Built to Swim

Michael Phelps' body is a catalog of hydrodynamic advantages. His wingspan of 201 cm exceeds his height of 193 cm, giving him longer paddles. His torso is long and his legs are short, reducing drag.

His proportions are unusual enough that they likely give him a small but genuine hydrodynamic edge over an average-built swimmer of the same fitness. At Olympic speeds, where the field can be separated by less than a tenth of a second, even a slim built-in advantage compounds over every stroke of a race.