Swimmer Michael Phelps has set
the record for winning the most medals, 25, of any Olympic athlete in history
Synopsis
Born on June 30, 1985, in Baltimore,
Maryland, Michael Phelps competed in his first Olympics at the age of 15, as
part of the U.S. men's swim team. He went on to win medals at the Olympic
Summer Games in Athens, Beijing, London and Rio, accumulating a total of 25
medals—21 gold, two silver and two bronze—and setting the record for the most
medal wins by any Olympic athlete. Phelps announced his retirement in 2012,
however, in April 2014, he announced he was coming out of retirement and would
return to professional competition at the age of 28. In June 2016, he clinched
his spot on the 2016 U.S. Olympic swim team, making him the first American male
swimmer to earn a spot on five Olympic teams. At the 2016 Olympic Games, he
became the oldest individual gold medalist in Olympic swimming history.
Early Life
Michael Fred Phelps was born on June 30, 1985
in Baltimore, Maryland, to Fred and Debbie Phelps. The youngest of three
children, Michael Phelps and his sisters grew up in the neighborhood of Rodgers
Forge. His father, Fred, an all-around athlete, was a state trooper; mother
Debbie was a middle-school principal. When Phelps's parents divorced in 1994,
he and his siblings live with their mother, with whom Michael grew very close.
Phelps began swimming when his two older
sisters, Whitney (born in 1978) and Hilary (born in 1980), joined a local swim
team. Whitney tried out for the U.S. Olympic team in 1996, at the age of 15,
but injuries derailed her career. At age 7, Phelps was still "a little
scared" to put his head under water, so his instructors allowed him to
float around on his back. Not surprisingly, the first stroke he mastered was
the backstroke.
After he saw swimmers Tom Malchow and Tom
Dolan compete at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, Phelps began to dream of
becoming a champion. He launched his swimming career at the Loyola High School
pool. He met his coach, Bob Bowman, when he started training at the North
Baltimore Aquatic Club at the Meadowbrook Aquatic and Fitness Center. The coach
immediately recognized Phelps's talents and fierce sense of competition and
began an intense training regime together. By 1999, Phelps had made the U.S.
National B Team.
At the age of 15, Phelps became the youngest
American male swimmer to compete at an Olympic Games in 68 years. While he
didn't win a medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, he would
soon become a major force in competitive swimming.
World-Renowned Olympic Medalist
In the spring of 2001, Phelps set the world
record in the 200-meter butterfly, becoming the youngest male swimmer in
history (at 15 years and 9 months) to ever set a world swimming record. He then
broke his own record at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, with a
time of 1:54:58, earning his first international medal. Phelps continued to set
new marks at the 2002 U.S. Summer Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
establishing a new world record for the 400-meter individual medley, and U.S.
records in the 100-meter butterfly and the 200-meter individual medley. The
following year, at the same event, he broke his own world record in the
400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:09.09.
Shortly after graduating from Towson in 2003,
17-year-old Phelps set five world records, including the 200-meter individual
medley at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, with a time of 1:56:04.
Then during the U.S. trials for the 2004 Summer Olympics, he broke his own
world again in the 400 meter individual medley, with a time of 4:08:41.
Phelps became a superstar at the 2004 Olympic
Games in Athens, Greece, winning eight medals (including six gold), tying with
Soviet gymnast Aleksandr Dityatin (1980) for the most medals in a single
Olympic Games. Phelps scored the first of six gold medals on August 14, when he
broke his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley, shaving 0.15
seconds off of his previous mark. He also won gold in the 100-meter butterfly,
200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, 4-by-200-meter freestyle
relay and 4-by-100-meter medley relay). The two events in Athens, in which
Phelps took bronze medals, were 200-meter freestyle and the 4-by-100-meter
freestyle relay.
Just weeks following his triumph in Athens,
Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Salisbury,
Maryland, after cruising through a stop sign. He pleaded guilty to driving
while impaired, was sentenced to 18 months probation, fined $250, ordered to
speak against drinking and driving to high school students, and ordered to
attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving meeting. Michael called it an
"isolated incident," but admitted to letting himself and his family
down.
Phelps soon followed coach Bowman to the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, studying sports marketing and management.
Bowman coached the Wolverines' swim team and guided Club Wolverine, of which
Phelps was once a member.
Phelps continued to establish world records
at the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships in Victoria, British Columbia, and the
2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. At the 2008 Olympic Games in
Beijing, China, Phelps won gold in the 4-by-100-meter medley relay,
4-by-100-meter freestyle relay, 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter butterfly,
4-by-200-meter freestyle relay, 200-meter individual medley and 100-meter
butterfly. Every gold medal performance set a new world record, except the
100-meter butterfly, which set an Olympic record. Phelps also set the all-time
single Olympics gold-medal record, surpassing swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record
of seven golds; he had won his 14th career gold medal, the most gold won by any
Olympian.
In 2012, Phelps's Olympic medal count
increased to 22, setting a new record for most Olympic medals (beating gymnast
Larisa Latynina's prior record of 18). At the 2012 Olympic Games, held in
London, he won four gold medals, in the 4-by-200-meter freestyle relay,
200-meter individual medley, 100-meter butterfly and 4-by-100-meter medley
relay; and two silver medals, in the 4-by-100-meter freestyle relay and
200-meter butterfly. Phelps also holds the record for the most gold medals won
in a single Olympics (eight gold medals at Beijing in 2008).
After the London Olympics, Phelps announced
he was retiring from his sport. Phelps, however, gave some indication of a
possible return in July 2013. The stellar swimmer would not rule out a possible
Olympic bid for the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro.
In April 2014, Phelps put the retirement
rumors to rest and announced he made plans to compete at the Mesa Grand Prix in
Arizona. The sports world continued to speculate whether Phelps would compete
in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio. His longtime coach Bob Bowman told the Washington Post:
“I don’t know yet. Honestly, we’re kind of
taking it day by day. I don’t think either one of us has real expectations
other than to have fun, see what happens and go from there. Unlike previous
years, there’s no long-term plan.”
While he did compete at the Mesa Grand Prix,
Phelps made a more impressive showing at the Pan Pacific Championships held
that summer in Australia. There he won three golds and two silvers. But his
behavior out of the water that fall cast a shadow on his triumphant comeback.
Phelps was arrested in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland in September for
driving under the influence, speeding and crossing double lines. He took
to Twitter to discuss this incident, writing "I understand the severity of
my actions and take full responsibility." Phelps also apologized to
"everyone I have let down."
Despite his personal issues, Phelps was ready
to make history and headlines again: He was going to Rio. On June 29, 2016,
Phelps celebrated a huge comeback when he became the first American male
swimmer to earn a spot on five Olympic teams. After finishing first in the
men’s 200-meter butterfly event at the U.S. Olympic trials at a time of
1:54:84, he clinched his spot on the team headed to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
"That means the most tonight," Phelps said after his win. "With
everything that's happened, being able to come back, that's probably harder
than any swim I've had in my life."
On August 7, 2016, Phelps clinched his 19th
Olympic gold medal in Rio when he swam an impressive second leg of the
men's 400 freestyle relay. On August 9, Phelps made history again when he won
gold in both the 200-meter butterfly and as the anchor in the 4x200-meter
freestyle relay along with Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas and Ryan Lochte. Phelp’s
200-meter butterfly win was an important comeback for the swimmer, who had lost
the 2012 Olympic gold in this race to South African swimmer Chad Le Clos. Clos
did not medal in the 2016 race. “There wasn’t a shot in hell I was losing
that tonight,” he told reporters.
“Doing a double like that is a lot harder now
than what it once was,” Phelps said about competing in the races at the
age of 31. “That is for sure.”
With these historic wins, Phelps has won a
record-setting 21 Olympic gold medals and is the oldest individual gold
medalist in Olympic swimming history.
Other Projects
In addition to his successful swim career,
Phelps has written two books,Beneath the Surface: My Story (2008) and No Limits: The Will to Succeed(2009). Phelps also co-founded
the nonprofit organization Swim with the Stars, which holds camps for swimmers
of all ages.
Personal Life
In February 2015, Phelps popped the question
to girlfriend Nicole Johnson. The couple have been dating on and off since
2011. On May 5, 2016, Phelps and his fiancee became parents to a baby boy they
named Boomer Robert Phelps.
Biography of Michael Phelps another Presentation
It is not every day that a man plunges into the pool and
comes out with a once-in-a-lifetime performance! Michael Phelps not only
mastered the technique, but made this an everyday feat as well. The most
celebrated athlete and the most decorated Olympian ever in the history of the
sports, Phelps with his unwavering determination and rock-solid focus went on
to create tidal waves in the chlorinated and non-chlorinated world with his
immaculate effort, which is clearly visible from his career graph which reached
the zenith of success. Phelps has created a whopping 39 world records, 29 in
individuals events and 11 in group, to become the only swimmer ever to do so.
Additionally, he established a world mark by being the only Olympian with most
number of Olympic gold medals (21), the only Olympian with 11 gold medals in
individual games and the only Olympian to win 8 gold medals in a single Olympic
Games. What’s more, he has the highest Olympic medals in individual events for
a male (13). Interestingly, the man who created ripples in water was initially
afraid to put his face under water as well. Phelps not only overcame this fear
but also challenged the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that he
was facing as a child to become a master at what he loved doing—swimming!
Throughout the career, what distinguished him from his contemporaries and
colleagues was not his back to back victories or undefeated feats, but his will
to better his own records and transform the way swimming was looked upon as a
sport by the world at large!
Childhood & Early Life
·
Michael Phelps was born to Michael Fred
Phelps and Deborah Sue ‘Debbie’ in Baltimore, Maryland. He has two elder
sisters: Hilary and Whitney. While his father was employed as a state trooper,
his mother was into the profession of teaching. Young Michael gained his
education from Towson High School.
·
It was Fred’s strong athletic capabilities
that the children acquired soon enough. Hilary, Whitney and Michael got into
swimming at an early age. Though Hilary showed great promise, she opted out of
the sport. Whitney took to it for a little longer duration than her sister,
even trying her luck to gain admission in the US Olympic team in 1996. However,
it was young Phelps who not only took to the sport, but also excelled in it.
·
Phelps took to swimming at the age of seven.
Initially scared of putting his face in the water, he took to floating in the
pool and no sooner mastered backstroke. Just when Phelps seemed to get on with
his fear, he was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD). However, he worked his way through the condition along with the help of
his mother Debbie.
·
In the early days, swimming to Phelps was
more the result of the influence cast by his sisters and his requirement for an
outlet to let go of his bundled energy. It was while watching Tom Malchow and
Tom Dolan compete in the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta that Phelps dreamt of
making it big by turning swimming into his professional choice
·
Phelps took training under Bob Bowman, at the
North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Recognizing the capability and potential that
Phelps showed, Bowman started an intense training programme with him. Soon,
Phelps found himself a place at the US National B Team.
·
Breaking quite a few records, Phelps reeled
his way through the Olympic trials to gain himself a seat at the 2000 Summer
Olympics. With this, he became the youngest player in 68 years to represent
America in the Olympics. Though he did not win a medal, his performance was
incredible as he reserved himself a fifth position at the 200-meter butterfly
race.
·
At the end of the year, Phelps stood
convincingly at the 7th spot in the world 200-meter butterfly raking and 44th
in the 400-meter individual medley.
Rise to Glory
·
The fairytale start to a career was safely
guarded in the coming years as Phelps excelled in the sport and drew limelight
at national and international levels. With each success, he climbed the success
ladder to reach his dream of making it big.
·
The swimming fraternity got a first-hand
taste of Phelps’ brilliance and prowess in the sport at the World Championship
Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships. At the age of 15 years and 9
months, he broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly to become the
youngest swimmer ever to set a swimming world record.
·
With each passing competition, it seemed as
if Phelps was competing with himself rather than with his competitors to bring
out the best. An excellent example of this was when he broke his own record in
the 200-meter butterfly at the World Championship in Fukuoka to secure his
first medal
·
Year 2002 witnessed Phelps’ participation in
the Pan Pacific Championship. While at the selection process, he broke numerous
world records, at the main event, Phelps securely brought home three gold
medals and two silver medals. Much to the disappointment, while he won the
400-meter individual medley and 200-meter individual medley, he stood second at
what he did best — the 200-meter butterfly.
·
In the 2003 World Championship, Phelps won
the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, and the 100-meter butterfly.
With this, he became the first ever American swimmer to record wins at three
different races including three different strokes at a national championship.
·
Same year, in the meet of swimmers from
Australia and America, Phelps proved his mettle by breaking the world record in
the 400-meter individual medley and 200-meter individual medley.
·
Following these victories, Phelps entered the
2003 World Aquatics Championships in great spirits bagged himself four gold
medals and two silver medals. What’s more, he broke five world records, each
time bettering his own personal best. Phelps phenomenal success was unmatchable
and already rang warning sirens for veterans to keep up with the pace of this
shinning teen sensation!
·
Beginning 2004, Phelps competed in the US
Olympic Team Trials. Out of the six events that he participated in (200 and
400-meter individual medley, 100 and 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter freestyle,
and 200-meter backstroke), he was selected for all, thus becoming the only
American with such a feat. However, he dropped out of 200-meter backstroke to
focus on the 200-meter freestyle as he aimed to provide tough competition to
Ian Thorpe. He also found his way onto the couple of relay teams.
·
At the 2004 Olympics, Phelps had six gold and
two bronze medals in his kitty, thus becoming the second-best performance ever
at a single Olympics, behind Mark Spitz's seven gold medals. Also, he became the
second male swimmer ever to win more than two individual titles at a single
Olympic Games with four, tying Spitz's four from 1972. He even broke a couple
of world records thus raising his stardom at the sport to an elevated level.
·
Furthermore, his unselfish gesture of giving
teammate Ian Crocker a chance have a shot at Olympic gold medal by opting out
of the 4x100 meter medley relay finals added a star to the already booming
reputation of Michael Phelps. The American medley team set a world record and won
the gold and Phelps too was awarded the gold medal since he has raced in the
preliminary heat of the medley relay.
·
The triumphant and glorious days of Phelps
after the Athens Olympics were marred by his futile drinking and driving
expedition. Sentenced to 18-month probation with a $250 fine, he immediately
realized that stardom came with its share of pitfalls as well.
·
Phelps was ordered to give lecture about the
dangers involved with drinking and driving and was asked to attend ‘Mothers
Against Drunk Driving’ meeting. He then followed coach Bowman to serve as the
latter’s assistant in the varsity coaching job. He even enrolled himself at the
University of Michigan for a course at sports marketing and management.
·
The youngest swimming sensation, Phelps had
broken several records and bagged numerous medals (gold, silver and bronze).
What started as a dream run, experienced an evolvement as Phelps aimed to
transform the sport like great athletes Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods had done
for their respective games.
·
In the following years, Phelps showed
commendable performance. He secured a total of six medals, five gold and one
silver at the 2005 World Championships and had a similar tally at the 2006 Pan
Pacific Swimming Championships in Victoria.
Zenith of Success
·
Phelps’ big ticket for transformation and
enrichment of the sport came in 2007 with the World Championship. He contested
in seven events, winning a gold medal in each and creating world records in
five of them. Throughout the events, Phelps outperformed not only his
competitors but himself as well to set personal bests.
·
Phelps seven gold medal haul was record in itself,
breaking Ian Thorpe’s six-medal victory in 2001 World Championship. He won the
same for five individual events: 100 m and 200 m butterfly, 200 m freestyle and
200m and 400 m individual medley, and two group matches: 4X100 m and 4X200 m
freestyle relay. An eighth medal could have been dropped into his kitty had Ian
Crocker did not make an early exit from the competition!
·
The same year, Phelps' performance at the US
Nationals Indianapolis, was impeccable as he excelled his own personal best by
creating a world record at the 200 m backstroke.
·
Just when everything seemed to be
candy-flossed and picture-perfect, Phelps fractured his right wrist by
accidentally falling on to a patch of ice. His training cycle was interrupted
leaving Phelps heartbroken. However, not the one to take to be disheartened, he
practiced using a kickboard which acted as a boon as Phelps ended adding a
little more strength to his kick.
·
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Phelps was the
man to look out for as the world awaited his eight gold medal haul and newer
world records! For everyone, it seemed as if the moment Phelps jumped into the
pool, a medal and a world record automatically fell into his kitty. However,
there was much hard work and labor that went into the same.
·
Phelps performed brilliantly at the trials of
the 2008 Olympics, qualifying for eight events almost effortlessly. The events
that Phelps participated in were 400-meter individual medley, 4 x 100-meter
freestyle relay, 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter butterfly, 4 x 200-meter
freestyle relay, 100-meter butterfly and 4 x 100-meter medley relay.
·
History was created and new records were
written at 2008 Olympics as Phelps went on to win eight gold medals, setting
world records in seven and an Olympic record in the eighth. Though his victory
seemed to be an easy sail, there were times when it seemed difficult for Phelps
to create the Olympic record.
·
While in the 200-meter butterfly, his goggles
leaked, in the 100-meter butterfly, he was almost beaten by Milorad Cavic,
saving the grace at the last moment by beating Cavic by a hundredth of a
second. In the medley race, U.S. was lagging behind Australia and Japan until
the second leg. However, Phelps completed his split in 50.1 seconds, giving
teammate Jason Lezak a more than half-second lead for the final leg, which he
held onto to clinch the event in world record time.
Last Leg
·
Year 2009 saw Phelps taking it slow and
moving out from his gruelling regimen to ease himself. He partook in three
events at the US Nationals all of which he won. At the World Championship, he
bagged five gold and 1 silver medals, losing the 200-meter freestyle to Paul
Biedermann. It was the first time in four years that Phelps finished a race at
the second spot
·
The following year, Phelps performance at the
US Nationals was below par as he lost the 200 m individual medley to Ryan
Lochte, whom the world looked upon as Phelps successor. It was Phelps first
defeat while competing against Lochte.
·
Unfazed by it, Phelps continued to polish his
skills and entered the 2010 Pan Pacific Championship with an optimistic
approach. He went on to win five gold medals.
·
Continuing from where he had left, Phelps
entered the 2011 World Championship as the man of the event. He mastered both
the butterfly events bagging in two golds for his trophy case. Two more came
from group races, 4 X 200 m freestyle and 4 X 100 m medley.
·
Phelps lost second time in a row to Lochte in
the 200 m individual medley who secured a comfortable lead by beating Phelps
who stood second for the race and took home a silver. Phelps collected a silver
and bronze medal for 200 m individual medley and 4 X 100 m freestyle relay
respectively.
·
As the 2012 London Olympic approached,
speculations were high as to whether Phelps would be able to repeat history and
create further world records. Despite not wanting it, he qualified for all the
eight events that he partook in 2008 Olympics at Beijing. However, he dropped
200 m freestyle to concentrate on relays.
·
London Olympics had a disappointing start for
Phelps, as he failed to secure a medal for the 400 m individual relay, his
first ever since 2000. The 4 x 100 m freestyle relay made up for the loss by
bringing home a silver. The disappointment continued as Phelps finished at the
second spot in the 200 m butterfly, behind Chad de Clos
·
Just when critics started writing off Phelps
about him losing his ‘magical’ touch, he won four back to back races at 2012
Olympics, thus getting four gold medals into his already overflowing trophy
case. He twice became the first male swimmer to win the same event in three
consecutive Olympics, for the races 200 m individual medley and 100 m
butterfly.
·
In the 4 x 100 m medley relay, he swam in the
race with the same fierce determination and skill that he did for his first
race, leading his team to a victory.
·
The 4 x 100 m medley relay won Phelps his
18th career gold medal and 22nd Olympic medals overall. Phelps was designated
as the most successful athlete for the London Olympic Games 2012, his third
time in a row.
·
At the Rio Olympics 2016, Phelps won a gold
medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay, taking his Olympics Gold tally to 19 and
overall Olympics medal to 23. On August 9, Phelps won two more gold medals (
200 meter butterfly and 4 × 200 m freestyle relay) to take his Olympics gold
medal tally to 21 and overall medals tally to 25.
Awards & Achievements
·
Michael Phelps is the only athlete to record
the highest number of Olympic gold medals (19), most of which was from
individual events (11) and most from a single event, the 2008 Beijing Olympics
(8). For his extraordinary and unmatchable feat, he has been bestowed with
numerous honors, awards and achievements.
·
In 2003, Phelps won the James E. Sullivan
Award. Wih this, he became the 10th swimmer to be honored as the top amateur
athlete in the country.
·
A street in his hometown has been named after
him, called the Michael Phelps Way in 2004. In 2009, post his successful stint
at the Olympics, the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate
honored him for his Olympic accomplishments.
·
Phelps won the Swimming World Magazine World
Swimmer of the Year Award seven times, in 2003-04, 2006 to 2009 and in 2012.
The same magazine awarded him in the category of American Swimmer of the Year
Award nine times, from 2001 to 2004, 2006 to 2009 and in 2012.
·
The Golden Goggle award, which was initiated
in 2004 by the USA Swimming Federation, honoured Phelps number of times in
various categories. While he won the Male Performance of the Year award five
times in 2004 and 2006 to 2009, the Relay Performance of the Year award was
bestowed to him for four years consecutively from 2006 to 2009. Additionally,
he won the Male Athlete of the Year award in 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2012.
·
The international swimming federation, FINA,
honored Phelps with the FINA swimmer of the year award in 2012 commemorating
his standing as the most decorated Olympian ever.
Philanthropic Works
·
Capitalizing on his 2008 Beijing Speedo bonus
of $1 million, Phelps set up a Michael Phelps Foundation, which aimed to
increase the awareness of swimming as a sporting activity and focussed on
promoting healthy lifestyle.
·
Two years later, the foundation, along with
Michael Phelps Swim School and KidsHealth.org, conducted an ‘im’ programme for
Boys & Girls club members. The programme stressed on the importance of
active living and gave impetus to the young bloods to focus on the sport of
swimming. It also promoted the importance of planning and goal setting in life.
·
After the super success of the programme, the
foundation initiated two more programs, Level Field Fund-Swimming and Caps-for-a-Cause.
Personal Life & Legacy
·
Michael Phelps was once described by his
coach as a ‘solitary man’. In February 2015, he announced that he was engaged to
former Miss California Nicole Johnson. It is said they had met in 2009 and
temporarily broke up in 2012. Their son, Boomer Robert Phelps was born on May
5, 2016.
Trivia
·
This celebrated Olympian and swimming
sensation drew his inspiration from his two elder sisters, Hilary and Whitney,
both of whom were better swimmers than him. He spent most of his afternoons as
a toddler on a stroller watching his sister’s practice.
·
Highest gold medal winning Olympian, he
started swimming when he was seven year old. Initially afraid to put his face
in the water, he started floating on his back, backstroke being the first
stroke that he mastered.
·
He created the most number of world records
in swimming: 39 world records (29 individual and 10 relay), surpassing Mark
Spitz's previous record of 33 world records (26 individual, 7 relay).
·
His magnificent ability at the sports won him
the highest number of Olympic gold medals (21), the highest number of gold
medals in individual games (12) and the only Olympian to win 8 gold medals in a
single Olympic Games (2008 Beijing Olympics).
Swimmer Michael Phelps Born: 30 June 1985
Birthplace: Baltimore,
Maryland
Best known as: The
swimmer who won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Swimmer
Michael Phelps has won more Olympic medals than anyone in history. He has
competed in the Summer Olympic games in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Michael Phelps was only 15 when he made the American team for the 2000 Olympics
in Sydney. He placed fifth in the 200 meter butterfly, but his appearance there
made him the youngest male Olympian since 1932, when 14-year-old Japanese
swimmer Kusuo Kitamura won the 1500-meter freestyle at Los Angeles. Phelps's
specialty is the shorter races, 100 to 400 meters in length. His records, world
records and awards are almost too numerous to mention: he set his first world
record at age 15 (the 200 meter butterfly at the 2001 U.S. Spring Nationals),
was named USA Swimmer of the Year six times between 2001 and 2007, and set an
unprecedented five individual world records at in one meet at the 2003 world
championships in Barcelona. Michael Phelps won six gold and two bronze medals
at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, then won an even more remarkable eight gold
medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (breaking the record of seven gold
medals set by swimmer Mark Spitz in 1972). In Beijing he qualified in eight
events and won gold medals in every event, swimming for new world records in
the 400 meter individual medley and the 200 meter freestyle. Phelps entered
seven events at the London Olympics of 2012, winning golds in the men's
4x200-meter freestyle relay, the 200-meter individual medley, the 100-meter
butterfly and the 4x100 medley relay, plus silvers in the 4x100-meter relay and
in the 200-meter butterfly. At that point his 22 total medals made him the
most-decorated Olympian of all time. Phelps announced his retirement after the
London Olympics, but in 2014 he announced a comeback. In 2016 he again made
Team USA, and has won three more gold medals at those games, giving him 25
medals in all.
Extra credit:
Michael
Phelps is 6’4″ tall and reportedly has size 14 feet… He has a son with model
Nicole Johnson: Boomer Robert Phelps was born on May 5, 2016. Nicole Johnson
was Miss California USA of 2010… Michael Phelps won the 2003 Sullivan Award,
given to the best amateur athlete in the United States… Gymnast Larissa
Latynina held the previous career record for Olympic medals, with 18: She won
six each at the Olympics of 1956, 1960, and 1964… Michael Phelps went to the
University of Michigan but was ineligible to swim there, having accepted a
sponsorship deal from Speedo swim wear. He later won a $1 million bonus from
Speedo for winning eight gold medals in Beijing… According to The San Francisco Chronicle, fans in
Beijing nicknamed Michael Phelps the “Half-Man Half-Fish” and “Deep Sea Frog.”
