Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gangpae]

So why is it a big news story?

[Guri Guy]

Here's some articles about why Michael Phelps wins. It's not about cheating...


Watching Michael Phelps swim you quickly realize that he's not like the others. He's clearly in a league of his own.

Or more accurately, he's swimming in a genetic pool of his own.

Phelps has a number of fortuitous physical endowments that have enabled him to dominate like no other. Simply put, he is the perfect swimmer.

Here's what Phelps has going for him:

* Most people have a wingspan that matches their height. Not Phelps. He may be 6'4" tall, but his arms extend outward to a total of 6'7".
* The average shoe size for a person the size of Phelps is 12; he wears a size 14 which gives him a 10% advantage over the competition.
* He also has a larger than average hand size which allows him to move more water.
* Phelps is double-jointed in the chest area; this enables him to extend his arms higher above his head and pull down at an angle that increases his efficiency through the water by as much as 20%; this also allows him to have quicker starts and turns.
* He has proportionately short legs relative to his long, powerful trunk; this large upper body is the engine that powers his long arms. Moreover, his unique physique reduces drag through the water and allows for maximum propulsion.
* Phelps has a greater-than-average lung capacity allowing him to execute his underwater dolphin kicks longer than the competition.
* He has a genetic advantage that cause his muscles to produce 50% less lactic acid than other athletes. This means he can work at higher work loads for longer periods.
* With a low body fat of 4%, he is better able to convert his effort into speed.

Looking at this list it's as if Phelps was designed to swim.

Which leads to an interesting question: Given the potential for genetic modification and gene doping, should it be acceptable for other athletes to acquire the same physiological endowments through artificial means?

If not, what makes it so acceptable to come by these traits 'naturally?' And how could the genetic lottery ever be construed as something that's not arbitrary and unfair?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/olympics/2008/08/can_anyone_spoil_phelps_pool_p.html
BEIJING -- Safe to say when you are on the fast track to winning eight gold medals in one Olympics, you must be some kind of freak.

Yes, Michael Phelps is freaky good. But what makes him so?

From the way he wraps those size 14s around the starting block, to the dolphin-like starts that seem to take him halfway up the pool, the American is a specimen made for the water.

Former Canadian Olympian Mark Tewksbury believes that Phelps is perfectly built. After five golds in five events here, the proof is in the pool.

"The Japanese did a study on him, took him into a scientific lab and broke down all of his anatomy," said Tewksbury, at the Games as an analyst for CBC. "It showed that the wing span is 203 centimetres and his height is 193 centimetres. Usually height matches arm length so he already has this extra reach.


"Then his shoe size is 14 where most are 12 at most, and that gives him an extra 10%. Everything about him physically is stacked in his favour."

The feet certainly jump out at you, especially from those great underwater shots you see on television. They look more like duck feet than humans, especially as they propel him through the water faster than anyone else.

But Tewksbury said the biggest advantage Phelps has is one that isn't as well known: He is apparently double-jointed in the chest area which allows him to rifle through the water faster than anyone else at the start of each race and through the turns.

"So where most people do a dolphin kick and try to kick from the ribs, he can do it all the way from the chest, which in this case gives him 20% efficiency," Tewksbury said. "That's why you see him stay under water so long and why it is so easy when he comes up.

"For him, all that is pretty effortless and then he has that energy to continue swimming on top of the water."

With five gold medals in the bank -- including two in events he was denied in Athens four years ago -- even Phelps is starting to recognize that he may not be stopped.

Today was his only day off from a medal race but he will resume the chase tomorrow in the 200-metre individual medley, followed by the 100-metre butterfly on Saturday. And if all goes well the shot at eight in '08 in Sunday's 4x100 medley relay, eclipsing fellow American Mark Spitz's record of seven.

"I've still got some left in the tank," Phelps said after yesterday's double-gold performance. "I better hope there's some left in the tank."

His admiration for Phelps' physical tools aside, Tewksbury is most impressed with the wide range of events the 23-year-old excels in and that he can be so dominant in an age where globally there is far more depth in the sport than the 1972 Munich Games when Spitz won seven.

"When Spitz did it, there were maybe five or six countries that had the sort of sophisticated programs we see from all over the world today," Tewksbury said. "That he has the depth and capacity to do it in so many kinds of events -- Spitz was basically freestyle and butterfly -- is amazing. The fact that Phelps can do the medley is incredible.

"Usually you can't breaststroke to save your life if you are a freestyler."

There have been other traits cited about freaky Phelps including his proportionately short legs to a long, powerful trunk, his larger-than-normal lungs -- which hold a greater capacity of oxygen -- and his technically superb turns.

Put together in one powerful package, it has made Phelps all but unbeatable, the closest thing to a sure thing in all of sports. And for those who race against him, the monster is something to be both admired and feared.

"You know, it's just Phelps," South Korean Park Taehwan said after finishing second to Phelps in the 200-metre freestyle earlier in the week. "It's an honour but also a tragedy to compete against Michael."

http://winnipegsun.com/Sports/Beijing2008/2008/08/14/6445096-sun.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/olympics/2008/08/can_anyone_spoil_phelps_pool_p.html

[Join Me]

He can have all that but without his desire to win he would accomplish nothing.

[gangpae]

Double jointed at the chest?????

[yawarakaijin]

[JustJohn]

I'm guessing what they actually mean is that his shoulders are "double jointed" so he can bring them back farther. Not entirely sure though.

[gangpae]

MLB either encouraged, or turned a blind eye, to cheating. The post from GuriGuy sounds like a 'defense' from the swimming establishment who love the hype to their sport gets from the Phelps circus.

[MANDRL]

[Jandar]

[kingplaya4]

After reading about all his physical advantages, it seems hardly surprising he is dominating so much. It sounds like there is no physical advantage he is missing that he could have and still be human.

[Thunndarr]

[mateomiguel]

[makemischief]

Gangpae is a troll.

Science is not: http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2008/08/deeper-beijing-pool-responsible-for.html

[Nowhere Man]

First off, he does have technology on his side.

To be fair, pre-Olympics there was a report about a non-testable drug floating around the Olympics this year, which isn't exactly an indictment of him so much as everybody breaking records.

[gangpae]