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Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for
Olympic gold medals An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is lai ...
(23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). When Phelps won eight gold medals at the
2008 Beijing Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
, he broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in Athens, Phelps already tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games by winning six gold and two bronze medals. At the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...
in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the
2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
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 the
long course An Olympic-size swimming pool conforms to regulated dimensions that are large enough for international competition. This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is in length, typically referred to as "long cour ...
world record holder in the men's 400-meter individual medley as well as the former long course world record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, and 200-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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, 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 ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...
'' 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 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
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 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

Phelps was born in
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...
, and raised in the
Rodgers Forge Rodgers Forge is a national historic district southwest of the unincorporated Towson area and county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, just north of the Baltimore City/ County line. It is mostly a residential area, with rowhous ...
neighborhood of nearby
Towson Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorp ...
. He attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and
Towson High School Towson High School is a high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, founded in 1873. The school's current stone structure was built in 1949. Located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson and serving the surrounding communities ...
. 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 Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
in high school and college and tried out for the team now known as the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...
in the 1970s.Phelps, ''Beneath the Surface'', p. 15. Phelps is of English, German, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh descent. 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 graduated from Towson High School in 2003. 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. 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." When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...
(ADHD). 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. Bowman swam for
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
from 1983 to 1985. Phelps has said Bowman reminded him of a drill sergeant because of his disciplined and regimented ways. However, 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 , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
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. 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. When Bowman was hired as the men's and women's swimming coach at
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
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 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
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. While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly.


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 Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
, who captured the 400-meter freestyle world record at 16 years, 10 months. 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.


2002 Pan Pacific championships

At Nationals, the selection meet for the
2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The ninth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2002 in Yokohama International Swimming Pool in Yokohama, Japan, from August 24–29. One world record A world record is usually the ...
, 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. In the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps bettered the world record held by
Tom Dolan Thomas Fitzgerald Dolan (born September 15, 1975) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Dolan grew up in Arlington, Virginia. He attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, wh ...
with a time of 4:11.09, just ahead of
Erik Vendt Erik K. Vendt (born January 9, 1981) is an American former competition swimmer. He won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 400-meter individual medley. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Vendt won a gold medal ...
, 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 Klete Derik Keller (born March 21, 1982) is an American convicted felon and former competitive swimmer. Before retiring from swimming in 2008, Keller won five Olympic medals, including two golds, at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics in the ...
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 Erik K. Vendt (born January 9, 1981) is an American former competition swimmer. He won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 400-meter individual medley. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Vendt won a gold medal ...
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 Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...
, 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. 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 said he broke the 200-meter individual medley world record after Don Talbot said Phelps was unproven, using his words as motivation. At the
2003 World Aquatics Championships The 10th FINA World Aquatics Championships were held July 12–27, 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. The championships featured competition in all 5 of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Synchronised swimming, Water Polo, and Open Water Swimming. C ...
, 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 Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
. 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

At the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Phelps competed in six events; the 200- and 400-meter individual medley, the 100- and 200-meter butterfly, the 200-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter backstroke. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps easily won with a world record time of 4:08.41. Two days later, in the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:46.27, finishing sixth-tenths of a second ahead of
Klete Keller Klete Derik Keller (born March 21, 1982) is an American convicted felon and former competitive swimmer. Before retiring from swimming in 2008, Keller won five Olympic medals, including two golds, at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics in the ...
. Phelps, however, was not pleased with the result and wanted to be in the 1:45s and was uncertain if he would swim the event in Athens. The following day, Phelps won in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:54.31, three seconds ahead of second-place finisher Tom Malchow. After two days off, Phelps was back in the pool and finished second to
Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...
(who broke the world record) in the 200-meter backstroke. Less than half an hour later, Phelps won the 200-meter individual medley title ahead of
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
by 2.70 seconds. The following day, Phelps finished second to Ian Crocker in the 100-meter butterfly. Crocker won in a time of 50.76, a world record and 0.39 seconds ahead of Phelps. When the Trials were over, Phelps became the first person to qualify in six individual events for a U.S. Olympic team.Phelps, ''Beneath the Surface'', p. 186. However, Phelps dropped the 200-meter backstroke to focus on the 200-meter freestyle because he wanted to race
Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
. Even though Phelps did not compete in the 100-meter freestyle at the Trials, he was still selected for the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Gary Hall, Jr. thought this was unfair and said Phelps did not deserve a spot on the relay. Phelps argued his program was too crowded to compete in 100-meter freestyle and was at least among the top four swimmers because he had beaten the top-seeded
Jason Lezak Jason Edward Lezak (born November 12, 1975) is an American former competitive swimmer and swimming executive. As a swimmer, Lezak specialized in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races. His pro career lasted for nearly fifteen years, spannin ...
the last time he had swum against him.


Athens

In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won his first Olympic gold medal in the world record time of 4:08.26. The following day, Phelps, along with Ian Crocker,
Neil Walker Neil Martin Andrew Walker (born September 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2009–2015), New York Mets (2016–17), Milwaukee Brewers ...
, and Jason Lezak, finished in third place in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with a time of 3:14.62. Crocker's lead-off time of 50.05 was the worst among the field and was blamed on sickness. In the event many were calling ''The Race of the Century'', the 200-meter freestyle that was held the following day, Phelps finished in third place behind
Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
and Pieter van den Hoogenband. Although this race ended the chance to match Spitz's record, Phelps had savored the challenge even though it was not his strongest event, saying "How can I be disappointed? I swam in a field with the two fastest freestylers of all time". In his fourth event, the 200-meter butterfly, held the following day, Phelps won a gold medal with a time of 1:54.04, breaking Tom Malchow's Olympic record. About an hour later, in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
, Peter Vanderkaay, and
Klete Keller Klete Derik Keller (born March 21, 1982) is an American convicted felon and former competitive swimmer. Before retiring from swimming in 2008, Keller won five Olympic medals, including two golds, at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics in the ...
, finished in first place with a time of 7:07.33. Two days later, in the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps finished first with a time of 1:57.14, an Olympic record. In the 100-meter butterfly final, held the following day, Phelps defeated American teammate Ian Crocker (who held the world record in the event at the time) by just 0.04 seconds with a time of 51.25.Schaller, p. 40. Traditionally, the American who places highest in an individual event will be automatically given the corresponding leg in the 4×100-meter medley relay final. This gave Phelps an automatic entry into the medley relay, but he deferred and Crocker swam instead.Phelps, ''Beneath the Surface'', p. 218. Phelps's gesture gave Crocker a chance to make amends (for a mistake at the start of a previous race) as well, getting his final shot at a gold medal. The American medley team went on to win the event in world-record time, and, since Phelps had raced in a preliminary heat of the medley relay, he was also awarded a gold medal along with the team members who competed in the final. In winning six gold and two bronze medals, Phelps, still a teenager, had the second-best performance ever at a single Olympics, behind Mark Spitz's seven gold medals at the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...
. Also, he became the second male swimmer ever to win more than two individual titles at a single Games with four, tying Spitz's four from 1972.


2005 World championships

At the 2005 World Championship Trials, Phelps decided to drop his specialty events, the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter butterfly, and experiment with the 400-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle. Phelps went on to win the 400-meter freestyle, the 200-meter freestyle, the 100-meter butterfly, the 100-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter individual medley at the Trials. At the
2005 World Aquatics Championships The 2005 World Aquatics Championships (french: Championnats du monde de natation 2005) or the XI FINA World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 16 to July 31, 2005. They took place in Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saint Helen's I ...
, Phelps won a total of six medals, five golds and one silver. In the 400-meter freestyle, Phelps did not make it past the preliminary heats and finished 18th overall with a time of 3:50.53. Later that day, in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps won his first gold in the Championships. Two days later, on July 26, Phelps won his second gold in the 200-meter freestyle with a new American national record (NR) time of 1:45.20, finishing ahead of
Grant Hackett Grant George Hackett OAM (born 9 May 1980) is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him to ...
. Two days later, on July 28, Phelps finished seventh in the 100-meter freestyle final. Later that day, Phelps won his third gold in the 200-meter individual medley. On July 29, Phelps, along with
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
, Peter Vanderkaay and
Klete Keller Klete Derik Keller (born March 21, 1982) is an American convicted felon and former competitive swimmer. Before retiring from swimming in 2008, Keller won five Olympic medals, including two golds, at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics in the ...
, won the gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with a time of 7:06.58. This was the fourth gold medal for Phelps. On July 30, Phelps swam in his last individual event, the 100-meter butterfly. In the final, Phelps could not match the speed of Ian Crocker and had to settle for silver, finishing 51.65 to 50.40, a new world record for Crocker. On July 31, 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.


2006 Pan Pacific championships

At the 2006 National Championships, Phelps won three events. In his first event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a championship record of 1:54.32. In his second event, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps just edged out Ian Crocker 51.51 (another championship record) to 51.73. In his third event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a time of 1:56.50, just ahead of
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
's time of 1:56.78. At the
2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The tenth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2006 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from August 17–20. Six world records A world record is usually the best global and mo ...
in Victoria, British Columbia, Phelps won five gold medals and one silver. In his first event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won in a world record time of 1:53.80, his first world record in two years. In his second event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps easily won with a time of 4:10.47, 3.38 seconds ahead of second-place finisher
Robert Margalis Robert Margalis (born February 8, 1982) is an American medley swimmer who won the gold medal in the men's 400-meter individual medley event at the 2003 Pan American Games. At the next edition, four years later in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Jane ...
. In his third event, the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
, Peter Vanderkaay, and
Klete Keller Klete Derik Keller (born March 21, 1982) is an American convicted felon and former competitive swimmer. Before retiring from swimming in 2008, Keller won five Olympic medals, including two golds, at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics in the ...
, won the gold medal with a time of 7:05.28. In his fourth event, the 200-meter backstroke, Phelps won the silver medal, finishing behind
Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...
1:56.81 to 1:54.44 (a new world record). In his fifth event, the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with
Neil Walker Neil Martin Andrew Walker (born September 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2009–2015), New York Mets (2016–17), Milwaukee Brewers ...
,
Cullen Jones Cullen Andrew Jones (born February 29, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in freestyle sprint events. As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter freestyle ...
, and Jason Lezak, won the gold medal with a world-record time 3:12.46. In his sixth event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a world record time of 1:55.84, breaking his record of 1:55.94 set in 2003.


2007 World championships

At the
2007 World Aquatics Championships The 2007 World Aquatics Championships, or the XII FINA World Championships, were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007. The competition took place at three locations in central Melbourne: the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic C ...
, Phelps won seven gold medals, tying the record for a global long-course championship held by Mark Spitz since the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...
, and broke five world records. Phelps first gold medal came in the 4×100-meter freestyle. Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 48.42 seconds and
Neil Walker Neil Martin Andrew Walker (born September 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2009–2015), New York Mets (2016–17), Milwaukee Brewers ...
,
Cullen Jones Cullen Andrew Jones (born February 29, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in freestyle sprint events. As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter freestyle ...
and Jason Lezak each expanded the lead to win in a Championship record of 3:12.72, just missing the world record of 3:12.46 set the previous year. His lead-off time was faster than the winning time in the individual 100-meter freestyle final later in the meet. Phelps set his first world record in the Championships in the 200-meter freestyle, his second race. Phelps won the gold ahead of Pieter van den Hoogenband and broke
Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
's six-year-old world record with a time of 1:43.86. For his third race, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won the gold and bettered his own world record of 1:53.71 with a time of 1:52.09. For his fourth race, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps set his third world record with a time of 1:54.98, bettering his own world-record time of 1:55.84 For his fifth race, the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:45.36 as the American team of
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
,
Klete Keller Klete Derik Keller (born March 21, 1982) is an American convicted felon and former competitive swimmer. Before retiring from swimming in 2008, Keller won five Olympic medals, including two golds, at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics in the ...
, and Peter Vanderkaay went on to win the gold medal and beat the previous world record set by Australia in 2001 with a time 7:03.24. For his sixth race, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps edged out Ian Crocker 50.77 to 50.82 to win his sixth gold medal. For his seventh event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won the gold medal in a world-record time of 4:06.22, more than 3.5 seconds ahead of
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
. By winning seven gold medals, Phelps broke the record of six set by
Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
at the 2001 World Championships. The 4×100-meter medley relay team received a disqualification for a false start during a changeover in the heats, ending Phelps's chance of eight gold medals. Even though Phelps competed in the backstroke in international competition only once (at the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships), he was among the best backstroke swimmers in the world. This is illustrated by his personal best times set in 2007, four months after the World Championships. At the US Nationals in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
on August 1, 2007, Phelps swam a 1:54.65 in the 200-meter backstroke, which was the third fastest of all time in the event, 0.33 of a second off the world record of 1:54.32 held by
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
. Two days later Phelps swam a time of 53.01 sec in the 100-meter backstroke, 0.03 of a second short of the world record of 52.98 held by
Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...
and the second-fastest performance of all time. In 2007 Phelps swam into the all-time top three performances in seven individual events, four of these being world records.


2008 Summer Olympics


Trials

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Phelps competed in six individual events. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps broke his own world record of 4:06.22 with a time of 4:05.25. In his second event, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:44.10, ahead of Peter Vanderkaay's time 1:45.85. In his third event, the 100-meter freestyle, Phelps placed second in his heat with a time of 47.92, ensuring him a spot on the relay. In his fourth event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a time of 1:52.20. In his fifth event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps broke his own world record of 1:54.98 with a time of 1:54.80. In his sixth and final event, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a time of 50.89. When asked about his chances of winning eight gold medals in Beijing, Phelps said, "I am going to prepare for that meet just like I do every other meet ... There is only so much I can do in a month and then I am going to prepare myself the best that I can."


Beijing

Phelps set an Olympic record in the preliminary heats of the 400-meter individual medley. He followed that up in the final by winning the gold medal, as well as breaking his previous world record by nearly two seconds. This swim went on to become the longest men's world record to stand in long course meters, beating Germany's Otto Farr who held the 100 backstroke world record from 1912 until 1926. Phelps swam the first leg of the 4×100-meter freestyle relay in a time of 47.51 seconds (an American record for the 100-meter freestyle), and won his second gold medal of the 2008 Olympics, as well as setting his second world record of the Olympics (3:08.24). Teammate Jason Lezak, after beginning the anchor leg more than half a body length behind
Alain Bernard Alain Bernard (; born 1 May 1983) is a former French swimmer from Aubagne, Bouches-du-Rhône. Bernard won a total of four medals (two golds, one silver, and one bronze) at two Olympic Games (2008 and 2012). He also won numerous medals at the W ...
, managed to finish ahead of the favored French swimmer by eight hundredths of a second. The top five teams in the final finished ahead of the world record of 3:12.23 set the previous day by the American B team in a preliminary heat. Phelps remarked that Bernard's pre-race comments of "smashing the Americans" had "fired me up more than anything else". ''Le Nouvel Observateur'' noted "Phelps taking the time to applaud and console Bernard" and wrote that this sportsmanship was "proof that the person who swims in the wake of Mark Spitz is also a great gentleman." For his third race, Phelps broke his previous world record in the 200-meter freestyle by nearly a second and won his third gold medal. He also set his third world record at the Olympics, 1:42.96, winning by nearly two seconds over silver medalist
Park Tae-hwan Park Tae-hwan (, ; born September 27, 1989) is a South Korean competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and world champion. He has four Olympic medals, five world titles, and 20 Asian Games medals. He won a gold me ...
. In this race, Phelps became the fifth Olympic athlete in modern history to win nine gold medals, joining Mark Spitz,
Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (russian: link=yes, Лариса Семёновна Латынина, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a former Soviet artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 individual Olympic medals and ...
,
Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official worl ...
, and
Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996 ...
. The next day, Phelps participated in two finals. In his first event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps made it four gold medals and world records in four events by swimming the final in 1:52.03, defeating silver medalist
László Cseh László Cseh (; born 3 December 1985) is a retired Hungarian competitive swimmer and six-time Olympic medalist. He is a 33-time European Champion. His father, László Cseh Sr., also represented Hungary at the Olympics in swimming. In 2020 ...
by almost seven-tenths of a second despite his goggles' having filled up with water and being unable to "see anything for the last 100 meters. This fourth gold medal was his tenth, and made him the all-time leader for most Olympic gold medals won by an individual in the modern Olympic era. Moreover, Phelps became the first swimmer, male or female, to win three Olympic butterfly titles, after his two titles in the Athens 2004 Olympics. He also became the first swimmer to successfully defend an Olympic butterfly title. Less than one hour after his gold medal victory in the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps swam the lead-off leg of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. With Lochte,
Ricky Berens Richard "Ricky" Berens (born April 21, 1988) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and current world record-holder. As a member of the U.S. national team, he holds the world record in the 4× ...
, and Peter Vanderkaay, he won his fifth gold and set his fifth world record as the American team finished first with a time of 6:58.56. The Americans were the first team to break the seven-minute mark in the relay, and broke the previous record, set in Melbourne, Australia, by more than four and a half seconds. After taking a day off from finals (Phelps did swim in qualifying heats), Phelps won his sixth gold of the Beijing Games on August 15 by winning the 200-meter individual medley with a world record time of 1:54.23, finishing ahead of Cseh by over two seconds.


=Seventh gold medal

= Before the final of the 100-meter butterfly, US born Serbian swimmer
Milorad Čavić Milorad "Milo" Čavić ( sr-Cyrl, Милорад "Мило" Чавић, ; born May 31, 1984) is a Serbian former professional swimmer. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2008 Summer Olympics in a historic race with American ...
caused a minor stir when he said it would be "good" if Phelps lost. "It'd be good for him if he loses. It would be nice if historians talk about Michael Phelps winning seven gold medals and losing the eighth to 'some guy.' I'd like to be that guy", Čavić said. Phelps responded, "When people say things like that, it fires me up more than anything." On August 16, Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the Games in the men's 100-meter butterfly, setting an Olympic record for the event with a time of 50.58 seconds and edging out his nearest competitor Čavić, by one hundredth (0.01) of a second. Unlike all six of his previous events in the 2008 Games, Phelps did not set a new world record, leaving intact Ian Crocker's world-record time of 50.40 seconds, set in 2005. Phelps's finish 0.01 seconds ahead of Čavić prompted the Serbian delegation to file a protest. Subsequent analysis of the video by the
FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...
panel, which required analyzing frames shot 1/10,000th of a second apart, was used to officially confirm Phelps's victory, but the images were not immediately released to the press. The initial refusal by official timekeeper Omega to release underwater photos of the finish also raised questions due to Phelps's sponsorship relationship with Omega. Čavić later wrote in his blog, "People, this is the greatest moment of my life. If you ask me, it should be accepted and we should move on. I've accepted defeat, and there's nothing wrong with losing to the greatest swimmer there has ever been." Phelps's seventh gold medal of the Games tied Mark Spitz's record for gold medals won in a single Olympic Games, set in the 1972 Olympics. It was also his fifth individual gold medal in Beijing, tying the record for individual gold medals at a single Games originally set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by
Vitaly Scherbo Vitaly Venediktovich Scherbo (or Shcherbo; russian: Виталий Венедиктович Щербо, or Shcherba; be, Віталь Венядзіктавіч Шчэрба, ''Vital' Venjadziktavich Shcherba'', born 13 January 1972) is a Bel ...
at the 1992 Summer Games. Said Phelps upon setting his seventh-straight Olympic record of the Games in as many events, "Dream as big as you can dream, and anything is possible ... I am sort of in a dream world. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure it is real."


=All-time record

= On August 17, Phelps won his eighth gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay, breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals won in a single Olympic Games, which had stood since 1972.Phelps, ''No Limits'', p. 218. Phelps, along with teammates Brendan Hansen,
Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...
, and Jason Lezak, set a new world record in the event with a time of 3 minutes and 29.34 seconds, 0.7 seconds ahead of second-place Australia and 1.34 seconds faster than the previous record set by the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. When Phelps dived in to swim the 100-meter butterfly leg, the third leg of the 400-meter medley, the United States had been trailing Australia and Japan. Phelps completed his split in 50.1 seconds, the fastest butterfly split ever for the event, 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. Said Phelps, upon completing the event that awarded him his eighth gold medal and eighth Olympic record in as many events, "Records are always made to be broken no matter what they are ... Anybody can do anything that they set their mind to."


Performance-enhancing drugs testing

During the 2008 Olympics, Phelps was questioned by the press as to whether perhaps his feats were "too good to be true", a reference to unsupported rumors that Phelps might be taking performance-enhancing substances. In response, Phelps noted that he had signed up for ''Project Believe'', a project by the
United States Anti-Doping Agency The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...
in which U.S. Olympians can volunteer to be tested in excess of the World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines. During the Games, Phelps passed all nine tests that were administered to him.


2009 World championships

At the 2009 National Championships, Phelps drastically shortened his program, swimming in only three individual events. In his first event, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:44.23. In his second event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps easily won with a time of 1:52.76, 0.88 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. In his third event, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a world-record time of 50.22. At the
2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplin ...
, Phelps won a total of 6 medals, 5 golds and 1 silver. In his first event, the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 47.78, well off his 47.51 performance in Beijing, but the American team was able to edge out Russia and France for the gold. For his second race, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps lost his first race in four years to Germany's
Paul Biedermann Paul Biedermann (; born 7 August 1986) is a German retired competitive swimmer, a 200 and 400 metre freestyle long course world champion. He holds the long course and short course world records in the 200 meters freestyle, and the long course wo ...
. Phelps touched second in 1:43.22, but Biedermann smashed Phelps's record of 1:42.96 set in Beijing a year ago with a time of 1:42.00. Phelps took the silver graciously, but coach Bob Bowman threatened to withdraw Phelps from international competition because Bowman claimed Biedermann had an unfair advantage because he was wearing a full
polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane is produced from ...
swimsuit A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, ...
, specifically an Arena X-Glide. Bowman said, "It took me five years to get Michael from 1:46 to 1:42 and this guy has done it in 11 months. That's an amazing training performance. I'd like to know how to do that." Phelps rebounded from this loss and for his third race, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won the gold and broke his own world record of 1:52.03 with a time of 1:51.51. For his fourth race, the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:44.49 as the team went on to win the gold medal and break the world record set the previous year. After his loss in the 200-meter freestyle, many thought Phelps was vulnerable coming into the final for the 100-meter butterfly. His closest competitor,
Milorad Čavić Milorad "Milo" Čavić ( sr-Cyrl, Милорад "Мило" Чавић, ; born May 31, 1984) is a Serbian former professional swimmer. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2008 Summer Olympics in a historic race with American ...
, who wore an Arena X-Glide (the same suit Biedermann beat Phelps with), thought people were making excuses for Phelps because he was wearing an
LZR Racer The LZR Racer (pronounced as "laser") is a line of competition swimsuits manufactured by Speedo using a high-technology swimwear fabric composed of woven elastane-nylon and polyurethane. The swimsuits are made in body-length; they compress t ...
. Čavić even offered to buy Phelps a new suit. For his fifth race, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won the gold and became the first man to complete it in under 50 seconds, beating Čavić 49.82 to 49.95. The victory prompted a fierce celebration from Phelps. For his final event, the 4×100-meter medley relay, Phelps won his fifth gold medal. Phelps, along with teammates
Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...
, Eric Shanteau, and
David Walters David Lee Walters (born November 20, 1951) is an American politician who was the 24th governor of Oklahoma from 1991 to 1995. Born in Canute, Oklahoma, Walters was a project manager for Governor David Boren and the youngest executive officer w ...
, set a new world record in the event with a time of 3 minutes, 27.28 seconds.


2010 Pan Pacific championships

At the 2010 National Championships, Phelps competed in five individual events. In the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won ahead of
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
in a time of 1:45.61. About an hour later, Phelps returned to the pool to win the 200-meter butterfly. But Phelps was not happy with his performance and called it the "worst" 200-meter butterfly of his life. In the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won his 50th national title in 50.65. After the race, Phelps said he was "fairly pleased" with the result. In the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps finished second to Lochte 1:55.94 to 1:54.84. It was the first time Lochte had beat Phelps in a major national meet. In the 200-meter backstroke, Phelps finished in 4th place in 1:56.98. On the first day of competition at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Phelps opted out swimming in the final of the 200-meter freestyle to focus on the 200-meter butterfly. In the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps led from start to finish, coming in first with a time of 1:54.11. Although it was much slower than his 1:51.51 time from the previous year, Phelps had not lost a 200-meter butterfly final since 2002. On day two of the competition, Phelps swam in the heats of the 400-meter individual medley and contributed in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. In the heats of the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps failed to make the A final, with Lochte and Tyler Clary taking the top two American positions. Phelps did not swim in the B final of the 400-meter individual medley. In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, with Peter Vanderkaay,
Ricky Berens Richard "Ricky" Berens (born April 21, 1988) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and current world record-holder. As a member of the U.S. national team, he holds the world record in the 4× ...
, and Lochte, finished first ahead of Japan and Australia. On day three of the competition, Phelps competed in the 100-meter butterfly and contributed in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. In the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps finished first in a time of 50.86, a championship record. In the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, with Lochte,
Jason Lezak Jason Edward Lezak (born November 12, 1975) is an American former competitive swimmer and swimming executive. As a swimmer, Lezak specialized in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races. His pro career lasted for nearly fifteen years, spannin ...
, and
Nathan Adrian Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event. In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer O ...
, finished first ahead of Australia and South Africa. As the lead-off leg in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps set the championship record in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 48.13. In his final event, Phelps swam in the 4×100-meter medley relay with
Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...
,
Mark Gangloff Mark Daniel Gangloff (born June 8, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and former world record-holder. Gangloff represented the United States at two consecutive Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Su ...
, and Adrian and finished first ahead of Japan and Australia.


2011 World championships

In his first event at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, Phelps won bronze in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with
Garrett Weber-Gale Garrett Weber-Gale (born August 6, 1985) is an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and world record-holder in two events. Early life Weber-Gale is Jewish, and was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He graduated from Nic ...
, Jason Lezak, and
Nathan Adrian Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event. In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer O ...
. This was Phelps's first bronze in a
World Aquatics Championships The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run by FINA, and all swimming events ...
. Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 48.08, the second-best lead-off in the field behind James Magnussen's 47.49. In his second event, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won silver for the second consecutive time at a World Aquatics Championships. This time he finished second to
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
in the event with a time of 1:44.79, compared to Lochte's time of 1:44.44. In his third final, the 200-meter butterfly, he won his first gold medal with a time of 1:53.34 to become the first swimmer to win five gold medals in one discipline at the World Aquatics Championships. In his fourth event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps again finished second to Lochte in a personal best of 1:54.16, which was 0.16 behind Lochte who swam a new world record. It was Phelps's 30th medal in the World Aquatics Championships. Shortly after completing the semi-finals of the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps competed in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Peter Vanderkaay,
Ricky Berens Richard "Ricky" Berens (born April 21, 1988) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and current world record-holder. As a member of the U.S. national team, he holds the world record in the 4× ...
, and
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
. Phelps's team won the gold medal in a time of 7:02.67. Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:45.53, the third-best leg in the field. In the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won his third consecutive title (also winning in 2007 and 2009) and second individual title of the meet with a time of 50.71. In his last event, the 4×100-meter medley relay, Phelps teamed with Nick Thoman,
Mark Gangloff Mark Daniel Gangloff (born June 8, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and former world record-holder. Gangloff represented the United States at two consecutive Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Su ...
, and
Nathan Adrian Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event. In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer O ...
to win gold in a time of 3:32.06. Phelps's butterfly leg of 50.57 was by far the fastest butterfly leg in the field.


2012 Summer Olympics


Trials

For the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...
in London, Phelps originally stated he would never do eight events again, and would instead try new events. Phelps said, "I keep saying I want to go down and start sprinting, but Bob owman, Phelps's coachreally isn't so keen on that ... I don't think that's going to happen ... Over the next four years, I'd like to try some different events, maybe not do some of the events I did here." However, at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Phelps qualified in the same eight events that he swam in Beijing in 2008. He later dropped the 200-meter freestyle from his program, as he stated he wanted to focus on the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. During the trials, Phelps finished first in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, and second in the 400-meter individual medley. In making his fourth Olympic team, Phelps holds the record for men for the most Olympic appearances in swimming representing the United States.


London

On July 28, 2012, Phelps placed eighth in the morning prelims for the 400-meter individual medley. Phelps, the two-time defending Olympic champion, won his heat in 4 minutes, 13.33 seconds with a time that was well off his world record of 4:03.84 set four years earlier in Beijing, when Phelps won a record eight gold medals. He out-touched
László Cseh László Cseh (; born 3 December 1985) is a retired Hungarian competitive swimmer and six-time Olympic medalist. He is a 33-time European Champion. His father, László Cseh Sr., also represented Hungary at the Olympics in swimming. In 2020 ...
by 0.07 seconds in his
heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
to qualify last for the final, locking out Cseh. In his first finals of the Summer Olympics, Phelps placed fourth behind fellow American
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
,
Thiago Pereira Thiago Machado Vilela Pereira (born 26 January 1986) is a retired Brazilian international competition swimmer. One of the greatest swimmers in the history of Brazil, Pereira won the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2012 S ...
of Brazil, and
Kosuke Hagino is a Japanese former competitive swimmer who specialized in the individual medley and 200 m freestyle. He is a four-time Olympic medalist, most notably winning gold in the 400 m individual medley at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Hagino holds the ...
of Japan in the 400-meter individual medley. It was the first time Phelps failed to medal in an Olympic event since 2000. The next night, in his second event of the Games, he got a silver as a member of the 4×100-meter free relay. Phelps swam the fastest leg of the US relay team and the second-fastest of anyone in the race. On July 31, 2012, Phelps won a silver medal in the 200-meter butterfly behind South African
Chad le Clos Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos, OIS (born 12 April 1992) is a South African competitive swimmer who is an Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games champion. He is the African record, Commonwealth record, and South African record holder in the short ...
by 5/100ths of a second, and a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, thereby equaling and then surpassing
Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (russian: link=yes, Лариса Семёновна Латынина, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a former Soviet artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 individual Olympic medals and ...
to become the all-time record holder for most Olympic medals won. Latynina was present at the race and asked to be the presenter of Phelps's medal, but was told that Olympic rules would not allow it. She called Phelps deserving of the record. On August 2, 2012, Phelps won his 16th Olympic gold medal when he edged out Ryan Lochte to win the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:54.27, and by that victory also became the first male swimmer to win the same event in three consecutive Olympics. Rebecca Soni and Phelps (twice) are the only swimmers to successfully defend an individual title from the 2008 Games. This win also marked Phelps's fifth Olympic title in the individual medley, breaking the record of four shared by Hungarian
Tamás Darnyi Tamás Darnyi (born 3 June 1967 in Budapest) is a Magyars, Hungarian retired male swimmer. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest medley swimmers in history. He won four gold medals at two Olympic Games (1988 and 1992) and was unbeat ...
and Ukrainian Yana Klochkova. He repeated the achievement of winning the same event at three Olympics the following evening, winning the Olympic gold medal in the 100 m butterfly, his last individual event. After two very close victories in the 100 m butterfly at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics (by 0.04 and 0.01 sec, respectively), in this race Phelps beat Le Clos and
Yevgeny Korotyshkin Yevgeny Yevgeniyevich Korotyshkin, occasionally spelled "Evgeny", (russian: Евгений Евгеньевич Коротышкин) (born 30 April 1983) is a Russian swimmer from Moscow. He specialises in the butterfly stroke, winning the silve ...
, who tied for silver, by 0.23 sec. Phelps's final event was the 4×100-meter medley relay in which he went on to win his 18th career gold medal and his 22nd overall. By winning 4 gold and 2 silver medals, Phelps concluded the 2012 Olympics as the most successful swimmer of the meet for the third Olympics in a row. After his last event, the international swimming federation
FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...
honored Phelps with an award commemorating his standing as the most decorated Olympian ever. After the 2012 Olympics, Phelps retired from swimming, stating: "I'm done. I'm finished. I'm retired. I'm done. No more," and that "I just wanted to be done with swimming and didn't want anything to do with the sport anymore."


2014 comeback from retirement

In April 2014, Phelps announced he would come out of retirement, and would enter an event later that month. In May 2014, he won the 100-meter butterfly event at the Arena Grand Prix in Charlotte, North Carolina. Phelps was reportedly motivated by the national team's failure to win the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay since their
Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
and Rome 2009 titles. The relationship between Phelps and coach Bob Bowman had deteriorated in the preparations for London 2012, so Phelps convinced a skeptical Bowman that he "wasn't training for history. He wasn't training for the medals. He wasn't even training for all the fans. This time Phelps wanted to swim for himself...and enjoy the journey". Since his returning from retirement in 2014, Phelps "scaled back his calorie intake" and "increased his postswim ice baths". By the 2016 Olympic Trials, despite his age Phelps "felt physically stronger in the water, perhaps because of drills Bowman added to his pool workouts, like multiple repeats of 40 seconds of dolphin kicking while hugging a 10-pound weight to his chest".


2015 US Nationals

After having been dropped from the team for the
2015 World Aquatics Championships The 16th FINA World Championships (russian: Чемпионат мира по водным видам спорта 2015), also Aquatics 2015, were held in Kazan, Russia from 24 July to 9 August 2015. Russia hosted this event for the first time. ...
for a
DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
, Phelps instead competed in the US National Championships (long course) in San Antonio as his target meet of the summer. He won gold medals in the 100-meter butterfly (50.45 s), 200-meter butterfly (1:52.94), and the 200-meter individual medley (1:54.75). In each of these events he swam the fastest time in the world for 2015. In December 2015 at the Winter Nationals in
Federal Way Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 census. Federal Way is the tenth-largest city in Washington and the fifth-larg ...
, Phelps won titles in the same three events, again in long course, bringing his career total to 62 national titles.


2016 Summer Olympics


Trials

At the US trials in Omaha for the
2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
, Phelps won the 200 m butterfly (1:54.84), the 200 m individual medley (1:55.91), and the 100 m butterfly (51.00 s) events. This made him the first American male swimmer, and the second American swimmer overall after Dara Torres, to qualify for a fifth Olympics. Phelps's 100 m freestyle times at the Trials were not impressive. However at a final training camp in Atlanta a week before heading to Rio, Phelps put out "the fourth-fastest flat-start time of the year" in a 100 free time trial, automatically securing one of the seven spots on the Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay for the Olympics.


Rio de Janeiro

Phelps was chosen to be the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
flag bearer at the
opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
, which was the first Olympic opening ceremony that he would attend. Phelps was also voted by the U.S. Olympic swim team as one of six team captains for the US delegation to the Olympics. He displayed a relaxed, sociable demeanor in the athletes' village and in press conferences; this pleasant behavior was in stark contrast to his isolation in previous Olympics. He was accompanied by fiancée Nicole Johnson and son Boomer. In his first event on August 7, the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, he won his first gold medal of the 2016 Games and his 19th Olympic gold medal overall. Phelps swam the second leg with what his coach Bob Bowman described as "maybe the best turn that's ever been done", overtaking France's Fabien Gilot to give his American teammates a lead which they would not relinquish. Phelps's leg proved to be the decisive factor in the race, and Gilot later remarked "As fast as my teammates were, the extraterrestrial that is Phelps was faster". Phelps achieved a split time of 47.12, the fourth-fastest of the field (the three fastest times were posted by the team anchors), which was also faster than any of his relay splits at the last three Olympics. In his second event on August 9, the 200-meter butterfly, he became the first swimmer in history to make five finals in the same event, after finishing 5th in 2000, 1st in 2004 and 2008, and 2nd in 2012. ( Federica Pellegrini would be the second swimmer to do so at the
2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
.) At Rio, he won the title that he had lost to
Chad le Clos Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos, OIS (born 12 April 1992) is a South African competitive swimmer who is an Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games champion. He is the African record, Commonwealth record, and South African record holder in the short ...
four years earlier in London, edging Masato Sakai by 0.04 s. Phelps stated that winning back this title had been the main goal during his comeback. The preliminary and final of that event was heavily hyped as a rematch between Phelps and Le Clos. The relationship between Le Clos and Phelps had been cordial back in 2012–13 but it deteriorated in 2014 when Phelps came back from retirement and suggested that the current butterfly times were slow. In the ready room prior to the preliminary race, Le Clos's shadow boxing while Phelps "glowered in a corner" spawned the Internet meme with the hashtag #PhelpsFace. At age 31, the victory made Phelps not only the oldest male champion, but also the oldest individual champion in Olympic swimming history, beating the records set by
Duke Kahanamoku Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968) was a Hawaiian competition swimmer who popularized the sport of surfing. A Native Hawaiian, he was born to a minor noble family less than three years before th ...
in
1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
, and
Inge de Bruijn Inge de Bruijn (; born 24 August 1973) is a Dutch former competitive swimmer. She is a four-time Olympic champion and a former world record-holder. Personal De Bruijn was born in Barendrecht, Netherlands. Inge is the sister of Olympic water p ...
in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
respectively. Phelps also became the first swimmer to win individual gold medals 12 years apart. Both these records were broken by
Anthony Ervin Anthony Lee Ervin (born May 26, 1981) is an American competition swimmer who has won four Olympic medals and two World Championship golds. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 50-meter freestyle, and earned a silver med ...
three days later. Also on August 9, Phelps won his 21st gold medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay together with
Conor Dwyer Conor James Dwyer (born January 10, 1989) is a former American competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. He competed in freestyle and medley events, and won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. 4×200-meter freestyle relay team at ...
, Townley Haas, and
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
. For Phelps and Lochte, this was their 4th consecutive gold medal in this event, an all-time record in swimming for any event. On August 11, Phelps won his 22nd gold medal in the 200 m individual medley. He beat
Kosuke Hagino is a Japanese former competitive swimmer who specialized in the individual medley and 200 m freestyle. He is a four-time Olympic medalist, most notably winning gold in the 400 m individual medley at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Hagino holds the ...
, the 400 m individual medley champion, by 1.95 seconds. This was Phelps's 4th consecutive gold medal in the event as well as his 4th in the Games. He became the first swimmer to win the same individual event four times, surpassing the previous record of three held by Dawn Fraser and
Krisztina Egerszegi Krisztina Egerszegi (; born 16 August 1974) is a Hungarian former world record holding swimmer and one of the greatest Hungarian Olympic champions of the modern era. She is a three-time Olympian (1988, 1992 and 1996) and five-time Olympic cham ...
. He also became the third Olympian to win the same individual event four times, after athletes
Al Oerter Alfred Oerter Jr. (September 19, 1936 – October 1, 2007) was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic Ga ...
and
Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996 ...
. With that 13th individual gold medal, Phelps broke an
ancient Olympic The ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶνες; la, Olympia, neuter plural: "the Olympics") were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. ...
record, set by Leonidas of Rhodes, who had held the most Olympic individual titles of all time, with twelve. In the 100 m butterfly, Phelps was defeated in his last individual event of the Rio Olympics by Singaporean
Joseph Schooling Joseph Isaac Schooling (born 16 June 1995) is a Singaporean professional swimmer who specialises in butterfly, freestyle and medley events. He was the gold medalist in the 100m butterfly at the 2016 Olympics, achieving Singapore's first ev ...
, when he earned joint silver along with Chad le Clos and
László Cseh László Cseh (; born 3 December 1985) is a retired Hungarian competitive swimmer and six-time Olympic medalist. He is a 33-time European Champion. His father, László Cseh Sr., also represented Hungary at the Olympics in swimming. In 2020 ...
. On August 13, in the 4 × 100-meter medley relay, Phelps ended his career with another gold medal, his 23rd at the Olympics and his 28th Olympic medal overall. Together with Ryan Murphy,
Cody Miller Cody William Miller (born January 9, 1992) is an American competitive swimmer. He is a former world record holder in both the men's 4×50 meter freestyle relay and the mixed 4×50 meter freestyle relay as well as a former American record hold ...
, and
Nathan Adrian Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event. In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer O ...
, swimming as the butterfly leg of the
medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music * Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People * Medley (surname), list of people with this n ...
, they broke the Olympic record, and won the United States' 1001st all time
Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece be ...
, in accordance with the USOC. Phelps retired from competitive swimming again following the Rio Olympics. Phelps's performance in the Rio Olympics was unique in "winning multiple gold medals at 31 years old, well beyond the typical peak for male swimmers". Phelps is considered one of the greatest Olympians of all time.


International long-course competition results

: Phelps swam only in the heats. Swimmers who participated in the heats only received medals as well. : Phelps finished fourth in the heats, but he was the third American, hence he did not qualify for the final


Personal bests


Long course (50-meter pool)

r = relay lead-off
Phelps is a former WR holder in this event, however, his personal best came in a 2nd-place finish to
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
's new WR at the 2011 World Championships.


Short course meters (25-meter pool)


Business ventures

In 2011, ''Michael Phelps: Push the Limit'', an
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
/
Kinect Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of fli ...
game, was released, which promised to bring "the fun, fitness and excitement of head-to-head swimming to your living room." The game received a lukewarm review from
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...
, which observed that "the title would have been better as cheap downloadable content or packaged in a larger Olympic sports world."


Personal life

Bob Bowman described Phelps as "a solitary man" with a "rigid focus" at the pool prior to a race, but afterward "a man incredibly invested in the success of the people he cares about". He states that "he's unbelievably kind-hearted", recounting Phelps's interaction with young children after practices. Phelps is married to former
Miss California USA Miss California USA is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. The pageant is directed by Crown Diva Productions. California's most ...
Nicole Johnson. They secretly married on June 13, 2016, and the marriage was not publicly reported until four months later. They met in 2007 at the ESPYs, broke up in 2012, reconciled, and got engaged in February 2015. They have three sons together. The family lives in
Paradise Valley, Arizona Paradise Valley is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb of Phoenix, the state's largest city. It is Arizona's wealthiest municipality. The town is known for its luxury golf courses, shopping, expensive real estate, ...
, where Phelps volunteers alongside Bowman as an assistant coach for the
Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member o ...
swim team. As a teenager, Phelps idolized Australian swimmer
Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
and modeled his public image after Thorpe. Thorpe initially said that it would be highly unlikely for Phelps to win eight gold medals at the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
in Beijing. Phelps used the remarks as motivation and taped the words to his locker during the Games. Thorpe was in the stands for the 4×100-meter medley relay, where Phelps was swimming for his eighth Olympic gold medal. When Phelps and his teammates captured the gold, Thorpe gave a congratulatory kiss to Phelps's mother, then gave a handshake and a hug to congratulate Phelps. Afterwards, Thorpe said "I'm really proud of him not just because he won eight golds. Rather, it's how much he has grown up and matured into a great human being. Never in my life have I been so happy to have been proved wrong." Phelps has also cited
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
as a sporting idol of his, and stated that "he changed the sport of basketball". Phelps is also a fan of the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
and stated that he found his life purpose and desire to compete in the
2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
after seeking
Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional football player who played as a middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 17-year career in the National Football League (NFL). He played ...
's advice. In January 2018, Phelps revealed that he has struggled both with
ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...
and depression, having contemplated suicide after the 2012 Olympics.


Legal issues

At age 19 in November 2004, Phelps was arrested for
driving under the influence of alcohol Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is invo ...
in Salisbury, Maryland. He pleaded guilty to
driving while impaired Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
and was sentenced to serve 18 months of
probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
, fined $250, ordered to speak to high school students about drinking and driving, and to attend a
Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired drivin ...
(MADD) meeting. When Phelps was later asked about the incident by
Matt Lauer Matthew Todd Lauer (; born December 30, 1957) is an American former television news personality, best known for his work with NBC News. After serving as a local news personality in New York City on WNBC, his first national exposure was as the ne ...
on the ''Today Show'', he said that he had "let a lot of people in the country down". In February 2009, a photograph of Phelps using a
bong A bong (also known as a water pipe) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right. ...
went viral; this resulted in the loss of the
Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toa ...
as a sponsor, as well as a three-month suspension by USA Swimming. Phelps admitted that the photo, which was taken at a party at the University of South Carolina, was authentic. He publicly apologized, calling his behavior "inappropriate". In September 2014, Phelps was arrested again, this time on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
. As a result, USA Swimming suspended him from all competitions for six months, and stated he would not be chosen to represent the United States at the
2015 World Aquatics Championships The 16th FINA World Championships (russian: Чемпионат мира по водным видам спорта 2015), also Aquatics 2015, were held in Kazan, Russia from 24 July to 9 August 2015. Russia hosted this event for the first time. ...
in August. With Phelps off the team, the United States failed to qualify for the finals of the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay.


Philanthropy

After the 2008 Olympics, Phelps used his $1 million Speedo bonus to set up the Michael Phelps Foundation. His foundation focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. In 2010, the Michael Phelps Foundation, the Michael Phelps Swim School and KidsHealth.org developed and nationally piloted the "im" program for Boys & Girls Club members. The im program teaches children the importance of being active and healthy, with a focus on the sport of swimming. It also promotes the value of planning and goal-setting. ''im'' is offered through the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and through
Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...
International. The Foundation has since developed two other programs, Level Field Fund-Swimming and Caps-for-a-Cause. The Foundation's largest event is its annual fundraiser, the Michael Phelps Foundation Golf Classic. Phelps stated he hoped to work with his Foundation more after retirement from competition following the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...
in London. In 2017, Phelps joined the board of Medibio, a company focused on diagnosis of mental health disorders.


Records

Phelps has set 39 world records (29 individual, 10 relay), which is more records than any other swimmer that is recognized by
FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...
; this achievement surpassed Mark Spitz's previous record of 33 world records (26 individual, 7 relay). However, Johnny Weissmuller is reported to have broken 67 official world records. All but two of the records were set in a long-course (50-meter) pool. , he holds world records in three events (indicated in bold). : with
Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...
, Brendan Hansen, and Jason Lezak : with
Neil Walker Neil Martin Andrew Walker (born September 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2009–2015), New York Mets (2016–17), Milwaukee Brewers ...
,
Cullen Jones Cullen Andrew Jones (born February 29, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in freestyle sprint events. As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter freestyle ...
, and Jason Lezak : with
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by ...
,
Klete Keller Klete Derik Keller (born March 21, 1982) is an American convicted felon and former competitive swimmer. Before retiring from swimming in 2008, Keller won five Olympic medals, including two golds, at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics in the ...
, and Peter Vanderkaay : with
Garrett Weber-Gale Garrett Weber-Gale (born August 6, 1985) is an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and world record-holder in two events. Early life Weber-Gale is Jewish, and was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He graduated from Nic ...
, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezak : with Ryan Lochte,
Ricky Berens Richard "Ricky" Berens (born April 21, 1988) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and current world record-holder. As a member of the U.S. national team, he holds the world record in the 4× ...
, and Peter Vanderkaay : with Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens, and
David Walters David Lee Walters (born November 20, 1951) is an American politician who was the 24th governor of Oklahoma from 1991 to 1995. Born in Canute, Oklahoma, Walters was a project manager for Governor David Boren and the youngest executive officer w ...
: with Aaron Peirsol, Eric Shanteau and David Walters : short course record with Nick Thoman,
Mark Gangloff Mark Daniel Gangloff (born June 8, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and former world record-holder. Gangloff represented the United States at two consecutive Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Su ...
and
Nathan Adrian Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event. In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer O ...
: short course record with Nathan Adrian,
Matt Grevers Matthew Grevers (born March 26, 1985) is an American competition swimmer who competes in the backstroke and freestyle events, and is a six-time Olympic medalist. He has won a total of thirty-three medals in major international competition, fou ...
and Garrett Weber-Gale


Guinness World Records

Phelps holds 20
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
which predominantly consist of accumulative Guinness World Records ("Guinness mosts", records formulated starting with "most") for total number of accomplishments and victories in swimming such as: most medals, consecutive number of medals, most medals within one tournament, most records in swimming etc. It is the highest number of accumulative Guinness World Records held by an athlete. # Most world records set for swimming (male) # Most individual swimming Olympic gold medals # Most medals won at the FINA Swimming World Championships # Most Olympic gold medals in team swimming # Most medals won at the Olympics for swimming (male) # Most Men's World Swimmer of the Year Awards # Most Olympic golds at one Games (male) # Most gold medals won at the Olympics for an individual event (male) # Most FINA world records held by an individual # Most Olympic medals won, Men # Most consecutive Olympic swimming gold medals in the same event (male) # Fastest swim long course 400 metres medley (male) # Most gold medals won at the Olympics (male) # Most individual Olympic medals (male) # Most swimming Olympic medals won, men (single games) # Most Olympic medals won (single games), men # Most gold medals won at a single FINA World Championships (individual). He also won most gold medals in FINA world championship's history. # Most silver medals awarded in a single Olympic swimming race # Fastest swim short course relay 4 x 100 metres freestyle (male) # Fastest swim long course relay 4 x 200 metres freestyle (male)


Honors and awards

Phelps was a USA Olympic team member in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016, and holds the records for most Olympic gold medals (23), most such medals in individual events (13), and most such medals at a single games (8, in Beijing 2008). A street in his hometown of Baltimore was renamed The Michael Phelps Way in 2004. On April 9, 2009, Phelps was invited to appear before the
Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...
and the
Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single-m ...
, to be honored for his Olympic accomplishments. Phelps has also received the following awards: * ''
Swimming World ''Swimming World'' is a US-based monthly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'', (known ...
'' World Swimmer of the Year Award: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016 * ''Swimming World'' American Swimmer of the Year Award: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2016 * Fédération internationale de natation swimmer of the year (since 2010): 2012, 2016 * Golden Goggle Male Performance of the Year (since 2004): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016 * Golden Goggle Relay Performance of the Year (since 2004): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016 * Golden Goggle Male Athlete of the Year (since 2004): 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 * Golden Goggle Impact award: 2016 *
SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' news is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012 and quickly became the most-read swimming website in the world. ...
Swammy Award for Male Swimmer of the Year: 2016 * USOC SportsMan of the Year Award: 2004, 2008, 2011–12, 2016 *
James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...
: 2003 * ''Gazzetta dello Sport'' Sportsman of the Year: 2003, 2004 * Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award (nominated): 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013 * Laureus Comeback of the Year Award: 2017 * ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...
'' Sportsman of the Year: 2008 *
Associated Press Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award t ...
: 2008, 2012 *
Marca Leyenda ''Marca'' Leyenda (''Marca'' legend) is an award given by the Spanish sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the best sport professionals in history. Since its inception in 1997 over 80 people have received this award. List of winners References {{Refl ...
award: 2008 * Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion, 2019, to recognize his advocacy for people with disabilities and his own journey with mental health.


See also

* List of multiple Olympic gold medalists * List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games * List of multiple Olympic medalists *
List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists This page is a list of various individuals who are multiple Olympic medalists at the Summer Olympics. List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists This list shows only the athletes who have won ''at least eight medals'' at the Summer Olympics. Mo ...
* List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games * List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event *
List of top Olympic gold medalists in swimming This is the top 15 male Olympic swimming gold medals. This is the top 15 female Olympic swimming gold medalists: Individual events All swimmers with at least four individual gold medals are listed. Men Women See also * List of World A ...
* List of individual gold medalists in swimming at the Olympics and World Aquatics Championships (men) *
World record progression 100 metres butterfly The first world record in the 100 metres butterfly in long course (50 metres) swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in 1957, for both men and women. In the short-course (25 metres) swimming events, t ...
*
World record progression 200 metres butterfly This is a history of the progression of the World Record for the Swimming event: the 200 Butterfly. It is a listing of the fastest-time-ever swum in the event, in both long course (50m) and short course (25m) swimming pool. These records are main ...
* World record progression 200 metres freestyle * World record progression 200 metres individual medley * World record progression 400 metres individual medley *
World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay This article includes the world record progression for the 4×100 metres freestyle relay, and it shows the chronological history of world record times in that competitive swimming event. The 4×100 metres freestyle relay is a relay event in which ...
*
World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
* World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

* * * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Michael 1985 births American male backstroke swimmers American male butterfly swimmers American male freestyle swimmers American male medley swimmers American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American people of Scottish descent American people of Welsh descent American philanthropists BBC Sports Personality Lifetime Achievement Award recipients James E. Sullivan Award recipients Laureus World Sports Awards winners Living people Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Michigan Wolverines men's swimmers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming People from Towson, Maryland People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Sportspeople from Baltimore Sportspeople from Baltimore County, Maryland Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Maryland Towson High School alumni World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming World record holders in swimming