Michael Phelps is one of the most successful American swimmers, with record breaking speed and accolades, including 8 gold medals in the 2008 summer Olympics.
SWIMMING ACHIEVEMENT
· 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan – 1st: 200m butterfly
· 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain - 1st: 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 4x100m medley relay; 2nd: 100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay
· 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece - 1st: 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 4x100m medley relay, 4x200m freestyle relay;3rd: 4x100m freestyle relay, 200m freestyle
· 2004 World Championships in Indianapolis, IN – 1st: 200m freestyle
· 2005 World Championships in Montreal, Canada – 1st: 200m freestyle, 200m individual medley, 4x100m medley relay, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay; 2nd: 100m butterfly
· 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia – 1st: 4x100 m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay, 200m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 100m butterfly, 400m individual medley
MICHAEL PHELPS COACHED BY BOB BOWMAN
In 1996, Michael Phelps met his coach, Bob Bowman, after he started training at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club at the Meadowbrook Aquatic and Fitness Center. Recognizing the 11-year-old's talents and fierce sense of competition, Bob Bowman took him under his wing and they began an intense training regime together, often working out up to 10 times per week.
By 1999, Michael Phelps had made the U.S. National B Team. At the Olympic Trials in 2000, he placed second, securing a spot on the U.S. Olympic Swim Team at the age of 14. While he failed to make much of a splash at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, he would soon begin to break world records on his way to becoming a major force in competitive swimming.
MICHAEL PHELPS SETS WORLD RECORDS
During the spring of 2001, Michael Phelps became the youngest male swimmer in history to ever set a world record when he broke the previous one in the 200-meter butterfly. Not long after achieving that milestone, he established a new record in the same event in Fukuoka, Japan, during the 2001 World Championships. With a time of 1:54.58, he also earned his first international medal. He decided to forfeit college to turn pro, as sponsors such as Speedo signed him to lucrative endorsement deals.
Michael Phelps continued to set new marks at the 2002 U.S. Summer Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, establishing the U.S. record in the 100-meter butterfly and the 200-meter individual medley, and setting a new world record for the 400-meter individual medley. The following year, with a time of 4:09.09, the swimmer established another new world record in the same event.
Shortly after graduating from Towson High School in the spring of 2003, the 17-year-old set five world records, including the 200-meter individual medley at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. At the U.S. Summer Nationals in College Park, Maryland, Michael Phelps became the first male swimmer to win five national titles in a single meet.
He kicked off the 2004 season by winning five gold medals at the Conoco Phillips National Championships. During trials for the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, he once again established a world record in the 400-meter individual medley when he was clocked at 4:08.41.
MICHAEL PHELPS AT THE 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES
Michael Phelps became a mini media sensation going into the 2004 Athens Olympics, as he was heavily hyped to beat legendary swimmer Mark Spitz's record-setting seven gold-medal wins at the 1972 Munich Olympics. With a chance to compete in eight separate events, some of his teammates wondered aloud whether he was allowed automatic berth to the 100-meter freestyle team to further the "media circus" hype.
On August 14, 2004, Michael Phelps scored Olympic gold for the first time and also broke his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley, shaving 0.15 seconds off his previous mark. Six days later, he beat teammate Ian Crocker in the 100-meter butterfly final by 0.04 seconds. As part of the American medley team that set a world record in the 4x100-meter medley relay, he received a gold medal along with his teammates.
Michael Phelps fell short of matching Mark Spitz's accomplishment when he took bronze in the 200-meter freestyle, and also had to settle for a bronze medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay as the result of a poor performance from Ian Crocker. He did manage to collect six gold medals at the Games, with a grand total of eight to his name, matching the previous record for most medals won by an individual in a single Olympics set by Aleksandr Dityatin in 1980.
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