Michael Fred Phelps II, better known as Michael Phelps, is a former competitive swimmer from the United States. He has six gold medals from the 2004 Olympics, eight gold medals from the 2008 Olympics, and four gold medals from the 2012 Olympics.
With a total of 28 medals, including 23 golds, he became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time. When he was seven, he started swimming to burn off extra energy, and when he was 10, he was diagnosed with ADHD. Michael became the US swim team’s youngest male member in 68 years, and he reported that he ate 12,000 calories each day during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Aside from swimming competitions, Michael made his television debut in 2005 as “Celebrity Judge” on the TV program Miss USA.
On the 12th of August 2016, he announced his second retirement, having earned medals for 161 nations. Phelps is largely acknowledged to be the best swimmer of all time, as well as one of the greatest athletes of all time. In addition, as of August 1, 2021, he holds world records in three events (shown in bold). Michael Phelps is well-known for his swimming abilities. Being a former competitive swimmer in the United States. With a total of 28 medals, he is the most successful and decorated Olympian of all time.
Michael Phelps’ Bio
Michael Phelps was born on June 30, 1985, in Baltimore, Maryland, under the name Michael Fred Phelps II. He is of mixed heritage and has American citizenship. He is descended from English, Irish, Welsh, German, Scottish, and distant Dutch ancestors. Similarly, his ethnicity is white and his faith is Christian. Phelps became 36 years old in 2021, and his zodiac sign is Cancer, according to his birthdate. He is the youngest of three brothers and sisters. Deborah Sue “Debbie” Phelps (née Davisson), his mother, works as a middle school administrator. Michael Fred Phelps, his father, is a former Maryland State Trooper who played high school and college football and tried out for the Washington Football Team in the 1970s.
When he was nine years old, his parents split, and his father remarried in 2000. He subsequently said that the divorce had a significant negative influence on him and his siblings, and that his connection with his father was strained for a few years after the divorce. Whitney Phelps and Hilary Phelps are his elder sisters. Michael attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and Towson High School, according to his academic qualifications. In 2003, he graduated from Towson High School.
Swimming Career of Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps began his swimming career when he was seven years old, and his quick growth peaked when, at the age of 15, he qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics, becoming the youngest man to join a U.S. Olympic swim squad in 68 years. Phelps did not win a medal, although he did reach the finals in the 200-meter butterfly and ended fifth. Then, on March 30th, he broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly during the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, becoming the youngest guy to ever establish a world record in swimming at the age of 15 years and 9 months. At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, he broke his own world record in the 200-meter butterfly his way to becoming a world champion for the first time.
In the Nationals, the selection meetings for the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he established an American record in the 200-meter individual medley and was barely off the world record in the 200-meter butterfly. With a time of 4:11.09, he broke Tom Dolan’s world record in the 400-meter individual medley, finishing slightly ahead of Erik Vendt, who placed second with a time of 4:11.27. At the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Yokohama, Japan, Phelps won three gold medals and two silvers, including gold in the 400-meter individual medley ahead of Erik Vendt in 4:12.48. He swam a 51.1 split in the medley relay final, which was the fastest split in history at the time. The 3:33.48 final time was a world record.
Phelps became the first American swimmer to win three separate events in three different strokes at a national championship, winning the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, and 100-meter butterfly. He set the world record in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:10.73 and came within 0.03 seconds of breaking the world mark in the 100-meter butterfly during the 2003 Duel in the Pool, an event that pairs swimming talents from Australia and the United States. Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:57.94 in a competition in Santa Clara County, California, and he won four gold medals, two silver medals, and set five world records at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships. On July 22nd, in the semi-finals of the 200-meter butterfly, he set his first world record.
He broke his own world mark of 1:54.58 established in 2001 and became the first guy to swim sub 1:54.00.
On the 23rd of July, he comfortably won the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly final, although with a time of 1:54.35, he fell short of his world record. In addition, he won his last gold medal with the US team in the 4100-meter medley relay. Phelps did not compete in the finals, although he did swim in the heats and received a medal. At the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, he participated in six events: the 200- and 400-meter individual medley, the 100- and 200-meter butterfly, the 200-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter backstroke. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won his first Olympic gold medal in a world mark time of 4:08.41. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won his first Olympic gold medal in a world record time of 4:08.26.
In what was dubbed “The Race of the Century,” Phelps finished third behind Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband. He won the 200-meter individual medley in 1:57.14, an Olympic record, and he became the second male swimmer ever to win more than two individual championships in a single Games, matching Spitz’s four from 1972. At the 2005 World Championship Trials, Phelps opted to abandon his specialist events, the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter butterfly, in favor of experimenting with the 400-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle. At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, he earned a total of six medals, five golds and one silver, and he won his first gold in the 4100-meter freestyle relay. He couldn’t keep up with Ian Crocker in the final and had to settle for silver, finishing 51.65 to 50.40, a new world record for Crocker.
On July 31, he won his last gold medal when the US team won the 4100-meter medley relay. He did not swim in the finals but was still awarded a medal since he competed in the heats. Phelps won three events in the 2006 National Championships, and five gold and one silver at the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Victoria, British Columbia. In his first event, the 200-meter butterfly, he set a world record of 1:53.80, his first in two years, and in his sixth event, the 200-meter individual medley, he set a world record of 1:55.84, shattering his previous best of 1:55.94 achieved in 2003. With a time of 1:43.86, Phelps broke Ian Thorpe’s six-year-old world record and won gold ahead of Pieter van den Hoogenband at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships. He beat Ian Thorpe’s record of six gold medals established at the 2001 World Championships by winning seven.
At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Michael participated in six individual events, including the 200-meter individual medley, where he surpassed his own world mark of 1:54.98 with a time of 1:54.80. In the preliminary heats of the 400-meter individual medley, he also established an Olympic record. He also swam the opening leg of the 4100-meter freestyle relay in 47.51 seconds, winning his second gold medal of the 2008 Olympics and setting his second Olympic world record (3:08.24). He won his third gold medal in the 200-meter freestyle by about a second, breaking his previous world record by over a second.
At the Olympics, he also established his third world record, 1:42.96. He joined Mark Spitz, Larisa Latynina, Paavo Nurmi, and Carl Lewis as the sixth Olympic athlete to win nine gold medals in modern history. After having a day off from finals, Michael earned his sixth gold of the Beijing Games on August 15 by setting a world record time of 1:54.23 in the 200-meter individual medley, finishing almost two seconds ahead of Cseh. With a time of 3 minutes and 29.34 seconds, he and teammates Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol, and Jason Lezak established a new world record in the event, finishing 0.7 seconds ahead of second-place Australia and 1.34 seconds quicker than the previous mark set by the US at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Michael substantially cut his schedule, competing in just three individual events in the 2009 National Championships and winning a total of six medals, five golds, and one silver at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships. Phelps bounced back, winning gold in his third event, the 200-meter butterfly, and breaking his own world mark of 1:52.03 with a timing of 1:51.51. At the 2010 National Championships, he swam in five individual events and skipped the final of the 200-meter freestyle to concentrate on the 200-meter butterfly on the first day of competition at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. He finished first ahead of Japan and Australia in the 4100-meter medley relay alongside Aaron Peirsol, Mark Gangloff, and Adrian in his last event.
At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, Phelps won bronze in his first event, the 4100-meter freestyle relay, alongside Garrett Weber-Gale, Jason Lezak, and Nathan Adrian, and silver in his second event, the 200-meter freestyle, for the second straight World Aquatics Championships. In his last event, the 4100-meter medley relay, he won gold in 3:32.06 alongside Nick Thoman, Mark Gangloff, and Nathan Adrian. His butterfly leg was the quickest in the competition, clocking in at 50.57 seconds. Phelps had previously declared that he would never compete in eight events again and that he would instead focus on new events for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He qualified in the same eight events that he swam in Beijing in 2008 in the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, the qualifying competitions for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
On July 28, 2012, he finished eighth in the morning prelims for the 400-meter individual medley, and in his first finals of the Summer Olympics, Michael finished fourth behind fellow American Ryan Lochte, Brazilian Thiago Pereira, and Japanese Kosuke Hagino in the 400-meter individual medley, marking the first time Phelps had failed to medal in an Olympic event since 2000. On August 2, 2012, he earned his 16th Olympic gold medal when he beat Ryan Lochte to win the 200-meter individual medley in 1:54.27, becoming him the first male swimmer to win the same event in three consecutive Olympics. His last event was the 4100-meter medley relay, which he won for the 18th time in his career and the 22nd time overall. FINA, the world swimming body, presented him with an award after his last event, recognizing his status as the most decorated Olympian in history.
Following the 2012 Olympics, Phelps announced his retirement from swimming, stating: “I’m finished. I’ve completed my task. I’m no longer employed. “I just wanted to be done with swimming and didn’t want anything to do with it anymore,” she said, adding, “I just wanted to be done with swimming and didn’t want anything to do with it anymore.”” In April 2014, he declared that he will come out of retirement and compete in an event later that month, purportedly spurred by the national team’s inability to win the men’s 4 x 100 m freestyle relay after their victories in Beijing 2008 and Rome 2009. After being pulled from the squad for the 2015 World Aquatics Championships due to a DUI, he instead swam in the US National Championships in San Antonio as his summer goal meet.
In the 100-meter butterfly (50.45 seconds), 200-meter butterfly (1:52.94), and 200-meter individual medley, he earned gold medals (1:54.75). In each of these events, he set the world record for the quickest time in 2015. In December 2015, at the Winter Nationals in Federal Way, he won championships in the same three events, this time over a long course, increasing his career total to 62 national titles. Michael also qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics by winning the 200 m butterfly (1:54.84), 200 m individual medley (1:55.91), and 100 m butterfly (51.00 s) events at the US trials in Omaha, making him the first American male swimmer and the second American swimmer overall after Dara Torres to qualify for a fifth Olympics. He was picked to be the American flag bearer for the opening ceremony, which would be his first time attending an Olympic opening ceremony. He was also chosen as one of six team leaders for the US delegation to the Olympics by the US Olympic swim team.
Michael won his first gold medal of the 2016 Olympics, as well as his 19th Olympic gold medal overall, in his first event, the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay, on August 7th. Phelps became the first swimmer in history to reach five finals in the same event in the 200-meter butterfly on August 9, after coming 5th in 2000, 1st in 2004 and 2008, and 2nd in 2012. At the age of 31, Michael became not just the oldest male champion, but also the oldest individual champion in Olympic swimming history, surpassing Duke Kahanamoku’s 1920 and Inge de Bruijn’s 2004 marks. He also became the first swimmer to earn solo gold medals 12 years apart when, alongside Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas, and Ryan Lochte, he won his 21st gold medal in the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay on August 9th.
Phelps also broke an ancient Olympic record set by Leonidas of Rhodes, who had held the most Olympic individual titles of all time with twelve, by becoming the third Olympian to win the same individual event four times, following athletes Al Oerter and Carl Lewis. With that 13th individual gold medal, Phelps also broke an ancient Olympic record set by Leonidas of Rhodes, who had held the most Olympic individual titles of all time with twelve. Michael also finished his career with a gold medal in the 4 x 100-meter medley relay on August 13th, his 23rd in the Olympics and his 28th overall. Following the Rio Olympics, he returned to competitive swimming.
Records from across the world
Michael Phelps has set 39 world records (29 individual, 10 relays), more than any other FINA-recognized swimmer; this accomplishment exceeded Mark Spitz’s previous mark of 33 world records (26 individual, 7 relays). Except for two, all of the records were set in a 50-meter pool. As of August 1, 2021, he holds world records in three events (shown in bold). Legal Concerns Regarding Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps was arrested in November 2004 in Salisbury, Maryland, for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was 19 years old at the time. He pled guilty to driving while intoxicated and received an 18-month term, a $250 fine, and an order to talk to high school students about drinking and driving, as well as to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) meeting.
In September 2014, he was detained again in Baltimore, this time on allegations of driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding. As a consequence, USA Swimming barred him from competing for six months and announced that he would not be selected to represent the US at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in August.
Achievements and Awards
Swimming World World Swimmer of the Year Award: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 Swimming World American Swimmer of the Year Award: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2016 Fédération internationale de natation swimmer of the year (since 2010): 2012, 2016 Golden Goggle Male Performance of the Year (since 2004): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016, Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award (nominated): 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013 Laureus Comeback of the Year Award: 2017 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year: 2008 Associated Press Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2012 Marca Leyenda Award: 2008 Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion: 2019 Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion: 2019
Michael Phelps’ Wife
Michael Phelps is a husband and father. He married Nicole Johnson, a former Miss California USA. They married in secret on June 13, 2016, and it took four months for the marriage to be publicized. They met at the ESPYs in 2007, split up in 2012, reconciled, and married in February 2015. Boomer Robert Phelps, their son, was born on May 5, 2016. The pair married in a private ceremony on June 13, 2016. Beckett Richard Phelps, their second son, was born on February 12, 2018, and Maverick Nicolas Phelps, their third son, was born on September 9, 2019. Michael is straight, which reflects his sexual orientation.
How much money does Michael Phelps have?
As of 2021, Michael Phelps has an estimated net worth of $75 million. He also receives a handsome income of roughly $9,300,000 every year. Michael has endorsement partnerships with companies such as Speedo, Omega, AT&T, Powerbar, Visa, and Argent Mortgage. In addition, he has appeared in commercials for Under Armour, Subway eateries, Head & Shoulders, and other brands. In 2011, the Xbox 360/Kinect game “Michael Phelps: Push the Limit” was published, promising to bring “the joy, fitness, and thrill of head-to-head swimming to your living room.” Michael utilized his $1 million Speedo bonus after the 2008 Olympics to establish the Michael Phelps Foundation. His charity is dedicated to advancing the sport of swimming and encouraging people to live healthy lives. In addition, his swimming career is his primary source of income.
What is Michael Phelps’s height?
Michael Phelps has unquestionably come a long way in his career. He stands at a height of 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) and weighs around 90 kg (198.5 lbs). Michael doesn’t hesitate to appear naked because of his toned biceps and great build. His eyes are blue, and his hair is light brown. He also has an athletic physique build, measuring 47.5-16-35 inches in length, width, and height. Phelps claimed in January 2018 that he had suffered with ADHD and depression, and that he considered suicide after the 2012 Olympics.