Where did michael phelps come from. Where did michael phelps come from olympic swimmer michael phelps

01.04.202127.05.2017

Immediately after the Olympics, the coolest swimmer in history bought a mansion in Scottsdale for $ 2.5 million. At the same time, Phelps sold his house in Baltimore, where he used to live, for 960 thousand dollars.

Why did Michael leave Washington for Arizona? The fact is that he was preparing for Rio at a local university, and is also going to train a student team here. Plus, the climate is always warm, and flying closer to Las Vegas, where Phelps liked to party until he became a family man.

Michael's new house is not that big compared to other celebrities - only 600 square meters with five bedrooms. And, of course, there is a swimming pool in the yard, if you wish, you can prepare for the Tokyo Olympics in it.

In the spotlight

Phelps is the most talked about athlete in the Olympics. Twitter users dedicated 187 million tweets to him, and this is only during the Rio Olympics. Phelps was discussed even more than runner Usain Bolt and soccer player Neymar. Apparently, then, that Bolt and Neymar together won four gold medals in Rio de Janeiro, and Phelps - as many as five!

Phelps and Boomer

Phelps built a family with model Nicole Johnson - "Miss California - 2010". Actually, in 2010, Michael met the beauty, and last year he proposed to her. Johnson agreed and summed up on the social network: "I will become Mrs. Phelps."

On May 5, 2016, Michael became a father, which he announced to the world through Facebook: “Boomer Robert Phelps, welcome to this world! Healthy and happy baby. The best feeling in life!”

Phelps quote

Is it true that you eat 30,000 calories a day? Tell us about the diet during the Olympics.

I think my son Boomer eats more than me. My son has a good appetite. I'm used to eating when I want to. And how much I want. As a child, I ate about 10,000 calories a day. But I'm already 31 years old. And if a man at my age eats so much, his belly will grow very quickly.

Phelps and father

The full name of our hero is Michael Fred Phelps II. And the first Michael Fred Phelps is his father, who played American football in his youth, then became a patrol policeman, and now retired. Phelps Sr. was married to Deborah, director high school. Two daughters were born, then a son, Michael. But her father abandoned the family in 1994, and Debbie raised the children alone.

For swimmer Michael Phelps, this was a psychological trauma. He never forgave his father.

Phelps and disease

Michael has been swimming since the age of seven. His older sister took him to the pool so that the boy would find an outlet for his energy: young Phelps was diagnosed as a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), otherwise hyperkinetic disorder.

The symptoms are: impulsiveness, forgetfulness, constant feeling impending disaster.

That's why Phelps wins so often. He's just really afraid of losing. The hyperactive child was well shown by Mike Myers in a skit with Nicole Kidman. That's what Phelps was like. He must have been put on a collar too.

Phelps and anthropometry

You can say for a long time that Michael trains a lot, that he is a real sports fanatic. Someone will talk about doping, although not caught - not a thief. Phelps was only caught smoking marijuana once out of competition, for which he received a three-month ban.

The fact is that Phelps is ideally complex for swimming. This is Ichthyander. Dolphin Man. Michael has size 47 feet, disproportionately short legs and a long torso compared to the average person. The arm span is 203 cm, which is 10 cm more than his height.

“I don’t understand how a guy of such height began to swim like a dolphin,” twice Olympic champion Denis Pankratov is surprised. - Nowadays, butterfly was a subtle style, like breaststroke. It was impossible to approach and slash backhand, taking the medal. Dolphinists used to be no taller than 180 cm, strong in the shoulders, with a large chest. The stereotype is a small stocky person.

Phelps's height is 193 cm. I don't understand how such a sleeper can swim a butterfly. He has a completely different technique. This is a new generation athlete. What Phelps is doing is pulling the rug out from under me. I don't even know how he does it. I just get aesthetic pleasure, watching the stopwatch.

Name: Michael
Surname: Phelps
Date of Birth: 30.05.1985
Place of Birth: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Occupation: swimmer
Growth: 193 cm
The weight: 91 kg

Michael Phelps can already without any doubt be called a legendary athlete, not only in his swimming discipline, but also in the sports world as a whole. He is the owner of so many awards that they are hard to count. His main achievement, of course, is the title of 23-time Olympic champion, the only one in history.

Photo by Michael Phelps

Road to the Olympic podium

Michael Fred Phelps began his swimming lessons at the age of 7. The boy got into this sport, looking at his two older sisters, who were engaged in the local team. Michael's parents divorced when he was nine years old. The father married a second time six years later, the children lived with their mother. Michael has maintained a very warm relationship with her to this day.

By the age of ten, in his age group, the young swimmer had already won the US record. At the same time, he began training under the "wing" of coach Bob Bowman. This is the rare case when an athlete has not changed his mentor in his entire sports career, it was Bowman who helped him become a sports legend.

Phelps first competed in the Olympics in 2000. The Sydney Olympics was the only one in which the swimmer did not hit the podium. Nevertheless, the fifteen-year-old athlete became the youngest American swimmer to make it to the Olympics. He declared himself and further the treasury of his achievements was continuously replenished. Before reaching the age of sixteen, Phelps was able to set a world record at the World Cup and became the youngest record holder. In subsequent championships, the swimmer continued to prove that he was the best in the world and repeatedly beat his own records.

World Championships

It's hard to count how many times this guy has been number one. He conquered the world championships one by one, and over and over again was recognized in the country and the world as the “swimmer of the year”. In the arsenal of Michael Phelps, there are 37 records of world championships in the "long water" (29 personal and 8 in the relay race), 2 in the relay "short water". He conquered the waterways mainly by swimming in the butterfly style and complex swimming.

World Cup 2007, Melbourne: 7 gold medals, five world records;
World Cup 2009, Rome: 5 medals of the highest standard, 1 silver, four world records;
World Cup 2011, Shanghai: 4 gold medals, 2 silver, 1 bronze.

Naturally, being a world-class athlete, Michael Phelps has repeatedly proved in his country that he has no equal. Fifty times he became the champion of the United States (in individual heats and relay races), 9 times he was recognized in the States as the “swimmer of the year”.

Olympic success

The next after the Australian Olympics was the Olympics in Greece. In 2004 in Athens, nineteen-year-old Michael Phelps stood on the Olympic podium for the first time. He became not just a six-time Olympic champion and a two-time bronze medalist, but repeated the record of a gymnast from the USSR A. Dityatin in the number of awards won in one Olympics - eight.

Most of all, sports fans remember Phelps for his performances at the Beijing Olympics. 2008: eight heats - eight victories! The phenomenal result elevated the swimmer to the rank of the most titled athletes in the history of the modern Olympics.

The triumphal procession, or rather the triumphal swim in the most prestigious competitions of Michael Phelps continued at the Olympics in London. In 2012 in England, his name goes down in history again: this time the athlete breaks the record of the Soviet gymnast L. Latynina and becomes the owner of 22 Olympic medals (London swims added 4 gold and 2 silver).

Michael is applauded. Of course, it does not do without envious people. The press writes about him: "talent or mutant?". But Phelps was not seen in the doping scandals, and therefore he wears his titles with his head held high. In 2012, at the peak of his sporting abilities, the eminent athlete announced his retirement from big-time sports.

The realization that he is capable of many more achievements nevertheless came to Michael. The 2016 Olympics in Rio only once again confirmed the unique sports data of the swimmer: five awards of the highest dignity and one silver. He was already the youngest participant in the 2004 Olympics, now he has become the oldest Olympic winner in a single swim (31 years old). Such a resounding success crowned the swimmer's career. Phelps said, "It's been a fantastic week, an amazing way to end my career."

So, the famous American swimmer went down not only in the history of the modern Olympic Games, but also in the ancient ones. According to the annals, the only one who won 12 Olympic gold medals in the individual championship was Leonid of Rhodes, while Phelps has 13 of them.

Relations

The relationship of a swimmer is not full of such a number of events as sport life. But this only works in favor of Phelps. Since 2010, he has been in a relationship with model Nicole Johnson, and in 2016, the couple rejoiced at the birth of their first child. The only thing that worries fans is why Michael has not yet legalized the relationship.

By the way

Michael has a disproportionate body: a long torso, short legs, arm span is greater than his own height. He is also the owner of the 47th leg size;
nickname in the sports world - "Baltimore Bullet";
in childhood, the boy was diagnosed with "hyperactivity" and "attention deficit";
Phelps' daily diet includes more than ten thousand kilocalories;
in the collection of Michael's medals from the World Championships, there is only one bronze;
in their hometown of Baltimore, one of the streets was named after their prominent native;
seven-time winner of the title "best swimmer of the year";
the prestigious edition of GQ gave Phelps the 14th position in the top "50 people and phenomena that made the 21st century what it is";
Advertises and swims in a Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit.

The fastest swimmer, the most titled Olympic athlete, the greatest athlete of all time. And all this is one person - American Michael Phelps. On the this moment he has 28 Olympic awards in his piggy bank (an absolute record), of which 23 are gold and 37 world records, of which 7 have not yet been broken. If on land, then on the water it is definitely Phelps.

Who is the fastest swimmer

Michael Phelps was born in 1985 in Baltimore. He started swimming at the age of 7. This was facilitated by his unusual addition. Disproportionately short legs and an elongated torso, Long hands, large foot size is the perfect combination for swimmers. In the photo of Phelps in full growth, you can appreciate the structure of his body.

Already in childhood, at the age of 10, Michael Phelps set a national record in his age group. At the age of 15, he competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Thus, he became the youngest Olympian in the last 68 years among swimmers. Phelps did not break into the top three at that Olympics and took 5th place. He was 0.33 seconds short of 3rd place.

But already on next year, at the World Championships, he sets the world record for the 200m butterfly.

At the age of 15 years and 9 months, Phelps becomes the youngest athlete to set a world record in swimming.

The next 4 Olympics brought Michael Phelps 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. Especially successful for him was the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. Phelps won at all the distances he started, which allowed him to win 8 gold medals at once.

After the completion of the games in Rio de Janeiro 2016, he announced his retirement.

Interesting facts about Michael Phelps:

has the nicknames "Baltimore Bullet" and "Flying Fish";
height 193 cm, weight 88 kg;
the daily norm of food consumed contains 10,000 kcal, the so-called. "Phelps diet";
9 times recognized as the best swimmer of the year in the USA and 7 times in the world;
the absolute leader in swimming records;
all of his world and Olympic records were set before 2008;
in 2012 at the London Olympics, he broke the record for the number of all medals (22) in all sports, held for 48 years and owned by our gymnast Larisa Latynina (18 medals);
if Phelps had competed for himself as a separate country at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, he would have taken 10th place in the official standings, thus ahead of 177 participating countries;
has 47 foot size, arm span 203 cm, which is 10 cm more than his own height.

Incredible and rare for an ordinary person, Phelps's dimensions are practically the norm for top swimmers. Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorp, with a height of 196 cm, could boast of a similar parameter of the lower extremities. Our illustrious Olympian Alexander Popov, who dominated swimming in the mid-90s, was over 2 meters tall and wore size 48 shoes.

Baltimore Bullet and Other Olympic Champions

Reading about the achievements of Phelps, people far from sports will not quite understand how cool he is. Well, yes, many medals, many records, but he is not the only one who shows outstanding results in sports. There are many great athletes in the world who have also set and continue to set records.

If an athlete wins Olympic gold, then in his country he is already a hero. If 2 gold - twice a hero. Well, if 3, then he is incredibly cool and is one of the world's elite.

For the entire recent history of the Olympic Games, we have 333 athletes who have won Olympic gold 3 times.

4-time Olympic champions are already only 152 athletes;
7 gold each - 5 athletes;
8 gold for 7 athletes;
Only 5 Olympians won 9 gold medals.

How much does Phelps earn?

As the most titled athlete who has set many world and Olympic records, the Baltimore Bullet cannot boast of the same outstanding income. We can say they are quite modest for an athlete of this level. Swimming in itself is not the most profitable sport. In America, the swimming federation pays top 16 athletes a $3,000 stipend. And of course prize money, from 3 to 75,000 dollars.

And the costs for swimmers are also not small. Although at first glance what they need: swimming trunks, a cap, glasses and a pool. In fact, not everything is so simple. Let's say only for the pool where Michael trains, the annual expenses are $ 30 thousand. Also world starts throughout the year around the world. It is still about 20-30 thousand. And more on the little things. As a result, it accumulates about 100 thousand dollars annually.

In terms of income, Phelps is not even in the top 100 most paid athletes in the world, which is led by Floyd Mayweather with an income of $ 300 million.

For the last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the swimmer received only 140 thousand dollars for 5 gold and 1 silver from the US Olympic Committee. In addition, from the swimming federation another 75 thousand for each gold.

For the Olympics in Rio 2016, the athlete earned about half a million dollars in prize money

But this is not Michael's main income. The lion's share of the money comes from advertising contracts. And not only from manufacturers of sports equipment. In some years, Phelps had up to 11 advertising contracts at the same time, such companies as Visa, Procter & Gamble, Sabway, Mazda, the Hilton hotel chain, Omega Swiss watches and many others.

All this made it possible to earn about 5-7 million dollars annually.

Behind Last year Phelps earned $6.3 million. His fortune is estimated at $45 million.

In 2008, some of the sponsors did not renew contracts in connection with the scandal, when photos of Phelps smoking marijuana were published online. According to Michael's agent, the loss from this amounted to about $ 100 million in lost income in the future.

He was always different from everyone else. A non-standard figure, a special psyche, incredible performance and a record number of victories, which it is unlikely that anyone will be able to surpass in the foreseeable future. Michael Phelps is a swimmer who literally turns into a torpedo in the water, which is why he was given the nickname "Baltimore Bullet". Much is said and discussed about him. If the Olympic Games are a fight on equal terms, does a swimmer have the right to win thanks to non-standard proportions and mental disorders? Be that as it may, no one doubts that Phelps is a great athlete, whose name will always be written in gold in the history of world sports.

Facts of an early biography

Michael Fred Phelps is a native of the American city of Baltimore (Maryland). Born in the family of a school principal and a football player, who, despite three children born in marriage, divorced when Michael was 9 years old.

Two years earlier, the older sister took the boy to the pool, where he literally immediately showed outstanding swimming abilities. After 3 years, a national record in the corresponding age category was already recorded in his personal standings. An experienced mentor Bob Bowman took on the further development of Michael's sports career. The ascent to the sports Olympus was truly swift. Already at the age of 15, Phelps was selected for participation in the 2000 Olympics. The fact that he was able to take only 5th place is fully justified by the fact that by age Michael was the youngest participant in the games. Moreover, after only 1 year, he already received the title of swimmer of the year in the United States, having managed to break the world record.

Features of the psyche

In childhood, the boy was diagnosed with "hyperkinetic disorder" or, as it is more commonly called, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Set of symptoms this disease- the impossibility of long-term concentration up to “I forgot where I was going”, impulsiveness and illogical behavior, forgetfulness, a sense of vague danger, a constant feeling of an impending disaster and, which is completely, it would seem, not in the spirit of Phelps - a tendency to habitual defeat and the impossibility of fulfilling the standing tasks.

In addition, Michael was diagnosed with mild autism. The situation was aggravated by the divorce of the parents, which the boy experienced very hard. But at this time, sports entered Michael's life, which teaches, disciplines and helps to overcome many problems. On the other hand, it was these deviations that became the guarantor of the swimmer's extraordinary diligence and his hyper-responsible attitude to training. Be that as it may, the disease has not gone anywhere, and now, after the end of his sports career, he returns with severe depression and other clinical signs of the disorder, which the swimmer struggles with with psychologists and which he does not hide from the public.

Sports achivments

The list of outstanding achievements of Michael in sports is not just impressive - at this point in time it is an absolute world record. Participation in four Olympiads, where 28 medals were received, of which 23 were of the highest standard, and 13 were received as a result of individual competitions. At the age of 17, he already had 5 world records. In 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, he achieved his long-standing goal - to break the "eternal" record of Spitz, receiving 7 top awards, and at the next Olympics - eight! In terms of the number of medals and victories, he has no equal in the world.

Body Features

The figure of Phelps throughout his sports career has been the talk of the town of fans, commentators and sportswriters, especially from rivals. Its disproportion is visible to the naked eye. A very long thin body with an incredibly powerful upper part, broad shoulders and long arms, like helicopter blades. Normally, a person's height is either equal to the "wingspan", or exceeds it. Michael's "blade" span is 10 cm larger than his own height, which is 193 cm. The paradox of proportions is completed by Phelps' 47th leg size.

Evil tongues call the swimmer a victim of hereditary mutations, since the features of the figure are due to the so-called Marfan syndrome, which is an autosomal dominant pathology of the development of connective tissues of a hereditary origin. Among other symptoms of its manifestation are expressiveness, high growth and elongated limbs with the same extended fingers, poorly developed subcutaneous adipose tissue, thin light bones and increased joint mobility. In addition, the disease is accompanied by a serious heart pathology, which does not allow patients to live without special therapy for more than 30-40 years. Michael needs drugs if only to just live, and this fact is also of interest to many against the backdrop of the worldwide fight against doping.

Physical factors that help win

Despite the congenital cardiac pathology (or maybe because of it), the swimmer's heart is able to pump a huge amount of blood per unit time. This allows him to quickly recuperate after marathon swims. In addition, Phelps has a unique muscle metabolism. Due to the low level of lactic acid and, as a result, the slow acidification of the muscles, he does not get tired for a long time and has incredible muscle performance.

Another factor that gives Phelps a huge advantage in the water is his super-elastic, literally gutta-percha ankle, thanks to which his legs do not work like ordinary swimmer's legs, but literally turn into flexible boneless fins. His foot arches more than ballerinas in pointe shoes. Lightweight for its size, it weighs only 88 kg. Of course, all these non-standards raise a lot of questions about supposedly equal chances in the fight for the Olympic podium. But Michael's defenders have serious objections - no one, for example, forbids putting oversized girls and guys on the basketball court.

The amount of water he consumes is incredible - up to 91 liters per day, and this is more than him own weight. This fact has already entered the Guinness Book of Records and suggests that Phelps is 10 percent more water than other people. Together with the peculiarities of the physique and light bones, this allows him to stay in the water higher than other swimmers.

Mikes drinks a lot of not only water and all kinds of useful mineral compositions but also alcohol. He had already been convicted by the police of drunk driving, for which, despite his services to the fatherland, he was fined $250 and forcibly forced to attend a lecture course on the topic "Mothers against alcoholism at the wheel." The final measure was the taking of the penalty box on bail. The swimmer himself comments on the fact calmly, calling alcohol the fuel for his "internal combustion engine".

With a large stature and huge leg size, he has such disproportionately short legs that he could ride a pony without reaching the ground. This adds aquadynamics to his body, thanks to which he overtakes swimmers with fins on their legs and even, on a dare, mini-submarines.

His arms are long enough to wrap around his back. AT school years he easily hugged five classmates at the same time.

According to various sources, its daily calorie intake is from 10 to 12 thousand. With Marfan syndrome, there are problems with the development of fatty tissue, which is why the swimmer does not gain weight. The main source of energy is chips, pasta, pizza and cola. At least in public. However, the number of calories still raises doubts among experts, because it is 5 times higher than the norm of an ordinary person.

Despite medication, proven and admitted by Michael marijuana smoking and a weakness for alcohol, none of the nine Olympic doping tests were positive. Now he is part of the WADA organization, whose participants (athletes) have given voluntary consent to screening samples at any time on any day. However, there are strong suspicions that the athlete receives doping doses using a different method, the so-called canning method, as evidenced by the marks on his body.

Due to hyperactivity and distraction in childhood, the boy was very difficult to keep track of. There was a case when he ran out into the street for a walk and eventually forgot where he lives. Found it in California. When his activity became limited to the space of the swimming pool, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

A street in his hometown is named after the swimmer.

More than 500 cases are known when, after his Olympic performances in Beijing, people called pets and birds by the name Phelps, not to mention babies.

Swimmer Michael Phelps is the most titled athlete in the history of mankind. An American phenomenon is a twenty-three-time Olympic champion. In total, there are twenty-eight Olympic medals and twenty-six gold medals won at the world championships in the Phelps collection.

Born 06/30/1985

Achievements:

The absolute record holder in the history of the Olympic Games in the number of gold awards (23) and the total number of medals (28).
13-time Olympic champion in individual distances (Athens-2004 - 200 and 400 m individual medley, 100 and 200 m butterfly, Beijing 2008 - 200 and 400 m individual medley, 100 and 200 m butterfly, 200 m freestyle, London- 2012 - 200m medley, 100m butterfly, Rio de Janeiro 2016 - 200m medley, 200m butterfly).
10-time Olympic champion in relay races (Athens-2004 - 4 × 200 m freestyle, 4 × 100 m combined styles, Beijing 2008 - 4 × 100 and 4 × 200 m freestyle, 4 × 100 m combined styles, London- 2012 - 4x200m freestyle, 4x100m medley, Rio de Janeiro-2016 - 4x100 and 4x200m freestyle, 4x100m medley).
26 times world champion.
Holder of 37 world records.
World Swimmer of the Year in 2003, 2004, 2006-2009, 2012.
US Swimmer of the Year 2001-2004, 2006-2009, 2012.

From fidget to the US team

Phelps started swimming at the age of seven, joining the section with his sisters. With early childhood Michael was not like other children, the doctors even diagnosed him with hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder. Being a fidget, he needed somewhere to put his energy, so the pool for the boy was very useful.

In the section, Phelps quickly attracted the attention of the coach, who took up the new student in earnest. Michael regularly breaks US records for children and youths across all ages and becomes a candidate for the main national team. The young swimmer goes to his first Olympics in Sydney and comes fifth in the 200m butterfly. And this at fifteen!

The first victory at the adult level comes to Phelps a year later, at the 2001 World Cup, after which the American falls into the field of view of the fans, who two years later began to admire Michael. And it was for that - Phelps at the World Championships in Barcelona proved to be a multi-stationer, becoming the champion in the 200m butterfly, and also winning both heats in the complex. It is impossible not to note the versatility of the American - he adds gold to his victories in personal heats as part of the combined relay.

sixfold

It is obvious that Athens-2004 will be the high point of the swimmer who has rapidly burst into the world elite. And so it happened - Phelps won six gold medals, having won two victories in his profile distances in butterfly and complex, plus, twice became the champion in relay races - 4 × 200 m freestyle and combined.

But that's not all - Michael won bronze in the most stellar swim of the Olympics - the 200-meter freestyle, imposing a serious fight on van den Hoogenband. Sometimes there was a feeling that Phelps did not get out of the pool - the next qualification was replaced by the final swim and vice versa.

At the 2005 World Championships, Phelps allows himself a little "rest", reducing the number of disciplines. Michael took away four gold medals from Montreal. Melbourne is another matter. At the 2007 World Championships, Phelps decided to hold a dress rehearsal for the Olympics in Beijing. Seven finals - seven victories - one hundred percent result! To two victories in butterfly, complex and relay races, Michael added success at a distance of 200 meters freestyle.

fourteen times

Definitely, Phelps is becoming the best swimmer in the world, and now everyone is worried about two questions - will Michael overtake Mark Spitz in the number of victories in one Olympics (the legendary American swimmer became the seven-time champion of Munich in 1972) and will he become the most titled Olympian in history? In China, Michael answers positively to both questions, winning eight gold medals. Phelps becomes a champion in all types of programs in which he took part - it's fantastic!

Michael Phelps - 2008 Olympic winner

After a grandiose triumph, Phelps slows down a bit at the 2009 World Championships in Rome - refusing to compete in the complex, Michael takes “only” two golds in the butterfly in personal heats, but with world records. Two years later, in Shanghai, Phelps traditionally wins both butterfly heats and again goes to the start in the complex (200 m) - however, he is content with silver, as in the 200-meter freestyle.

eighteenfold

It is clear that Phelps will not be able to keep up with Beijing at the London Olympics. Somewhere he lowered the requirements for himself, perhaps age began to affect - Phelps did not apply for a distance of 200 meters freestyle. Therefore, he does not plan to repeat his Beijing triumph. London brought Michael four golds: in two relay races - combined and 4 × 200 in / c, as well as in the "short" butterfly and complex - 100 and 200 meters, respectively. Phelps for the first time since 2000 did not become a champion in the 200-meter butterfly, and in the 400-meter medley he became the fourth at all.

Shortly after London, Phelps announced his retirement from sports. This decision seemed logical - he is the best swimmer in history, having conquered incredible peaks. Michael's rivals breathed a sigh of relief - now the path to the podium is open. They are diligently preparing for the 2016 Olympics, playing medals at the World Championships, but in 2014 they learn that Phelps is returning to the sport and plans to dive into the pool again in Rio de Janeiro to leave it after the Olympics.

twenty-three times

Phelps comes to Rio in the status of a dark horse - no one knows what the American multichampion is capable of. The first preliminary swims show that Phelps is ready and will fight for gold again in all heats. In Brazil, Michael decided to further shorten his program of performances by removing the 400 m complex from it. But at a distance twice as short, Phelps becomes the champion for the fourth time in a row - a unique case!

Michael also wins his fourth Olympic gold medals in two of his favorite relay races - the combined and freestyle 4 × 200 m. In the half-time relay race, the Americans regain the champion status lost in London - Phelps, as usual, is in the championship four. In the butterfly, Michael is rehabilitated in 2012 in the 200m, but in the "hundredth" he becomes the second.

After winning five gold medals in Brazil and becoming a twenty-three-time Olympic champion, Phelps announces his retirement from the sport, this time for good. It's worth it to leave as a winner; leaving as a champion to come back astonishing the world again and leaving swimming is an act worth bowing down to.

It is not known whether a person will appear on earth who can break Michael's record for the number of Olympic victories, but it is already clear today that this athlete will be from another planet, because Phelps left such a mark in history that ordinary person clearly not feasible.