Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He won more Olympic medals than any other athlete, a total of 28 medals across four Olympic Games. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Phelps tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games, held by gymnast Alexander Dityatin, by winning six gold and two bronze medals. Four years later, when he won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, he broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.
Phelps is a former long course world record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, and 400-meter individual medley. He has won 82 medals in major international long course competitions, of which 65 were gold, 14 silver, and three bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships. Phelps's international titles and record-breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award eight times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eleven times, as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year Award in 2012 and 2016. Phelps earned Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award due to his unprecedented Olympic success in the 2008 Games.
After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but he made a comeback in April 2014. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, his fifth Olympics, he was selected by his team to be the flag bearer of the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations. He announced his second retirement on August 12, 2016, having won more medals than 161 countries. He won the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award in 2017. He is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer of all time and is often considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Early life and education Phelps was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson. Phelps is the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue "Debbie" Phelps (née Davisson), is a middle school principal. His father, Michael Fred Phelps, was a retired Maryland State Trooper who played football in high school and college and tried out for the Washington Redskins in the 1970s.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 15. His parents divorced in 1994 when he was nine years old, and his father remarried in 2000. Phelps later revealed that the divorce had a severe negative impact on him and his siblings, and his relationship with his father was distant for a few years after the divorce. He attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and graduated from Towson High School in 2003. During his school years, he was a target of school bullying due to his ADHD and protruding ears. It reached a point where he retaliated during a situation and received a suspension. The frustration from this experience fueled his drive into swimming.
Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 16. After retirement in 2016, he stated "The only reason I ever got in the water was my mom wanted me to just learn how to swim. My sisters and myself fell in love with the sport, and we decided to swim."Michael Phelps explains to Jimmy Fallon that his focus in retirement will be on water safety, to help reduce the number of accidental drownings of children "Michael Phelps Retires to Run His Baby Boomer's Instagram", The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Thursday, September 1, 2016 (uploaded Sep2) When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 24.Schaller, p. 4. By the age of 10, he held a national record for his age group (in the 100-meter butterfly) and began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman. More age group records followed, and as of August 21, 2018, Phelps still held 11 age group records, eight in long course, and three in short course.
Swimming career
Training Phelps has trained under Bob Bowman since he was 11 years old.Schaller, p. 24. Bowman swam for Florida State University from 1983 to 1985.Schaller, p. 22. Phelps has said Bowman reminded him of a drill sergeant because of his disciplined and regimented ways.Schaller, p. 25. Phelps has said, "Training with Bob is the smartest thing I've ever done ... I'm not going to swim for anyone else." After the 2004 Summer Olympics, Bowman was hired as the head coach for the University of Michigan after Jon Urbanchek retired. Phelps joined Bowman at Michigan to train and attended classes over a span of four years, but did not pursue a degree.Schaller, p. 45.Schaller, p. 66. Phelps served as a volunteer assistant coach at Michigan. After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bowman returned to Baltimore as CEO at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Phelps also returned to Baltimore with Bowman.Schaller, p. 27. When Bowman was hired as the men's and women's swimming coach at Arizona State University in 2015, Phelps moved to Arizona to continue training under Bowman. There is a popular myth that Phelps ate 12,000 calories every day, but Phelps has stated it has been exaggerated and that he did not eat so much even in his growing days.
2000 Summer Olympics Phelps's rapid improvement culminated when he qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15, as he became the youngest male (since Ralph Flanagan in 1932) to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 85. While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 78.
2001 World Championships
At the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, on March 30, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest male ever to set a world record in swimming. Previously the youngest male had been Ian Thorpe, who captured the 400-meter freestyle world record at 16 years, 10 months.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 88. At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-meter butterfly while en route to become a world champion for the first time.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 92.
2002 Pan Pacific Championships
At Nationals, the selection meet for the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Phelps set an American record in the 200-meter individual medley and was just off the world record in the 200-meter butterfly.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 109. In the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps bettered the world record held by Tom Dolan with a time of 4:11.09, just ahead of Erik Vendt, who finished second with a time of 4:11.27, also below the old world record. In the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps was barely beaten by Klete Keller and in the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps beat Ian Crocker.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 110
At the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Yokohama, Japan, Phelps won three gold medals and two silvers. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won gold ahead of Erik Vendt with a time of 4:12.48. In the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps lost to Tom Malchow, finishing behind him 1:55.41 to 1:55.21. Phelps said he lost because he did not take butterfly training seriously after he broke the world record. In the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a time of 1:59.70. In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Nate Dusing, Klete Keller, and Chad Carvin, won the silver medal with a time 7:11.81 finishing behind Australia. The U.S. 4×100-meter medley relay team consisted of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps, and Ian Crocker. In the final for the medley relay, Phelps swam a 51.1 split, at the time the fastest split in history. The final time of 3:33.48 was a world record.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 111
2003 World Championships
At Nationals, Phelps won the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, and the 100-meter butterfly.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 122. He became the first American swimmer to win three different races in three different strokes at a national championship. At the 2003 Duel in the Pool, a meet that pits swimming stars from Australia and the United States, Phelps broke the world record in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:10.73 and almost broke the world record in the 100-meter butterfly, just missing the record by 0.03 seconds.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 123. At a meet in Santa Clara County, California, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:57.94.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 134. Phelps said he broke the 200-meter individual medley world record after Don Talbot said Phelps was unproven, using his words as motivation.Phelps, Beneath the Surface, p. 133.
At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won four gold medals, two silver medals, and broke five world records. Phelps broke his first world record on July 22 in the semi-finals for the 200-meter butterfly. Phelps swam a 1:53.93 to break his own world record of 1:54.58 set in 2001 and became the first man to swim under 1:54.00. In the final of the 200-meter butterfly, on July 23, Phelps easily won the gold medal, but did not come close to his world record with a time of 1:54.35. Less than an hour later, Phelps swam the lead-off leg for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Phelps put up a solid time of 1:46.60 (an American record) but the Americans could not match the depth of the Australians and ultimately finished second 7:10.26 to 7:08.58.
In the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps dominated. On July 24, in the semi-finals of the 200-meter individual medley, he broke his own world record with a time of 1:57.52. On July 25, in the final of the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps smashed his own record with a time of 1:56.04 to win the gold medal and finished almost 3 seconds ahead of Ian Thorpe. About an hour before the final of the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps swam in the semi-finals of the 100-meter butterfly. Phelps dominated again, finishing in the top seed position with a world record time of 51.47. However, in the final of the 100-meter butterfly, on July 26, Ian Crocker erased Phelps's world record with a time of 50.98, to become the first man under 51 seconds. Phelps swam a 51.10 (also under his former world record), but had to settle for silver. In the final of the 400-meter individual medley, on July 27, Phelps broke his own world record with a time of 4:09.09 to easily claim the gold medal. About half an hour later, Phelps earned his final gold medal when the United States team won the 4×100-meter medley relay. Phelps did not swim in the finals, but still earned a medal because he swam in the heats.
2004 Summer Olympics
Trials