Evolution of Homo Aquaticus
And so it came to pass.
I won’t be getting into too much detail here. We all know the numbers by now. It’s all over cable, radio, print media and the internet anyway. Besides, this is my second post in less than 24 hours on the man of the moment and perhaps, if I may hazard a guess, the 21st century.
My, my, to achieve so much at such a young age. People his age would normally be working 8 to 5, looking forward to weekend parties and staying out till the early morning hours, their careers just beginning to take shape and pick up speed. At 23, Phelps’ path is well defined and running at near-terminal velocity – light years ahead of the rest. At 23, The only Olympic record he has not broken is the career medal haul of Larissa Latynina whch stands at 18 – and he still has a good one or two Olympic games left in him.
Phelps is to sports what Albert Einstein is to Physics, Mozart is to classical music, or Genghis Khan is to warfare. He stands alone in his chosen field and it’s hard to imagine someone coming along who can surpass his superhuman achievements in Beijing. He may not be a good chess player but in swimming he almost wins at will. He may not be gifted intellectually but he stands at the frontier of what man can achieve physically.
Wikipedia states that Phelps’ unusual physique gives him a distinct swimming advantage: elongated torso and relatively short legs that minimize drag, wide wing span and big, size 14 feet that maximize thrust under water plus double-jointed ankles that can bend further than a ballet dance’s pointe, allowing for superior “whipping” through the water.
If a branch of mankind should one day evolve to live in the world’s waters, I’m pretty sure Michael Phelps’ genes would be the evolutionary “missing link” in the fossil record. He might as well represent an entirely new species (hmmm, Homo Aquaticus?). See, his physical features are so adapted to efficient water propulsion that all you need to do is add gills and he’ll leave Aquaman huffing and puffing behind.
Evidently he put his physique to good albeit record-breaking use. Winning more Golds than everyone else is definitely a testament to one’s prowess but it’s nothing compared to breaking a World Record. See, you can win as many gold medals as you can and not break a single record. Usain Bolt could’ve ran the century at a sub-record speed of 9.88 and still go home with the gold (it’s good he clocked in at a record 9.69 though – sweet). Breaking a record in the process of beating your rivals is like dunking the basketball when you can just shoot from the perimeter, or masseing the 9-ball when you can just shoot it straight to the corner pocket. It adds a special oomph to the victory.
I mean, when you’ve beaten everybody else and you’ve ended up besting your own record, you’re not just redefining yourself and pushing your limits. You’re pushing the limits of what the human race can achieve. It’s not about color, creed or nationality anymore. It’s about going where no man has ever gone before. By smashing the 7 world swimming records in a span of 7 days, Phelps shows that we haven’t reached our water speed limit yet, and that it’s possible to break them in such a dominating manner.
Still at 23, Phelps is young and can get even faster if he continues the strict, almost monastic discipline and training regimen that gave him Olympic immortality for ages to come. After what he had just done, I can’t blame him if he takes a month off from the pool, although that would be close to unimaginable.
I know that today is a great day to be an American but today is also a great day to be alive and watching the games unfold because of Michael Phelps. I’m not American but I’m really proud of this guy and his overpowering performance. What’s next for the Baltimore Bullet? Perhaps the 400 medley in under 4 minutes?
Impossible? We all heard that before.:)
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