Long before he turned into a tool used to drive up the ratings for Kim Kardashian's reality TV show—and also, you know, an NBA player—Kris Humphries was an outstanding swimmer who posted the fastest times for any 10-year-old in America in six separate events back in 1995. His events included the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle, the 50-meter butterfly, the 50-meter backstroke, the 50-meter breaststroke, and the 200-meter individual medley. And what made his success especially remarkable was that he was in the same age group as Michael Phelps, which means that, yes, Humphries was a better swimmer than Phelps once upon a time.
In addition to being the best in the events listed above, Humphries also placed in the top 10 in three other events and even established three national records. Two of those records—in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyles—lasted from 1995 until they were broken in 2013.
On top of besting a pre-pubescent Phelps, Humphries also beat future Olympians Milorad (Michael) Cavic and Ryan Lochte. Here's proof in the form of a pair of results that Atlanta Hawks writer KL Chouinard tracked down for an article he published on the Hawks' official website:
If Humphries hadn't burned out on swimming at the age of 12 and consequently chosen to focus on basketball, we might be watching Humphries dominate Olympic pools every four years. But Humphries once told People that swimming professionally just wasn't in the cards for him. "I was so good at a young age that I got a little burnt out," he said. "I 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."
Of course, the counter argument here is that Phelps and Lochte would've eventually blown Humphries out of the water, which is what they did to everyone else listed in the results above, if he would have stuck with swimming. But what he was able to do at a young age is still really impressive.
This isn't the first time we've heard about Humphries' prowess in the swimming pool. During the 2012 Olympics, a different story about Humphries being better than Phelps broke. But all of this recent info builds an even better case for Humphries as a swimmer. Who knew?
