Personally I still believe that even at 31 (2016) Phelps is still the most physically gifted swimmer in the world.Agreed, from an all-around perspective; there are certainly specialists who might be more talented in a narrower range, but no one, not even Missy, brings the breadth of talent.
The question I have with a 31 year old Phelps is whether he still has the motivation and the desire to win.I would propose that, if anything, he's probably more motivated now than London. After Beijing, London was a requirement for him and a required set of events. Not that he didn't choose to go for it in London, but he HAD to due to lots of external forces, pressure, etc. I'd say that Michael's likely more in the mindset of a Masters swimmer who WANTS to swim/race (vs. HAVING to do it) and will have more fun as he experiments with different events. The road will not be easy, but I'll bet his motivation is there.
Personally I still believe that even at 31 (2016) Phelps is still the most physically gifted swimmer in the world.Agreed, from an all-around perspective; there are certainly specialists who might be more talented in a narrower range, but no one, not even Missy, brings the breadth of talent.
The question I have with a 31 year old Phelps is whether he still has the motivation and the desire to win.I would propose that, if anything, he's probably more motivated now than London. After Beijing, London was a requirement for him and a required set of events. Not that he didn't choose to go for it in London, but he HAD to due to lots of external forces, pressure, etc. I'd say that Michael's likely more in the mindset of a Masters swimmer who WANTS to swim/race (vs. HAVING to do it) and will have more fun as he experiments with different events. The road will not be easy, but I'll bet his motivation is there.
