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Michael Phelps Michael Phelps in 2004 Personal information Full name: Michael Fred Phelps Nickname(s): MP Nationality:  United States Stroke(s): Butterfly, Individual Medley, Freestyle, Backstroke Club: Club Wolverine, University of Michigan Date of birth: June 30, 1985 (1985-06-30) (age 23) Place of birth: Baltimore, Maryland, United States Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Weight: 195 pounds (88 kg)

Medal record Men's Swimming Competitor for  United States Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens[1] 100 m butterfly Gold 2004 Athens 200 m butterfly Gold 2004 Athens 200 m individual medley Gold 2004 Athens 400 m individual medley Gold 2004 Athens 4 x 200 m freestyle relay Gold 2004 Athens 4 x 100 m medley relay Bronze 2004 Athens 200 m freestyle Bronze 2004 Athens 4 x 100 m freestyle relay World Championships - Long Course Gold 2001 Fukuoka 200 m butterfly Gold 2003 Barcelona 200 m butterfly Gold 2003 Barcelona 200 m individual medley Gold 2003 Barcelona 400 m individual medley Gold 2003 Barcelona 4 x 100 m medley relay Gold 2005 Montreal[2] 200 m freestyle Gold 2005 Montreal 200 m individual medley Gold 2005 Montreal 4 x 100 m freestyle relay Gold 2005 Montreal 4 x 200 m freestyle relay Gold 2005 Montreal 4 x 100 m medley relay Gold 2007 Melbourne[3] 200 m freestyle Gold 2007 Melbourne 100 m butterfly Gold 2007 Melbourne 200 m butterfly Gold 2007 Melbourne 200 m individual medley Gold 2007 Melbourne 400 m individual medley Gold 2007 Melbourne 4 x 100 m freestyle relay Gold 2007 Melbourne 4 x 200 m freestyle relay Silver 2003 Barcelona 100 m butterfly Silver 2003 Barcelona 4 x 200 m freestyle relay Silver 2005 Montreal 100 m butterfly World Championships - Short Course Gold 2004 Indianapolis[4] 200 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships Gold 2002 Yokohama 200 m individual medley Gold 2002 Yokohama 400 m individual medley Gold 2002 Yokohama 4 x 100 m medley relay Gold 2006 Victoria 200 m butterfly Gold 2006 Victoria 200 m individual medley Gold 2006 Victoria 400 m individual medley Gold 2006 Victoria 4 x 100 m freestyle relay Gold 2006 Victoria 4 x 200 m freestyle relay Silver 2002 Yokohama 200 m butterfly Silver 2002 Yokohama 4 x 200 m freestyle relay Silver 2006 Victoria 200 m backstroke

Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American swimmer who holds World Records in several events. Phelps won eight medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, six of which were gold, which tied the record for medals at a single Olympics, a record that had been held by Alexander Dityatin since 1980.^[5] Phelps' international titles, along with his various world records, have resulted in his being named World Swimmer of the Year in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007. He has qualified to compete in eight swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Career

Early years

As a young teenager, Phelps trained at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, under coach Bob Bowman. At the age of 15, Phelps competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, becoming the youngest American male swimmer at an Olympic Games in 68 years. While he did not win a medal, he was fifth in the 200 m Butterfly. Phelps proceeded to make a name for himself in swimming shortly thereafter. Five months after the Sydney Olympics, Phelps broke the world record in the 200 m butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest man ever to set a swimming world record.^[6] He then broke his own record again at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan (1:54.58). At the 2002 Summer Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Phelps also broke the world record for the 400 m individual medley and set American marks in the 100 m butterfly and the 200 m individual medley.

In 2003, Phelps broke his own world record in the 400 m individual medley (4:09.09) and in June, he broke the world record in the 200 m individual medley (1:56.04). Then on July 7, 2004, Phelps broke his own world record again in the 400 m individual medley (4:08.41) during the U.S. trials for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

In 2004, Phelps left North Baltimore Aquatic Club with Bob Bowman to train at the University of Michigan for Club Wolverine.

2004 Summer Olympic Games

See also: Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Phelps' dominance has brought comparisons to former swimming great Mark Spitz,^[7] who won seven gold medals in the 1972 Summer Olympics, a world record. Phelps tied Mark Spitz's record of four gold medals won in single person events. Phelps had the chance to break Spitz's record of 7 total gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics by competing in eight swimming events (5 of which were individual events): the 200 m freestyle, the 100 m butterfly, the 200 m butterfly, the 200 m individual medley, the 400 m individual medley, the 4x100 m freestyle relay, 4x200 m freestyle relay, and the 4x100 m medley relay. However, his 4x100 m freestyle relay team only won the bronze medal, and he personally placed for bronze in the 200 m freestyle. Thus, he fell short of that record. However, he did win eight medals in one Olympics, a feat only achieved by Alexander Dityatin, a gymnast, in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

Had he won seven golds, he would have been eligible for a US$1 million bonus from his sponsor, Speedo.^[8] Phelps does, however, have another chance at this $1 million should he win seven or more golds at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

On August 14, 2004, he won his first Olympic gold, in the 400 m individual medley, setting another new world record (4:08.26). On August 16 he was beaten by the Australian winner Ian Thorpe and the Dutch Pieter van den Hoogenband in 200 m freestyle final, called the race of the century.^[9]

On August 20, in the 100 m butterfly final, Phelps defeated American teammate Ian Crocker (who holds the world record in the event) by just 0.04 seconds. Traditionally, the Olympian who places highest in an individual event will be automatically given the corresponding leg of the 4x100 m medley relay. This gave Phelps an automatic entry into the medley relay but he deferred and Crocker swam instead. The American medley team went on to win the event in world record time, and, since he had raced in a preliminary heat of the medley relay, Phelps was also awarded a gold medal along with the team members that competed in the final.

Recent years

Phelps moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan following the 2004 Olympics when his longtime coach at the North Baltimore Athletic Club, Bob Bowman, became head coach of the University of Michigan swimming team. Phelps served as a volunteer assistant coach, but did not swim for the university's team in NCAA competition because of his loss of amateur status, having accepted endorsement money from his sponsors Speedo, Visa, Omega, and PowerBar.^[10] Instead, he trained with and competed for Club Wolverine, a USA Swimming club affiliated with the university, between 2004 and 2008. The Baltimore Sun said in August 2008 that Phelps earns $5 million annually in endorsements.^[11]

At the 2007 Worlds, Phelps won 7 gold medals, tying the record, and broke 5 world records. He co-founded the "Swim with the Stars" program, along with Ian Crocker and Lenny Krayzelburg, a program which promotes swimming and conducts camps for swimmers of all ages.

2008 Summer Olympic Games

See also: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Phelps has qualified to compete in the following events in Beijing, China:^[11]

Personal life

Phelps grew up in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated from Towson High School in 2003.^[11] His father, Fred Phelps (no relation to Fred Phelps of Kansas), worked for the Maryland State Police and his mother, Debbie Davisson Phelps, is a middle school principal.^[12] The two divorced in 1994.^[11] Phelps, whose nickname is "MP", has two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary.^[11][12] Both of them were swimmers as well, with Whitney coming close to making the U.S. Team for the 1996 Summer Olympics before injuries derailed her career.

In his youth, Phelps was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).^[11] He started swimming at age seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his restless energy. He blossomed quickly as a swimmer, and by the age of 10 held a national record for his age group. More age group records followed, and Phelps' rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15.^[13]

In November 2004, Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Salisbury, Maryland. He pleaded guilty to driving while impaired the following month and was granted probation before judgment and ordered to serve 18 months probation, fined $250, obligated to speak to high schoolers about drinking and driving, and had to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) meeting. ^[14][15] Questioned about the incident later that month by Matt Lauer on the Today Show, Phelps said it was an "isolated incident" and that he had "definitely let myself down and my family down ... I think I let a lot of people in the country down".^[11]

Between 2004 and 2008, Phelps attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, studying sports marketing and management. In May 2008, Phelps said he intends to return to Baltimore following the 2008 Olympics, joining Bob Bowman there when he leaves the University of Michigan, saying, "I'm not going to swim for anybody else. I think we can both help the North Baltimore Athletic Club go further. I'm definitely going to be in Baltimore next year." The club has announced that Bowman is leaving the University of Michigan to become the club's CEO.^[16]

In a front page illustrated article profiling Phelps on the eve of the 2008 Summer Olympics, The Baltimore Sun described the hometown swimmer as "a solitary man" with a "rigid focus" at the pool prior to a race, but afterwards "a man incredibly invested in the success of the people he cares about".^[11] Bowman told a Sun interviewer, "He's unbelievably kind-hearted", recounting Phelps' interaction with young children after practices.^[11]

Major achievements

International events

LC: long course - 50 m pool; SC: short course - 25 m pool.

U.S. national titles

With 38 national titles as of 2007, Phelps is beginning to approach the record of 48 held by Tracy Caulkins.

Meters Nationals (38+5):

50 m free (1): '07 SCN

100 m free (4): '07 WIN, '05 SPG, '04 SPG, '03 SUM

200 m free (7): '07 SUM (US), '06 SUM, '05 SUM, '05 SPG, '04 SPG, '03 SUM (AR), '03 SPG

400 m free (2): '05 SPG, '03 SUM (AR)

100 m back (1): '07 SUM (US)

200 m back (4): '07 SUM (US), '04 SPG, '03 SUM, '03 SPG

100 m fly (7): '07 SUM, '06 SUM, '05 SPG, '04 SPG (US), '03 SPG, '02 SUM (AR), ’01 SUM

200 m fly (4): '06 SUM, '05 SUM, '02 SUM (US), '01 SPG (WR)

200 m IM (6): '06 SUM, '05 SPG, '04 SPG, '03 SUM (WR), '02 SUM (AR), ’01 SUM

400 m IM (2): '06 SUM, '02 SUM (WR)

4 x 100 m medley (2): '07 SUM, '06 SUM

4 x 100 m free (2): '07 SUM, '05 SUM

4 x 200 m free (1): '05 SUM (US)

Yards Nationals (2+1):

100 yd free (1): '07 SCYN

200 yd free (1): '07 SCYN

4 x 200 yd free (1): '07 SCYN (AR)

• Relays do not count as individual national titles.
• USA Swimming is currently in the process of moving away from having 2 National Championships per year to only 1. As a result, he has not and may not attend many more Spring Nationals.

Records and Rankings

Currently held records

World records set by Phelps

With 25 world records (22 individual + 3 relay) as of July 4, 2008, Phelps is beginning to approach the record held by Mark Spitz of 33 world records (26 individual + 7 relay). All of the records were set in a long course (50 meter) pool.

^a  with Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen and Jason Lezak

^b  with Neil Walker, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak

^c  with Ryan Lochte, Klete Keller and Peter Vanderkaay

Best Times and All-Time Event Rankings

See also

• World record progression 200 metres freestyle
• World record progression 100 metres butterfly
• World record progression 200 metres butterfly
• World record progression 200 metres medley
• World record progression 400 metres medley

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Michael Phelps

• Michael Phelps official web site
• Biography at USA Swimming
• Michael Phelps at the United States Olympic Committee.
• Stroke by Stroke: How Michael Phelps turbocharged his repertoire (photos).
• [1] Michael Phelps breaks his own 400m IM record.
• Michael Phelps at the Internet Movie Database
• Videos & Results on SwimPassion.net
• "Michael Phelps", n°3 on Time’s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"

Records
Preceded by Tom Malchow	Men's 200 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) March 30, 2001 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Tom Dolan	Men's 400 metre individual medley world record holder (long course) August 15, 2002 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Jani Sievinen	Men's 200 metre individual medley world record holder (long course) June 29, 2003 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Andriy Serdinov	Men's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) July 25, 2003 – July 26, 2003	Succeeded by Ian Crocker
Preceded by Ian Thorpe	Men's 200 metre freestyle world record holder (long course) March 27, 2007 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Ian Thorpe	World Swimmer of the Year 2003-2004	Succeeded by Grant Hackett
Preceded by Grant Hackett	World Swimmer of the Year 2006-2007	Succeeded by incumbent