?He Can Kick From His Chest?: Michael Phelps Unknown Body Advantage Was Pointed Out by the Former Olympian Once

Michael Phelps has seen several ups and downs throughout his professional career and personal life. While many situations brought him adversaries, there was one thing that always helped him naturally. Phelps’ physique and body structure helped him to master the art of swimming with better ease. His extra-long torso, and flipper-like feet, did not just earn him the title of “Flying Fish,” but also made his swims easy.

There’s no denying the fact that Phelps’ hard work and passion were the secrets to his road to success, but as luck would have it, physical features added the extra benefit. How? The former Olympian, Mark Tewksbury, once explained regarding the same.

Michael Phelps’ unique body structure

Generally, people associated with swimming have longer torsos and shorter legs compared to the average person. Likewise, Phelps has a longer torso and shorter legs. At 6’4″, Phelps had a longer torso; he has, in fact, a torso of a man who is 6’8″. This disproportionately large chest size helped the swimming legend to tackle water more efficiently.

Speaking about his added advantage, Tewksbury once said, “Phelps is also hyper-jointed in the chest. That means he can kick from his chest instead of just his ribs, giving him more force with each stroke.” The double-jointed elbows also allowed the Olympic champion to create more downward thrusts in the water.

Read More: 37-Year-Old Michael Phelps, Who Spent Almost Half of His Life in the Pool, Has Now Distanced Himself From It: “Don’t Really Want to Do That Anymore.”

There is no doubt that Phelps’ physique had its set of natural advantages, but it passed several challenges as well. His longer wingspan helped him to reach farther, but it also increased the chances of his injury.

Debbie Phelps once highlighted the risk that her son might have to face because of his unique physique

The competitors in the pool may have felt that it was easy for Phelps owing to his physical features. But it’s only Debbie who knew the amount of risk her son was taking each day to continue his passion for swimming. She highlighted how the chances of injury were very high because of his body structure.

She revealed that if “anything apparently minor happens- like banging his wrist,” then everyone would start worrying. Because that could potentially, “throw off that very fine-tuning.”?Thus along with the advantages, Phelps had to tackle a fair share of adversaries as well. Had he not been careful, then it might have cost him his career like his elder sister Hilary. The stakes were really high!

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