As the most decorated Olympian of all time, it's no surprise that American swimmer Michael Phelps had to swim extremely fast to win the gold medal and achieve his usual first-place finish. But how fast is fast? Well, his speed (in miles per hour) sounds lower than it actually is.
According to ESPN, Michael Phelps' swimming speed reached about 6 mph in 2010. If you think 6 mph doesn't sound too impressive, imagine trying to swim for an hour in a body of water just 6 miles wide. Doesn't look that easy now, does it? Six years after that estimate was recorded, Phelps is still dominating the game. Arguably one of the best athletes of his generation, he won a total of 26 medals, 22 of which were gold. The Los Angeles Times reported on Phelps' reaction to winning his latest game. He said:
I say it many times, but every day my dream comes true. When I was a kid, I wanted to do something that no one had done before, and I enjoyed it. To be able to complete my victory was something very special for me and that's why you see more and more emotion on the medal podium.
He won a total of four gold medals at the Rio Olympics and will go down in history as the first Olympic swimmer to win that many consecutive gold medals. In his most recent event - the men's 200m individual medley - he finished in under two minutes. More specifically, he reached the wall in 1 minute, 54.66 seconds. That was less than two seconds faster than silver medalist Kosuke Hagino of Japan. But in swimming, every minute counts, and a two-second lead means a huge victory. On a larger scale, the swimmer also holds world records in several other events, including the 100m and 200m butterfly and the 400m individual medley.
For reference, the average speed a swimmer moves through water is about 2 miles per hour. This means that by the time you complete one lap in the pool, Phelps may have completed three laps. So while 6 mph may not seem too fast on land, it's a different story when you're in the water.
