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The stars of these Olympics are Bolt and Phelps for sure. Their dominance in their respective disciplines have raised questions, and the most selling answer I came across is the "freak of nature" explanation, which tries to explain their dominance by stressing the suitability of different features of their bodies to their disciplines. Phelps is "like a boat" and so "flexible" that he cannot jog, Usain has the "legs of a kangaroo." I not only do not disagree with these explanations, but also think that these explanations which are easier to sell for the media is against the Olympic spirit. Let me try to explain why. I do not deny that some certain features bring competitive advantages in certain sports. However, this only explains why they are better than the average runner or swimmer, but not why they are so good among the best of the best, against whom they are competing. Those guys have the same advantageous features. So whats the source of t...

Luciana Aymar, the Maradona of womans' field hockey. Hope Argentina wins gold. Yelena Isinbayeva. The only queen of pole vault. Her world record in the Olympics is her 24th! I think Phelps is everyone's hero. Earlier, I had asked what the factors behind the swimming records are. Thanks for Yigit for this article , which links the records to the professionalization of the sports(the swimmers can swim longer and mature), the equipment, the deeper pool which allows more under water times, and advanced pools that minimize turbulence. There is also this interesting article from Scientific American , which links Phelps' success not to his "freak of nature" body, but his ability to sense the water and coordinate his strokes accordingly. Usain Bolt's unbeliveable performance in the 100 meters final gave me the same thrills, when I watched Floyd Landis came from behind in a mountain stage to take the lead. I hope he is really dope free.