• Entertainment & Gaming

    Know Your Olympic Sport: Michael Phelps (i.e. Swimming)

    By Posted on 8.19.2008 3 Comments

    Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton and wonder about the modern decathlon. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, our lives are suddenly much less productive. To aid in your immersion, we continue with our daily edition of "know your Olympic sport," by answering some and posing some questions about the science of Michael Phelps (and swimming).

    8.24.2008 at 07:31pm - Comment by thomasschaeps

    As a fellow swimmer it is easy to explain many of the issues brought up with Michael Phelps in the above article. 1. Michael Phelps did not wear a full body suit because the suits can restrict breathing and movement, and in the end it is all up to the swimmer about how comfortable they are. 2. The reason that Michael Phelps outouched Milorad Cavic is that when Cavic was gliding to the wall, he slowed as he was not kicking anymore. Michael Phelps took the extra stroke and touched with less resistance above the water, and therefore his arms were able to move faster and compensate for a poorly timed finish. 3. Measuring the lane would not matter because the differences are so insignificant that the result would be the same. 4. As for the gutter system, it does not make a big difference because the middle lanes have the same amount of waves, and all of the water leaves the pool when the swimmers swim past anyway. Please do not pretend to tell how sports work if you are not a participant in them, or a very avid fan.



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