Olympics: The Flying Fish 奥运飞鱼-菲尔普斯
[audio]http://www.24en.com/bbc/dl_mp3/bbc_michael_phelps.mp3[/audio][color=#3f3f3f][font=Verdana, 宋体, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=12px]In China he's known as 'the Flying Fish'; in America they call him 'the Baltimore [b]Bullet[/b]'.
[p=21, 2, left]Whatever you call him, American swimmer Michael Phelps looks[b]destined to become[/b] a [b]household name[/b] across the world after breaking the Olympic record for most gold medals in a single Games.[/p][p=21, 2, left]Phelps's total of eight golds in Beijing put him one ahead of [b]compatriot[/b]Mark Spitz's previous [b]tally[/b] set in 1972.[/p][p=21, 2, left]Michael Phelps [b]dominated the field[/b] in seven of his races and set an amazing seven world records in the process. He did, however, have one[b]close shave[/b] in the 100m butterfly which he won by the smallest possible[b]margin[/b] of just 0.01 seconds, and in another he had to contend with a faulty pair of [b]goggles[/b].[/p][p=21, 2, left]Now people are already calling him the greatest Olympian of all time. But whether he is or not, what is it that makes Michael Phelps so good?[/p][p=21, 2, left]A good place to start might be his [b]physique[/b]. Phelps has the perfect body shape for a swimmer: his [b]armspan[/b] is longer than his height, he has very[b]flexible joints[/b], huge lungs, and his incredibly large feet (size 14 in the US, size 49 in China) act like [b]flippers[/b] in the water.[/p][p=21, 2, left]To feed his huge swimmer's body, Phelps eats an astonishing 12,000[b]calories[/b] a day, six times the average for a man of his age.[/p][p=21, 2, left]According to his coach, Phelps starts with a breakfast of champions: "Three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, tomatoes, fried onions and mayo, a five egg omelette, a bowl of [b]grits[/b], three slices of French toast and three pancakes with chocolate chips."[/p][p=21, 2, left]He then slips into a [b]swimsuit[/b] which has been [b]making waves[/b] in the world of swimming. Designed by NASA, the American space agency, the suit is made of a special material which is said to help athletes swim 2% faster.[/p][p=21, 2, left]Michael Phelps should [b]spare a thought[/b] for his mum, who first pushed him into swimming as a way of making friends, and who believed in him when one teacher said he would never be a success.[/p][p=21, 2, left]Whatever the reason for his success, Phelps admits there was perhaps also a bit of luck involving in winning his eight medals.[/p][p=21, 2, left]"I guess eight is a lucky number for me, too, now. The opening ceremony started on 8/8/08. Maybe it was [b]meant to be[/b]," he said.[/p][/size][/font][/color]
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