• @[email protected]
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    242 months ago

    Michael Phelps is taller than the average pro swimmer, has an unusually long upper body and short lower body, longer arms and bigger feet than a regular person of his size would have, all this giving him more pulling power and less drag in the water. His muscles produce less lactic acid than the average athlete, shortening his recovery time.

    Nobody has ever called him a freak. His success is attributed to willpower and skill.

    • @[email protected]
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      212 months ago

      Nobody has ever called him a freak

      I beg to differ, there were so many jokes about him.

      • @[email protected]
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        122 months ago

        Let me rephrase.

        Nobody has ever called him a freak in earnest, and nobody has ever scrutinised him the way they are scrutinising every single woman who dares to be successful while not conforming to an arbitrary and ever-narrowing standard of womanhood.

    • Tiefling IRL
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      82 months ago

      Most of these arguments literally just narrow down to misogyny

    • @Numenor
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      62 months ago

      I have called him a freak.