1. Michael Fred Phelps II was born on June 30,1985 and is an American former competitive swimmer.
109 Facts About Michael Phelps
2.
Michael Phelps is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals.
3.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Michael Phelps tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games, held by gymnast Alexander Dityatin, by winning six gold and two bronze medals.
4.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Michael Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver.
5.
Michael Phelps is a former long course world record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, and 400-meter individual medley.
6.
Michael Phelps has won 82 medals in major international long course competitions, of which 65 were gold, 14 silver, and three bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships.
7.
Michael Phelps earned Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award due to his unprecedented Olympic success in the 2008 Games.
8.
Michael Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but he made a comeback in April 2014.
9.
Michael Phelps announced his second retirement on August 12,2016, having won more medals than 161 countries.
10.
Michael Phelps won the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award in 2017.
11.
Michael Phelps is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer of all time and is often considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time.
12.
Michael Phelps was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson.
13.
Michael Phelps attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and Towson High School.
14.
Michael Phelps's mother, Deborah Sue "Debbie" Phelps, is a middle school principal.
15.
Michael Phelps's father, Michael Fred Phelps, was a retired Maryland State Trooper who played football in high school and college and tried out for the Washington Redskins in the 1970s.
16.
Michael Phelps's parents divorced in 1994 when he was nine years old, and his father remarried in 2000.
17.
Michael Phelps later revealed that the divorce had a severe negative impact on him and his siblings, and his relationship with his father was distant for a few years after the divorce.
18.
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.
19.
Michael Phelps has trained under Bob Bowman since he was 11 years old.
20.
Michael Phelps has said Bowman reminded him of a drill sergeant because of his disciplined and regimented ways.
21.
Michael Phelps joined Bowman at Michigan to train and attended classes over a span of four years, but did not pursue a degree.
22.
When Bowman was hired as the men's and women's swimming coach at Arizona State University in 2015, Michael Phelps moved to Arizona to continue training under Bowman.
23.
At the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, on March 30, Michael Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest male ever to set a world record in swimming.
24.
At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Michael Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-meter butterfly while en route to become a world champion for the first time.
25.
At Nationals, the selection meet for the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Michael Phelps set an American record in the 200-meter individual medley and was just off the world record in the 200-meter butterfly.
26.
At the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Yokohama, Japan, Michael Phelps won three gold medals and two silvers.
27.
Michael Phelps said he lost because he did not take butterfly training seriously after he broke the world record.
28.
At Nationals, Michael Phelps won the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, and the 100-meter butterfly.
29.
Michael Phelps became the first American swimmer to win three different races in three different strokes at a national championship.
30.
At the 2003 Duel in the Pool, a meet that pits swimming stars from Australia and the United States, Michael Phelps broke the world record in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:10.73 and almost broke the world record in the 100-meter butterfly, just missing the record by 0.03 seconds.
31.
At a meet in Santa Clara County, California, Michael Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:57.94.
32.
Michael Phelps said he broke the 200-meter individual medley world record after Don Talbot said Michael Phelps was unproven, using his words as motivation.
33.
At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships, Michael Phelps won four gold medals, two silver medals, and broke five world records.
34.
Michael Phelps put up a solid time of 1:46.60 but the Americans could not match the depth of the Australians and ultimately finished second 7:10.26 to 7:08.58.
35.
Michael Phelps dominated again, finishing in the top seed position with a world record time of 51.47.
36.
Michael Phelps did not swim in the finals, but still earned a medal because he swam in the heats.
37.
At the 2004 US Olympic Team Trials, Michael Phelps competed 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.
38.
Two days later, in the 200-meter freestyle, Michael Phelps won with a time of 1:46.27, finishing sixth-tenths of a second ahead of Klete Keller.
39.
Michael Phelps was not pleased with the result and wanted to be in the 1:45s and was uncertain if he would swim the event in Athens.
40.
Less than half an hour later, Michael Phelps won the 200-meter individual medley title ahead of Ryan Lochte by 2.70 seconds.
41.
However, Michael Phelps dropped the 200-meter backstroke to focus on the 200-meter freestyle because he wanted to race Ian Thorpe.
42.
Michael Phelps argued his program was too crowded to compete in 100-meter freestyle and was at least among the top four swimmers because he had beaten the top-seeded Jason Lezak the last time he had swum against him.
43.
Two days later, in the 200-meter individual medley, Michael Phelps finished first with a time of 1:57.14, an Olympic record.
44.
Michael Phelps's gesture gave Crocker a chance to make amends as well, getting his final shot at a gold medal.
45.
The American medley team went on to win the event in world-record time, and, since Michael Phelps had raced in a preliminary heat of the medley relay, he was awarded a gold medal along with the team members who competed in the final.
46.
At the 2005 World Championship Trials, Michael Phelps decided to drop his specialty events, the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter butterfly, and experiment with the 400-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle.
47.
Michael Phelps went on to win the 400-meter freestyle, the 200-meter freestyle, the 100-meter butterfly, the 100-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter individual medley at the Trials.
48.
At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, Michael Phelps won a total of six medals, five golds and one silver.
49.
Later that day, Michael Phelps won his third gold in the 200-meter individual medley.
50.
Michael Phelps did not swim in the finals but still earned a medal because he swam in the heats.
51.
At the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Victoria, British Columbia, Michael Phelps won five gold medals and one silver.
52.
At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, Michael Phelps won seven gold medals, tying the record for a global long-course championship held by Mark Spitz since the 1972 Summer Olympics, and broke five world records.
53.
Michael Phelps set his first world record in the Championships in the 200-meter freestyle, his second race.
54.
Michael Phelps won the gold ahead of Pieter van den Hoogenband and broke Ian Thorpe's six-year-old world record with a time of 1:43.86.
55.
At the 2008 US Olympic Team Trials, Michael Phelps competed in six individual events.
56.
Michael Phelps set an Olympic record in the preliminary heats of the 400-meter individual medley.
57.
Michael Phelps followed that up in the final by winning the gold medal, as well as breaking his previous world record by nearly two seconds.
58.
Michael Phelps remarked that Bernard's pre-race comments of "smashing the Americans" had "fired me up more than anything else".
59.
Michael Phelps set his third world record at the Olympics, 1:42.96, winning by nearly two seconds over silver medalist Park Tae-hwan.
60.
Michael Phelps became the first swimmer to successfully defend an Olympic butterfly title.
61.
Unlike all six of his previous events in the 2008 Games, Michael Phelps did not set a new world record, leaving intact Ian Crocker's world-record time of 50.40 seconds, set in 2005.
62.
When Michael Phelps dived in to swim the 100-meter butterfly leg, the third leg of the 400-meter medley, the United States had been trailing Australia and Japan.
63.
Michael Phelps completed his split in 50.1 seconds, the fastest butterfly split ever for the event, giving teammate Jason Lezak a more than half-second lead for the final leg, which he held onto to clinch the event in world record time.
64.
At the 2009 National Championships, Michael Phelps drastically shortened his program, swimming in only three individual events.
65.
At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, Michael Phelps won a total of 6 medals, 5 golds and 1 silver.
66.
Michael Phelps touched second in 1:43.22, but Biedermann smashed Michael Phelps's record of 1:42.96 set in Beijing a year ago with a time of 1:42.00.
67.
Michael Phelps took the silver graciously, but coach Bob Bowman threatened to withdraw Michael Phelps from international competition because Bowman claimed Biedermann had an unfair advantage because he was wearing a full polyurethane swimsuit, specifically an Arena X-Glide.
68.
At the 2010 National Championships, Michael Phelps competed in five individual events.
69.
About an hour later, Michael Phelps returned to the pool to win the 200-meter butterfly.
70.
Michael Phelps did not swim in the B final of the 400-meter individual medley.
71.
Michael Phelps's team won the gold medal in a time of 7:02.67.
72.
In making his fourth Olympic team, Michael Phelps holds the record for men for the most Olympic appearances in swimming representing the United States.
73.
On July 28,2012, Michael Phelps placed eighth in the morning prelims for the 400-meter individual medley.
74.
Michael Phelps out-touched Laszlo Cseh by 0.07 seconds in his heat to qualify last for the final, locking out Cseh.
75.
Rebecca Soni and Michael Phelps are the only swimmers to successfully defend an individual title from the 2008 Games.
76.
Michael Phelps repeated the achievement of winning the same event at three Olympics the following evening, winning the Olympic gold medal in the 100 m butterfly, his last individual event.
77.
Michael Phelps won gold medals in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, and the 200-meter individual medley.
78.
In December 2015 at the Winter Nationals in Federal Way, Michael Phelps won titles in the same three events, again in long course, bringing his career total to 62 national titles.
79.
At the US trials in Omaha for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps won the 200 m butterfly, the 200 m individual medley, and the 100 m butterfly events.
80.
Michael Phelps was chosen to be the American flag bearer at the opening ceremony, which was the first Olympic opening ceremony that he would attend.
81.
Michael Phelps was voted by the US Olympic swim team as one of six team captains for the US delegation to the Olympics.
82.
Michael Phelps displayed a relaxed, sociable demeanor in the athletes' village and in press conferences; this pleasant behavior was in stark contrast to his isolation in previous Olympics.
83.
Michael Phelps was accompanied by fiancee Nicole Johnson and son Boomer.
84.
Michael Phelps's leg proved to be the decisive factor in the race, and Gilot later remarked "As fast as my teammates were, the extraterrestrial that is Michael Phelps was faster".
85.
Michael Phelps achieved a split time of 47.12, the fourth-fastest of the field, which was faster than any of his relay splits at the last three Olympics.
86.
Michael Phelps became the first swimmer to win individual gold medals 12 years apart.
87.
Michael Phelps beat Kosuke Hagino, the 400 m individual medley champion, by 1.95 seconds.
88.
Michael Phelps became the first swimmer to win the same individual event four times, surpassing the previous record of three held by Dawn Fraser and Krisztina Egerszegi.
89.
Michael Phelps became the third Olympian to win the same individual event four times, after athletes Al Oerter and Carl Lewis.
90.
Michael Phelps retired from competitive swimming for good following the Rio Olympics.
91.
Michael Phelps is considered one of the greatest Olympians of all time.
92.
Michael Phelps is married to former Miss California USA Nicole Johnson.
93.
Michael Phelps used the remarks as motivation and taped the words to his locker during the Games.
94.
Michael Phelps is an avid golfer, and has competed in numerous amateur and pro-am golf tournaments; he considered becoming a professional golfer after retiring from swimming.
95.
At the 2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a pro-am tournament in which he was paired with golfer Paul Casey, Michael Phelps set the world record for the longest televised putt in history, sinking a putt from 159 feet away.
96.
Michael Phelps is a fan of the Baltimore Ravens and stated that he found his life purpose and desire to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics after seeking Ray Lewis's advice.
97.
In January 2018, Michael Phelps revealed that he has struggled both with ADHD and depression, having contemplated suicide after the 2012 Olympics.
98.
At age 19 in November 2004, Michael Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Salisbury, Maryland.
99.
Michael Phelps pleaded guilty to driving while impaired and was sentenced to serve 18 months of probation, fined $250, ordered to speak to high school students about drinking and driving, and to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving meeting.
100.
When Michael Phelps was later asked about the incident by Matt Lauer on the Today Show, he said that he had "let a lot of people in the country down".
101.
In February 2009, a photograph of Michael Phelps using a bong went viral; this resulted in the loss of Kellogg's as a sponsor, as well as a three-month suspension by USA Swimming.
102.
Michael Phelps admitted that the photo, which was taken at a party at the University of South Carolina, was authentic.
103.
In September 2014, Michael Phelps was arrested again, this time on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding in Baltimore.
104.
Michael Phelps's foundation focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles.
105.
Michael Phelps stated he hoped to work with his Foundation more after retirement from competition following the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
106.
In 2017, Michael Phelps joined the board of Medibio, a company focused on diagnosis of mental health disorders.
107.
Michael Phelps has set 39 world records, which is more records than any other swimmer that is recognized by FINA; this achievement surpassed Mark Spitz's previous record of 33 world records.
108.
Michael Phelps holds 20 Guinness World Records which predominantly consist of accumulative Guinness World Records for total number of accomplishments and victories in swimming such as: most medals, consecutive number of medals, most medals within one tournament, most records in swimming etc.
109.
Michael Phelps was a USA Olympic team member in 2000,2004,2008,2012 and 2016, and holds the records for most Olympic gold medals, most such medals in individual events, and most such medals at a single games.