MICHAEL PHELPS

AGE: 32. NICKNAME: The Flying Fish. FAMOUS FOR: A record 23 Olympic gold medals (and most decorated Olympian of all time with 28 medals in total). TOP SPEED: Six miles per hour (12 mph wearing a monofin, a single flipper into which he straps his feet). HEIGHT: 6 ft 4 in. WEIGHT: 13 st 12 lb. POWER: can squat lift up to 385 lb. DIET: consumed up to 12,000 calories a day at the 2008 Beijing Olympics — a typical man needs 2,500. His breakfast was three fried egg sandwiches, toast, an omelette, porridge, three pancakes, and two cups of coffee; lunch 1lb of pasta, two ham and cheese sandwiches, and energy drinks; dinner 1lb of pasta, a pizza and more energy drinks. He has since cut down to a mere 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day.

SLEEP: Preparing for competitions, he slept eight hours a night and two to three hours each afternoon. He trained for five to six hours a day.

WARM UP: The so-called ‘condor flap’. To loosen up for races, he bends over and flaps his arms up and down like a bird.

ANATOMICAL ADVANTAGES: Arms measure 6 ft 7 in from fingertip to fingertip, making his ‘ wing- span’ 3 in longer than his height — the two are usually the same. He can rotate his size-14 feet downwards by 15 degrees more than average, until they are streamlined with his shins, helping him kick his feet as if they were flippers. He also uses his double-jointed ankles, knees and arms to generate more thrust than other (human) swimmers.

WELL, FANCY THAT! The low- drag swimsuit he wore in the Olympics imitated the rough texture of shark skin. As sharks slip through the water, they expend 10 per cent less energy than fishes with smooth skin. Shark skin is coated with razorsharp, tooth-like scales called denticles that reduce surface drag by disrupting water flow, like the drag-reducing dimples on a golf ball. ODDS: 6/4 outsider (Ladbrokes)