His arms are long enough to wrap around a Buick. His hands are as big as baseball mitts, and those feet would fit snugly in clown shoes. While his shoulders are broad, his lean frame would slide into a crack in the wall. In the afternoon, the sun casts a geometric shadow that's all sharp angles and long lines.
It's easy to see that Michael Phelps is an amazing swimmer. He looks the part in every way possible.
Phelps is more than that, though. He has transcended his sport, moving quickly from a playful childhood around Maryland pool decks to his well-deserved status as a global icon, the crown of the Greatest Olympian of All-Time specially fit just for him.
But you can't see why he was able to do it. It's not tangible. It escaped the television cameras completely and went undetected by the spectators in Beijing.
Over nine days in China, the water rippled from the Water Cube all across the world. It's difficult to imagine anyone ever again winning eight gold medals at a single Olympics. But that doesn't fully explain why Phelps' story and his accomplishments were so special.
There are many reasons Phelps is different from the rest, but there's just one explanation that connects all the dots. Phelps explained it himself after he won his eighth and final gold: "It's just a dream come true."
Not in a passive sense, though. He made it come true. Phelps' secret is that he dreams with his eyes wide open.
For years, he kept a list of goals on his nightstand. Impossible swimming times. Ridiculous ambitions. Hopes that only a mad man might aspire to. Or a great one.
The list was there every night when he went to sleep. And there every morning when he awoke. His world has no boundaries separating the fantasy from the reasonable.
"Every day it seems like I'm in sort of a dream world," Phelps had said in the midst of the Games. "Sometimes you sort of have to pinch yourself to see if it's really real."
It was. The world can attest to that. And his Beijing trip followed that bedside script almost perfectly.
Phelps wasn't just living his own dream, though. He was swimming through everybody's. When he dived into the water, he took us with him. When he made a turn, so did our stomachs. And when he stretched his arms for the final wall, we stretched ours to the heavens.
Each race and each day produced unforgettable moments, the kinds of memories that don't yellow with age. Phelps had a starring role in an eight-part serial packed with drama, emotion and superhuman exploits.
