biography

"if you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren't willing to do."

— michael phelps

About - "Story"

Michael Fred Phelps II is an American former competitive swimmer who was born on June 30th, 1985, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He is the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time with a total of 28 medals across four Olympics games. Michael is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer in history and one of the greatest athletes of all time. Phelps discovered swimming at a very young age where he joined the North Baltimore Aquatic Club when he was just seven years old and he very quickly showed that he had exceptional almost natural talent in the pool. During his time at this club, under the guidance of coach Bob Bowman, he started to develop his work ethic, discipline and determination that would later assist him in his endeavors. Michael Phelps journey to success began early at the ripe age of 15 years old, when he qualified for the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney. This qualification made him one of the youngest male swimmers to compete for the United States in decades. He proved to everyone that he could compete with the world's top swimmers, despite not winning a medal, when he finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly. Just one year later, he became the youngest male swimmer to set a new world record when he broke the 200-meter butterfly. Phelps' big breakthrough came at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, when he won a total of six gold medals and two bronze medals. Despite this breakthrough, his most famous achievements to this day occurred at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where Phelps won eight gold medals. This achievement broke the previous record of seven gold medals set by Mark Spitz in 1972. He is now known as one of the greatest Olympians in history. To continue, Phelps maintained his dominance at the 2012 London Olympics as well as the 2016 Rio Olympics. No athlete in Olympic history has won more medals than Michael Phelps as he has accumulated 28 Olympics medals across the five Olympic Games, with 23 of the 28 recorded as gold. His dedication to the sport as well as himself and the resilience that he has shown is what makes Michael Phelps so great. He has proven himself by training harder than most athletes, this was often shown through swimming for hours everyday and by maintaining an intense training schedule all year round. His ability to adapt easily allowed him to excel in numerous swimming events, this is something that not every swimmer can do and not many have achieved. He initially retired in the 2012 Olympics but made a successful comeback in 2016 for the Rio Olympics. This comeback showed his ability to overcome many challenges such as the ongoing pressures of fame and his personal struggles. Outside of his Olympic career Phelps has left a lasting legacy through his foundation the Michael Phelps Foundation. It promotes swimming education, water safety and living a healthy lifestyle and his achievements have inspired millions of athletes around the world to pursue pure excellence. Today, Michael Phelps is remembered not just only for his Olympic career and being one of the most decorated Olympians of all time but also as someone to look up to as a symbol of determination, commitment and pure athletic greatness. Overall, his story alone demonstrates the success that can come from hard work and talent. 

Notable achievements & accomplishments

Michael Phelps is the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, he has achieved more success than any other athlete. Through his career he won a total of 28 Olympic medals, this included 23 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. One of Phelp’s most notable achievements came in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games when he won eight gold medals in that singular Olympics. This achievement broke the previous world record of seven gold medals at one Olympic Games, this title was held by swimmer Mark Spitz since 1972. Michael Phelps also holds the world record for the most gold medals won by an athlete from the Olympics with 23 gold medals that were won between 2004 and 2016. To add, he has become the first athlete to win eight medals of any colour at one Olympic Games when he won six gold and two bronze medals at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Outside of the Olympics he has dominated international swimming competitions winning a total of 82 medals in major international events including the Olympics, World Championships and Pan Pacific Championships. Out of these medals, 65 are gold and this has demonstrated his consistent greatness over the years. Michael Phelps is also a world-record holder in numerous events, these include the 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter butterfly, the 200-meter individual medley, the 200-meter freestyle and the 400-meter individual medley. His records have earned him numerous awards and these include eight World Swimmer of the Year awards as well as eleven American Swimmer of the Year awards. Overall, his achievements have established himself as one of the greatest swimmers of all time as well as one of the greatest athletes in sporting history. Many believe that these records will stand for decades to come. 

Overall contributions to the community and sport

Michael Phelps impact on his community extends far outside his achievements in the pool, because he is one of the most successful athletes in history he has been able to play a significant role in inspiring young athletes, promoting swimming and helping advocate for important social issues. One of his most important and impactful contributions to the community was when he established the Michael Phelps Foundation in 2008. The foundation focuses on promoting healthy lifestyle, water safety and helping develop future athletes. It provides children with swimming lessons and encourages a healthy lifestyle that helps reduce the risk of drowning while increasing their access to swimming opportunities. Phelps has also helped to advocate for people's mental health awareness as he has openly discussed his struggles with anxiety and depression following his Olympics career. He has helped to reduce any stigma that continues to surround mental health and its challenges on athletes as well as the general public. Through sharing his experiences and struggles he has encouraged others to seek support and has shown the importance of mental health combined with physical health. Phelps has inspired a whole new generation of athletes worldwide through swimming. Just his record breaking performances alone have increased global interest in the art of competitive swimming. He has set a new standard for excellence and has encouraged many young individuals to take up the sport. He has also influenced the lives of many swimmers and coaches around the world. Additionally, Phelps has used his influence to support many charitable organizations, he has done this through public speaking, philanthropic work and partnerships where he continues to promote positive change. In all, Micheal Phelps is a profound member of community and sport that goes far beyond his olympic medals. He has created a future and a legacy that will influence many for generations. 

Influence of the athlete on you and society

Swimmer Michael Phelps has always been an athlete of interest to me as he has had significant influence on many. Through his continued dedication, perseverance and continuous achievements he has shown that great success is due to determination, hard work and discipline, never giving up. His journey alone from a young swimmer to the Olympian he became shows that commitment and setting goals and achieving them despite challenges will get you far. Personally, he has shown me what it means to be an athlete at the highest level and how to strive for excellence in my own pursuits. His continuous improvements and commitment to training is unlike anything that I have ever seen and that alone shows that talent by itself is not enough to achieve that level of greatness. He motivates me to try my best, work hard, stay focused and has shown me that even though it's hard everyone can overcome obstacles. As someone who is interested in and wants to study sport and exercise science, I truly admire his dedication to his performance, physical fitness and his athletic excellence. Phelps has also had a notable impact on society as his success has brought a lot of attention to the sport of swimming, this has inspired many to become involved in not just sport alone but physical activity as well. There are many athletes who view him as their role model because of his determination, his ability to perform even under pressure and alongside this his success. Michael Phelps' influence extends beyond his Olympics achievements into everyday life through the people that he inspires to become the best versions of themselves through sport and physical activity. He has contributed to society greatly through speaking about mental health openly as well as his personal experiences with anxiety and depression. He continues to positively impact both the sports world and everyday society.