During the TV coverage of the olympic trials this weekend, Rowdy Gaines mentioned a few times that Phelps has "a long body and short legs" which gives him a perfect build for swimming. (In addition, of course, to his long wingspan.)
I can understand the long body. But why would short legs be an advantage?
My recollection of these sorts of discussions was that the longer your "boat" is, the faster you can go. It would seem, therefore, that both a long body AND long legs would be an advantage.
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Former Member
Originally posted by mattson
If you have 6' 8" guys with long torsos and short legs, imagine how tall they would have to be if they had long torsos and long legs.
Has anyone tried to get a gorilla to swim? Probably poor flexibility, but great armspan/ long torso / short legs? :D
I'm thinking the long armspan is probably a bigger boon than anything else. At least, I hope so: I have a long torso, and I'm no where near these guys! :eek:
Well, if you have a 6'8" guy, I'll bet he has a long torso AND long legs!
:)
If you ask me, Phelps doesn't seem disproportionate. His legs look as long as anyone else's. I just can't seem to rationalize why shorter legs are an advantage over longer ones.
I wonder if a 7 foot guy would demolish the field... But most likely a 7 foot guy who is athletic enough to swim at that level would probably be off to the NBA to make $10 million per year PLUS endorsements there instead of panhandling for sponsors ...
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Former Member
Originally posted by mattson
If you have 6' 8" guys with long torsos and short legs, imagine how tall they would have to be if they had long torsos and long legs.
Has anyone tried to get a gorilla to swim? Probably poor flexibility, but great armspan/ long torso / short legs? :D
I'm thinking the long armspan is probably a bigger boon than anything else. At least, I hope so: I have a long torso, and I'm no where near these guys! :eek:
Well, if you have a 6'8" guy, I'll bet he has a long torso AND long legs!
:)
If you ask me, Phelps doesn't seem disproportionate. His legs look as long as anyone else's. I just can't seem to rationalize why shorter legs are an advantage over longer ones.
I wonder if a 7 foot guy would demolish the field... But most likely a 7 foot guy who is athletic enough to swim at that level would probably be off to the NBA to make $10 million per year PLUS endorsements there instead of panhandling for sponsors ...
