The World’s Best Athletes Vs. Animals

My family was watching the swimmers in the Olympics last night, and Titus was amazed at how much they looked like dolphins when they push off the wall. While this is true, I wonder how the world's best would fare in a friendly competition against the animal kingdom's best. Turns out smarter people than myself have wondered this same thing. And the sad part is, they'd all get destroyed if they competed against ordinary animals.
--Michael Phelps tops out at about 4.4 miles-per-hour in the water. A sailfish swims at 68 miles-per-hour. However, Michael Phelps could beat a goldfish, which swims at 0.85 miles-per-hour.
--The world record for the marathon is Patrick Makau Musyoki, who ran 26 miles in two hours, three minutes, and 38 seconds. An endurance race horse could run that in one hour, 18 minutes, and 29 seconds.
--Javier Sotomayor can hit eight feet in the high jump. A snakehead fish can jump 13 feet in the air.
--Usain Bolt runs the 100 meters in a world record 9.58 seconds. An average cheetah could do the 100 meters in 5.8 seconds.
--What animal could our human runners beat? A camel. The best human runners hit about 23.4 miles-per-hour and camels top out at 22 miles-per-hour.

Via LiveScience