NBA player Kris Humphries of the Atlanta Hawks has an interesting past ― a marriage to Kim Kardashian and a childhood spent as a youth swim star.
It’s the latter that’s making news lately. An article from the Hawks’ website reveals that Humphries topped pool god Michael Phelps ― he of the 23 Olympic gold medals ― in several events nationally as a 10-year-old, including the 50 butterfly, the 100 freestyle and the 200 individual medley.
Here’s some proof, courtesy of USA Swimming’s records of the best times in different events around the country in 1994-1995:
Humphries also recorded a faster time than a kid by the name of Ryan Lochte in the 50 free.
Phelps did get the better of Humphries in the 100 butterfly and 200 free that year ― but still, Humphries has quite a past claim to fame for an NBA player who got pretty famous as a grown-up.
Asked why he gave up swimming for hoops, Humphries once told People: “I was so good at a young age that I got a little burnt out. I also grew up in the Michael Jordan era ... for me, I watched [basketball] and saw it as a challenge. It’s hard to stay focused on something when you have a ton of success at a young age, so I picked up basketball a little later and rolled with that.”
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