9 Freaky Facts About Michael Phelps

The Olympics are a great time for nearly every nation. The best of the best are sent from each country to compete and determine who is truly the best, though it's still all in good fun. America, thankfully, happens to do extremely well every Summer Olympics, winning golds upon golds. We have so many great Olympians that it's no wonder that we're so dominant in so many categories, one of those being swimming. With Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps absolutely tearing apart the competition, it's easy to see why we dominate swimming. Well, believe it or not, there are actually some pretty crazy things that a lot of people don't know about Michael Phelps!

The Olympic legend himself. So, what are some juicy Michael Phelps facts?

1. Phelps' arms span 6 feet and 7 inches, despite him only being 6 feet and 4 inches tall.

2. His ankles are so flexible that they can extend past the pointe of a ballet dancer, giving him the ability to kick his feet as if they were fins.

3. At the age of 15, Phelps crushed the competition at the 2001 Spring Nationals and set a world record for the 200m fly. He was still a kid.

4. Because of his physical attributes (extreme flexibility, long arms, etc), Phelps undergoes annual testing for Marfan syndrome at Johns Hopkins.

5. Phelps started swimming at the young age of 7.

6. Phelps has massive size 14 feet. His feet are so large that they serve as pseudo-flippers.

7. If Michael Phelps was a country, he would be ranked 32nd for OVERALL medals... Ever.

8. When he was preparing for the 2008 Olympics, he swam 50 miles per week.

9. Nobody has earned anywhere close to as many golds as Phelps. In fact, the record before Phelps came around was just nine golds — 14 less than his 23.

These Olympic Games will be Phelps' last, but he will go down as the greatest Olympian to ever live.