BEIJING: According to his coach Eddie Reese, Michael Phelps is not only the most talented swimmer but also the hardest working. And to complete the nightmare for his peers, the bionic Aqua Man has a peerless physique to boot.

It took 36 years to break Mark Spitzs seven gold performance and it may take an eternity to eclipse Phelps, for the American has a unique 64 weapon his physique that is quite a stuff of dreams for others.

While his talent and hard work are well documented, Phelps owes his success largely to his amazing physique which boasts of some unique features that leads to the belief that he was born only to swim.

He has a long, thin torso that is just what a swimmer aspires for and he weighs 195 pound. Generally, a mans arm span equals his height but in his case it s 67 three inches more than his height. Naturally his arms work as powerful propulsive paddles, giving him a clear edge over others.His lower body, interestingly, is shorter than that of an average man of his height. His relatively short legs result in less drag or resistance. In short, Phelps has an upper body of a 68 person but his lower body seems to be of someone who is only 510 , which also make the perfect plane in water.

His size 14 feet may not dwarf Ian Thropes size 17 but Phelps double jointed ankles allow him to do a ballerinas pointe standing on the tips of the toes. It allows him to whip his feet as if those are flippers and break loose.

His unique constitution also produces less lactic acid than others which means Phelps takes less time to recover. And if he looks indefatigable at times, its because of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which he was diagnosed with at the tender age of nine. His daily routine is equally mindboggling. He consumes 12,000 calorie every day and trains 96 km every week.

Naturally it was hardly surprising when Russian swimmer Alexander Sukhorukov went on to describe Phelps as just a normal person, from a different planet, a planet from a different galaxy.

Source : MMD English