No swimmer has ever come close to Michael Phelps in terms of his massive accolades. The most decorated Olympic swimmer with 23 gold medals worked hard throughout his career to reach his legendary status today. Phelps’s fire to excel was ignited at its peak at age 15 when he was handed a ‘piece of paper’ in the 2000 Summer Olympics. He recently revealed what went through his mind after he received that piece of paper.

During an interview with motivational speaker Bhrett McCabe, Phelps shared an incident that pissed him off completely. However, he used his aggression in such a way that it changed his career forever. 

Michael Phelps broke a world record in six months

In the interview, Michael Phelps’s time traveled to when he created history for the first time. In 2000, the then 15-year-old became the youngest swimmer to qualify for the Summer Olympics and make a US Olympic swim team after 68 years. Remembering the memories, the swimming GOAT revealed that it was his first international trip.

Although he made history by qualifying, he came fifth in that championship. Phelps lacked “3/10 of a second from winning a medal”. The defeat did not bother him as much as the organization handling him a paper. He revealed in the interview, “They gave me a piece of paper that said Congratulations, and that’s not really what I wanted.”

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That piece of paper was not well comprehended by Phelps. However, his coach found a way to use his aggression effectively. The next day when he went to practice, Bob Bowman handed him another piece of paper with the message, “ WR – World Record. Break a world record in six months.”

The coach and swimmer duo worked hard for the next six months. Ultimately he succeded in his endeavor. On March 30, at the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly race. He emerged as the youngest male swimmer at 15 years and 9 months to ever set a world record in swimming.

15-Year-Old Nearly Touches Michael Phelps Two Decade Old Record at the US World Swimming Trials 2022

Although Phelps climbed the success ladder very early in his career, it took a toll on his mind eventually. 

Michael Phelps numbed his feelings during his competition days

During an interview with Allison Kugel to promote his HBO documentary Weight of Gold, Michael Phelps revealed how he hampered his emotional growth. As a teenager, the swimmer was thrown into the tense and competitive environment of professional swimming.

He added that being a 15-year-old, he was involved in competing against 30-year-olds. Phelps was expected to focus on the intricacies of championships and not develop the innocence in him as a teenager. He expressed, “ You train yourself to not pay attention to how you feel, and before too long you are blindsided by it all.” In his childhood, Phelps saw a string of overwhelming moments involving his parent’s divorce. However, he numbed all those thoughts in his mind to compete in the championships.

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Despite facing a series of ups and downs, Phelps emerged as the greatest swimmer of all time. However, he did work on his mental health and is presently helping a million others through his foundation, Michael Phelps Foundation.