Why is Michael Phelps so great?

Question

There are plenty of people who train in swimming since they are little kids like 5 years old, and don't even go to school but train swimming every day since they are children (like in 3rd world countries or something who don't have to go to school), and they don't even come close to Michael Phelps, even at the same age as him. Why is Michael Phelps so much better than everyone else at swimming even though everyone else does the same things he does (training, diet, etc.)? Did he just get lucky in choosing his natural talent for swimming when he was little?

Answer 1

I agree he's a merman.  7-ft. arms, 2-barrels-of-air chest, legs like tail-fins.  He is Neptune-sculpted and h**l-for-leather motivated to win every competition.  Where do people like this come from?  From enlightened parents and devoted coaches.

Answer 2

He's god-chosen to be the greatest swimmer of all time! He's phenomenal!

Answer 3

That would be like asking why does vegemite taste so nice? It just does. Aussie Aussie Aussie.

Answer 4

He is tall and has double jointed elbows and knees. He has  a much longer torso than legs. He has very broad shoulders

Answer 5

Good question! Athletes have both fast-twitch and slow twitch fibers. Fast twitch fibers help a person lift heavy weights or perform an activity with high speed. Carl Lewis has 80 percent of fast-twitch fibers for muscles that are used for sprinting and powerlifters have fast-twitch fibers for muscles related to squats and bench presses. Long distance runners have 80 percent slow-twitch fibers and these fibers prevent early lactic acid buildup for muslces used for long distance sprints. Most people have a mixture of both with less amount on all muscles of the body. It is further stated that not all muscles have the same fiber type and this is why some athletes excel at pushups and not ab crunches.

Lactic acid buildup is when an athlete feels a burn after a physical excercise or activity.

At Olympic Training Centers, excercise physiologists give an actual surgical procedure on athletes to test for muscle fibers by taking a sample of a certain athletes muscles. This procedure is painful and very expensive. That is why coaches prefer simple fitness tests.

Answer 6

he is a merman  

Answer 7

He set a goal to be the best and he is accomplishing his goal. Hard work.

Answer 8

The dude was just born to swim.

Answer 9

God given genetics, or man made drugs! Take your pick!

Answer 10

What goes up must come down.He is at the peak of his performance right now and his performance will eventually drop down a little bit.This happens to a lot of athletes.They perform well and then later down the track they start to perform bellow their high standards.

Answer 11

Phelps has a body particularly suited to swimming. He has a long, thin torso with arms which span 6 feet 7 inches (200 cm), disproportionate with his height of 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm).However, he has relatively short legs which reduce resistance through the water but despite this he has size 14 feet (49.5 Europe) and double-jointed ankles. He can extend his ankle beyond the point of a ballet dancer which enables him to whip his feet for maximum thrust

In a front page illustrated article profiling Phelps on the eve of the 2008 Summer Olympics, The Baltimore Sun described the hometown swimmer as "a solitary man" with a "rigid focus" at the pool prior to a race.