Incredibly, at age 31, we might actually be seeing peak Michael Phelps and at the end of the day, his incredible body has a lot to do with it.
Phelps, who has won four gold medals and one silver at Rio 2016, is 6-foot-4, but he has a 6-foot-7 wingspan. He also has size-14 feet, and his lungs are twice as big as the average human, according to Scientific American.
That enormous size on the periphery was captured perfectly in this Associated Press photo. Just look at the flexibility and the reach. Now look at the size of his hands with respect to the rest of his body, the instruments that drive him through the water!
Michael Sohn/AP
No, seriously, look at his hands!
It is literally like he has flippers at the end of both his legs and his arms.
We have long been talking about how this is the last Olympics for Michael Phelps. But based on his performance and his incredible physical gifts, would anybody be surprised if he was winning gold in Tokyo in 2020?