MICHAEL PHELPS
Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985) is an American swimmer. Phelps was born and raised in the Lake Point area of Baltimore County, Maryland. His father Fred was a football player in high school and almost made the team for the Washington Redskins. His mother Deborah Sue "Debbie" Davisson Phelps is a middle school principal.
Phelps began swimming at age seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters (Whitney and Hilary) and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy. In his youth, Phelps was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Phelps trained at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman and excelled as a swimmer.
By the age of 10, he 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 and becoming the youngest male 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 m butterfly.
Phelps proceeded to make a name for himself in swimming shortly thereafter. At the World Championship trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, 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, breaking the record previously held by Ian Thorpe when he lowered the 400 m freestyle world record at 16 years, 10 months.[8] At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200 m butterfly en route to becoming a world champion for the first time.[9] He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian. As of August 2, 2009, Phelps has broken thirty-eight world records in swimming.
Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics, his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972.
Overall, Phelps has won 16 Olympic medals: six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008. In doing so he has twice equaled the record eight medals of any type at a single Olympics achieved by Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games. His five golds in individual events tied the single Games record set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Phelps career Olympic medal total is second only to the 18 Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina won over three Olympics, including nine gold.
Phelps's international titles and record breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award six times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eight times. He has won a total of fifty-six career medals thus far in major international competition, forty-five gold, seven silver, and two bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award.
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.
From Wikipedia
Phelps began swimming at age seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters (Whitney and Hilary) and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy. In his youth, Phelps was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Phelps trained at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman and excelled as a swimmer.
By the age of 10, he 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 and becoming the youngest male 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 m butterfly.
Phelps proceeded to make a name for himself in swimming shortly thereafter. At the World Championship trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, 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, breaking the record previously held by Ian Thorpe when he lowered the 400 m freestyle world record at 16 years, 10 months.[8] At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200 m butterfly en route to becoming a world champion for the first time.[9] He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian. As of August 2, 2009, Phelps has broken thirty-eight world records in swimming.
Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics, his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972.
Overall, Phelps has won 16 Olympic medals: six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008. In doing so he has twice equaled the record eight medals of any type at a single Olympics achieved by Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games. His five golds in individual events tied the single Games record set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Phelps career Olympic medal total is second only to the 18 Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina won over three Olympics, including nine gold.
Phelps's international titles and record breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award six times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eight times. He has won a total of fifty-six career medals thus far in major international competition, forty-five gold, seven silver, and two bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award.
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.
From Wikipedia
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