Phelps is exactly what swimming needed

By Ryan Sprang
Published: August 24, 2008

Every four years a Summer Olympics rolls around and we all pause to watch the extraordinary displays of athleticism from some of the greatest athletes around the world.
It is something about these games that allows us all to put our differences aside and admire the tremendous accomplishments of athletes from the 203 different countries who participate. Over the course of 16 days, these athletes compete in 302 events in 28 different sports. During this time, some dreams are realized, while others are crushed. And for a select few, they return to their home countries a hero. Yes, the very idea of the Olympic Games is awesome, and the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games has not disappointed.
Perhaps we knew we were in for something special as the opening ceremonies unfolded, with all the splendor and eye-catching brilliance the Chinese government could muster since it was awarded these games seven years earlier.
As the athletes from all the countries paraded around with pride, the 91,000 fans in the Olympic stadium stood and cheered, while an estimated 840 million people around the world watched on television.
Each passing day offered more and more newsworthy events and tremendous feats.
The Americans alone had much to celebrate during these games. Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and the USA men’s basketball team have finally returned our country to its rightful place at the pinnacle of the international basketball scene.
The U.S. women’s soccer team defeated heavily favored Brazil in an overtime thriller that will be talked about for years to come.
Dara Torres, a 41-year-old mother, proved that, as she said, “you don’t have to put an age limit on your dreams,” by winning three medals in her unprecedented fifth Olympic Games.
But, with all due respect to these tremendous athletes who have kept us on our feet for the last two weeks, what they probably didn’t realize was that their great accomplishments may have been overshadowed and their performances a mere coming attraction for the main event and its star, Michael Phelps.
Michael Phelps accomplished his goal of winning eight gold medals in a single Olympic Games, breaking the previous record of seven by U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz in 1972. In doing so, he also became the most decorated and arguably greatest Olympic athlete of all time with a career 16 Olympic medals, of which, 14 are gold.
In many of his races, Phelps systematically dismantled his competitors, who just happen to be some of the greatest swimmers in the world. In addition, seven of his eight gold medals were earned in world record fashion. As someone who has been involved in the sport of swimming for 25 years, I will try to reflect on Phelps’s unbelievable run, how it was possible and what impact it could have on the world around us, particularly those of us engulfed in the sport of swimming.
If a human being were to be crafted out of thin air to be a world-class swimmer, he would be a physical clone of Michael Phelps. Standing at 6-feet, 4-inches, Phelps is an ideal height for an elite swimmer. His wingspan stretches 6-feet, 7-inches allowing him to obtain maximum distance out of each arm stroke and ultimately swim more efficiently.
His torso is incredibly long helping him maintain a long, streamlined body position in the water, ideal for swimming. Despite his torso length, his legs are fairly short, equivalent to a person 6-feet at the most, possibly shorter.
While this may sound like a slight disadvantage for Phelps, this is actually another advantage. The longer an individual’s legs are, the heavier the lower body becomes, thus decreasing buoyancy in the water. Instead, Phelps’s legs are short and powerful and contribute to his ideal body position while swimming.
His joints are extremely loose, even allowing his elbows and knees to hyperextend, giving him a greater range of motion for his arms and probably 15 degrees more on his kick than his competitors.
He has big hands that act as paddles that allow him to hold an incredible amount of water while swimming, and big feet that act as flippers when he is kicking. On top of that, his ankles are extremely flexible, making his feet floppy in the water and his kick more powerful in all four swimming strokes.
These are just some of his physical attributes before I even mention his superhuman recovery rate, which could very well be three to four times faster than that of his competitors, allowing him to swim 17 races over the course of the Olympic Games when few, if any, could have done the same. Throw on top of that his unbelievable will to win and you have an unstoppable force capable of making the impossible, possible.
Now, to say Phelps accomplished this amazing feat completely on his own would not be totally accurate. Three of his gold medals were achieved in relay events, so his teammates certainly played a large part in those races.
In some races, it also seemed that fate was on his side. In just his second gold medal opportunity, the 400-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, after leading off with an America record time in the first leg, had to stand and watch while his dream of winning eight gold medals in a single Olympics was seemingly slipping through his fingers as the Americans trailed the French going into the final leg of the relay.
At the turn going into the final lap, American anchor Jason Lezak trailed 100-meter world record holder Alain Bernard of France by a half-body length and the outlook appeared dismal. However, Lezak charged back to out-touch Bernard by .08 while Phelps went crazy on the pool deck. Lezak unleashed a split time of 46.08, the fastest in history by over a half second. A few days later he would win the bronze medal in the 100-meter free with a time of 47.61, 1.53 seconds slower than his amazing relay split. Somehow, he managed to have the swim of a lifetime when Phelps needed it most.
In another race, the 100-meter fly, Phelps was in seventh place after the first lap of the two. After charging back he still trailed leader Milorad Cavic of Serbia with five meters to go. As they lunged for the wall, Cavic appeared to get there first as he stretched, while Phelps took an extra half stroke. Everyone watching in the swimming arena and around the world on television probably thought Cavic won, but it was Phelps who touched the wall first, .01 ahead of Cavic. As a swim coach myself, I feel confident in saying that 99 times out of 100, the extra half stroke that Phelps took would have been costly. But in that particular instance, on the grandest stage of them all, it allowed him to get to the wall first by the slimmest of margins in swimming. Had he not taken that ill-advised half stroke, he would have lost. Call it what you want, I call it fate.
Phelps would continue to amaze those who followed his historic run. I watched on television as President Bush was a frequent spectator to watch Phelps chase history along with members of the USA Dream Team, including Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, two of the most recognizable athletes in the world.
I continually saw article after article on Phelps in the newspapers and websites. He graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, and even made his way to some tabloids, speculating about whom he could possibly be dating. Through all this, at some point I thought to myself, could this be possible? Could the world be that infatuated with a swimmer? Let’s face it, swimming often takes a back seat to more popular sports such as baseball, basketball, and football where the athletes flash their multi-million dollar smiles and are the heroes of so many people. But on these Olympic days it was Michael Phelps who stole the show. It was he who captivated audiences around the world.
While on vacation in Wildwood, N.J, last week, I parked my car on the street in order to head to the beach. As I got out I noticed a small, motel next to me. It was the kind of place that had I been driving on that road and blinked, I would have never noticed it.
At the motel, there was a small pool that would have probably been more appropriate in someone’s backyard as opposed to a motel. But, in the pool I noticed a young boy splashing around having a good time with his family. Then, in one instance, he proceeded to take a few awkward swim strokes and proclaim, “I’m Michael Phelps.”
It was then when I was convinced that the impact of Michael Phelps’ feat stretched far beyond the pool deck. Somewhere around the world, young kids are running to their local swim clubs to sign up and “be like Phelps.” You see, when someone accomplishes something extraordinary, it gives others permission to believe they too can do the same.
Now, as we all know, there is only one Michael Phelps, and we may never again see an athlete like him. But the kids can still dream. After all, that’s what Michael Phelps did.
Editors note: Ryan Sprang is the Swimming Director at the Waynesboro YMCA and coaches the SMAC Swim team.
Word for the Y is a weekly column featuring Waynesboro YMCA staff members and their insight on local and national sports issues.