Why remote work irks some

QUESTION: 'IF IT ISN'T HARD, IT ISN'T WORTHWHILE'

- Tiaan Herbst

Michael Phelps, the swimmer, is the most decorated Olympian in history, having won 28 medals, 23 of which are gold. He once held world records in the 200m freestyle, as well as the 100m and 200m butterfly, and the 200m and 400m individual medley.

But let's consider his record-breaking 200m freestyle time: an impressive 1 minute, 42.96 seconds. Impressive, that is, until you do the math. Over 200m, that's about 6.99 km/h. The thing is, I'm a slightly overweight 42-year-old who can run faster than that. In Wellington boots. In the outskirts of Johannesburg, you could probably find 130kg, tattoo-covered smokers who could pull a tow truck for 200 metres faster than Phelps can swim it.

Yes, he's a remarkable swimmer. But as a means of getting around, swimming is dire. It costs a huge amount of effort to achieve speeds that a toddler on a tricycle could beat. Instead of praising him, perhaps we should point out that this is a spectacularly inefficient use of his energy.