The older I get the mode adult, "adult" becomes. I could do anything and everything at 19. My first overuse injury was still 14 years away.

Still that's pretty amazing.

No get off my lawn! Damn kids.

I was thinking about your story. And, considering that there are some AOS swimmers who no matter how hard they try - just, never "get it." It stands to reason, that there are a few out there who will "get it" quickly and easily. Most of course; are somewhere in between. The bell curve and all that.

Me? I'm your average AOS swimmer. With Phelpsian dreams. :-|

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

I've told this story here before:

was at a masters meet and there was a false start called in the air. So everyone stopped 10M out and returned to the wall. Bob Baile - who barely missed out on the Olympics in the 60's - turned over on his back with his feet out front and sculled to the wall. His hips were right at the surface, his head back nicely and the scull looked effortless.

I happen to be sitting with Gary Schatz. Gary would have been an Olympian but he got politicized out twice; In 1980 when the US boycotted but also in 1976 when FINA decided not to hold the 4 x 100 free relay due tothe fact that it was a sure gold for the US. He looked over at me and said, "man does Bob have a great float." And he did. It was easy to see why even in his late 60s Bob was breaking a minute in the 100 free.

I see the same thing with this 8 year old girl who swims at my club. She can get down a 25M pool in 24-26 strokes. My almost 8 year old - who is really fast for his age - does it in 32.

Some people just have great proprioception in the water. Chances are you are born with it and it never goes away...

I wish those young naturals all the luck in the world. That's in the face of all the potential challenges ahead. They may be so far ahead of their peers that they get bored. They get injured or sick. They get burned out. They have terrible coaches. They lack motivation. Their parents want it more than they do. They find another sport. They discover boys or girls. They discover booze or drugs. They have depression. Their family situation sucks. Etc etc etc.

Unless you've always been at the very top, you've ALL seen it. In my case, I was consistently crushed by amazingly talented 12-unders when I was a kid. One of my rivals had a six-pack when he was 8. I was shorter (thanks mom and dad) than most of my rivals. I was sorta soft until I was 12. Then, the base I built started kicking in, and I also outlasted all those kids. I was the shortest guy on my college team (5'9") and probably the shortest guy at NCAAs. I wasn't talented, and my natural "gifts" were minimal, save for an almost blood-thirsty competitiveness and a desire to work hard to reach my goals. If you look at me swim now, you'd probably say I have a pretty fluid stroke and that I swim like a natural. It's just a function of doing it so long. In fact, I look like I'm 46 with a toddler at home.

Makes you really appreciate those who have had the talent, the work ethic (probably foremost of all), the support, the coaches, and the luck to reach the apex of the sport. Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky didn't rely on talent alone on their journeys.

Did she do Gymnastics as a kid?

I don't think so, she's tall-ish and quite thin, e.g. built like a runner.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."