered that using swim fins in the pool made you feel like you could swim a million miles an hour? Those big, flexible apparatuses make an incredible difference in the water, allowing us to propel ourselves through the water many times faster. Because so much of his body is invested in his arms, he experiences less water resistance and more pulling power.īut genetics are only half the game-while they may determine our maximum, they don’t determine whether we’ll reach that potential. His lower body is, unusually, only 5’10” long, which is proportionally shorter than the norm. It doesn’t hurt that Phelps also has very large hands, which, when combined with his long arms, act like the paddles of a boat. Phelps’s long arms give him incredible pulling power while swimming. The average person has an arm span that’s roughly equal to their height. This isn’t normal, and it gives Phelps an advantage as a swimmer. With his 6’4” height, that’s wider than he is tall! When Phelps’s arms are extended, they reach 6’7”. His Wingspanīeyond his intense dedication and training regimen, there are several physiological reasons why Michael Phelps is an incredible swimmer. Indeed, his achievements are far beyond the norm, and so with that in mind, let’s take a look at 7 insane facts about Michael Phelps. Phelps turned out to be a phenomenon, dominating in nearly every swimming event he competed in, smashing world records and stunning crowds, earning him no less than seven World Swimmer of the Year Awards.Īlthough Phelps has announced his retirement as an Olympic athlete after the 2016 Rio Olympics, he continues to fascinate the world through his almost superhuman athletic achievements. He began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under the guidance of swim coach Bob Bowman-the man who would go on to coach Phelps through his Olympic career. Later diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, he began swimming at the age of 7 as an outlet for his energy, and by age 10, held a national record for his age group in the 100-meter butterfly. If (typeof(window.On June 30th, 1985, Michael and Deborah Phelps became the proud parents of a child that would go on to be the most decorated Olympian in history. (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||).requestNonPersonalizedAds=1 ![]() (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||).pauseAdRequests=0 (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||).pauseAdRequests=1 In other cases, however, webbed fingers occur as part of a genetic disorder. Webbed digits often occur on their own as a random mutation. As the surgeon will only separate two digits at a time, the child may need several surgeries. By that age, the child will be better able to tolerate the anesthesia. In most cases, the doctor will separate the child’s fingers when they are between one and two years old. The only way to correct webbed digits is to perform surgery. In syndactyly, something goes wrong with this process, and the baby is born with digits more or less fused together. ![]() In a developing embryo, the hands and feet start off looking like paddles, and during the sixth or seventh week, the tips of the paddles split and form fingers or toes. ![]() The word comes from the Greek words for together and finger. Syndactyly is simply the medical term for webbed digits. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push() ![]()
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