Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time. The “Baltimore Bullet” set a benchmark for every Olympian, irrespective of the sport. While Phelps first took part in the Olympics in 2000, he made his mark for the first time in 2004. At Athens, Phelps won six golds, and while preparing for the 2004 games, Michael made an unexpected friend. During the summer, another talented swimmer, Kevin Clements, stayed at Phelps’ house.

The ”Flying Fish” recounted his time with Kevin in his book. Phelps reminisced about how Kevin pushed him during training and even humbled him outside the pool.

Michael Phelps found a new friend

In his book, “Beneath the Surface,” Michael Phelps revealed how he felt about an unexpected houseguest. Phelps met Kevin Clements after coming back from a meet in Australia. Michael wrote, “When I got back to Baltimore I had a new housemate.” Phelps further mentioned, “He was a teammate of mine on a few national teams.” Clements came to Baltimore to train with the renowned coach, Bob Bowman. However, Kevin couldn’t find a place to stay and crashed at Phelps’ place.

Phelps revealed, “The plan was to have him stay with us for three weeks. Instead, he stayed through the summer.” Phelps didn’t thought that through the summer, Kevin would become, “Like a big brother to me.”

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Both Kevin and Michael trained together and pushed each other to do better. Kevin, 24, had shown great potential and even won a national title in the 400m individual medley in 2004. Phelps wrote, “I think I helped Kevin rediscover his love for swimming.”

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The ”Baltimore Bullet” also revealed that he and Kevin played a lot of video games and listen to hip-hop music. Michael held his own at ‘Mario Kart’. However, “He beat me pretty badly at the billiard table,” revealed Phelps in his book.

Kevin Clements fell short in 2004

Phelps described Kevin Clements as an “Outstanding IMer” in his book. However, things didn’t go as planned for Kevin. During the 2004 Olympic trials at Long Beach, Kevin needed a 2nd place finish to make the US Olympic swimming team. Instead, Clements placed fifth in the 200 m individual medley finals, and his dream of going to Athens ended.

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Kevin Clements was a surprise houseguest. However, he and Phelps became friends quickly. Kevin helped the “Flying Fish” train harder and even humbled him on the billiard table. While Kevin left Baltimore after the 2004 Olympic trials, he must’ve left a lasting impression on the Olympic legend. Phelps honored their time together by writing about it in his book.