Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps: Biography in Details

Who is Michael Phelps?

Michael Phelps is an American former competitive swimmer and an Olympian.

By winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps surpassed fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven medals.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Michael Phelps won five gold medals and one silver. This led him to become the most successful athlete in the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.

Michael Phelps’s Early life, Childhood, Education

Michael Fred Phelps famously known as Michael Phelps was born on June 30, 1985, in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson.

He studied at Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and Towson High School. Phelps is the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue “Debbie” Phelps (nee Davisson) worked as a middle school principal.

His father, Michael Fred Phelps, is a retired Maryland State Trooper who played football in high school and college and tried out for the Washington Redskins in the 1970s. Phelps has mixed ethnicity.

He 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. He graduated from Towson High School in 2003.

Michael 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 learn how to swim. My sisters and I fell in love with the sport, and we decided to swim”.

When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was found to be suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

By the age of 10, Michael Phelps already had 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 2016 Phelps still holds 12 age group records (nine in long courses and three in short courses).

Michael Phelps’s Career, Salary, and the Net worth

Now moving to Phelp’s outstanding career, Michael Phelps was an extremely dedicated and hard-working swimmer.

Michael Phelps broke a number of world records and also further down in his career, he improved to the extent of breaking his own records.

In Spring 2001, he became the youngest male swimmer to ever set a world record which he did at the 200-meter butterfly event. He was just 15 years and 9 months at that time.

At Fukuoka, Japan, Michael earned his first international medal. Phelps continued this trend of setting more world records which he did at the 400-meter individual medley, the 100-meter butterfly, and the 200-meter individual medley.

After his graduation from Towson in 2003, Phelps set five world records. Phelps became a superhero at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, winning 8 medals (including 6  gold), tying with Soviet gymnast Aleksandr Dityatin (1980) for the most medals in a single Olympic Games.

Michael Phelps went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with coach Bowman to study sports marketing and management.

Michael Phelps set more records at the 2006 Pan Pacific Championship in Victoria, British Columbia, and the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Michael won gold medals in the 4-by-100-meter medley relay,4-by-100-meter freestyle relay, 200-meter freestyle, the 200-meter butterfly, and 4-by-200 meter freestyle relay, 200-meter individual medley, and 100-meter butterfly.

World records were set in each of these events, except one.

In 2012, Michael’s Olympic medal count increased to 22. He beat gymnast Larisa Latynina’s record of 18 medals.

At the 2012 London Olympic Games, he won four gold medals, which were in the 4-by-200-meter freestyle relay, 200-meter individual medley, 100-meter butterfly, 4-by-100-meter freestyle relay, and 200-meter butterfly.

After the London Olympics, Phelps announced he was retiring from his sports career. He, however, competed at the Mesa Grand Prix and also gave an impressive showing at the Pan Pacific Championships in Australia. There he won three golds and two silvers.

Michael Phelps participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics and won several medals.

On August 9, 2016, he made history again when he won gold in both the 200-meter butterfly and as the anchor in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay along with Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas, and Ryan Lochte. Michael was also the first swimmer to win four consecutive gold medals in the same event.

His teammate Ryan Lochte told the media that Michael would be back for the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo. However, Michael confirmed to reporters that he was retiring.

Michael Phelps is known to have won 28 Olympic medals at five Olympic Games, including 23 Olympic gold medals and 13 individual golds, thus breaking the record of Leonidas of Rhodes, an Olympic runner and one of the greatest athletes of ancient Greece, who won 12 Olympic victory wreaths in his career time.

Phelps made history as the oldest individual gold medalist in Olympic swimming history.

In addition to his successful swimming career, Michael Phelps has also penned two books; Beneath the Surface: My Story (2008) and No Limits: The Will to Succeed (2009).

Michael Phelps is the co-founder of the nonprofit organization Swim with the Stars, which holds camps for swimmers of all ages. Michael Phelps has a Net worth of $85 Million as of 2022.

Michael Phelp’s rumors and controversy

Michael Phelps had legal problems when he was charged with driving under the influence. He was fined and had to face legal action and probation.

Michael Phelps is rumored to likely return to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Michael Phelp’s body measurement

Michael Phelps stands tall at 6 feet 4 inches. His arm spans are 6 feet 7 inches, 3 inches more than his height. Normally, a person’s arm span is equal to his/her height.

This enables him to have an amazing reach with every stroke, pulling him through the water ahead of the competition.

Phelps weighs 88 kg. His hair is brown in color and his eyes are hazel.

Michael Phelp’s social media profile

Michael Phelps has a social media presence.

His Twitter account has 2.25 million followers. On his Instagram, he has 3.3 million people following. His Facebook account has 3.3 million.

References: (biography.com, olympic.org)

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