Michael Fred Phelps II, often known as “The Flying Fish”, was born on the 30th of June, 1985. The former American Swimmer and the ‘GOAT’ has cemented his legacy in the sport by winning 28 Olympic medals. His greatest achievement came in the years 2007 and 2008, wherein he did a ‘clean sweep’ at the 2007 World Championship and the 2008 Summer Olympics; winning all 15 of the events he participated in.

Growing up, Phelps lived with his mother and two sisters after his parents’ divorce in 1994. Michael’s first swimming lesson came at the age of seven when he was told to float on his back, of which he was terrified. Funnily enough, the backstroke, later on, became his favorite stroke.

Phelps’ Swimming Career

Michael joined the North Baltimore Aquatic Club at seven and went on to represent his country at the 2000 Summer Olympics at 15. He then went on to become the most successful Olympic swimmer of all time, winning a record tally of 28 medals across the next 4 Olympics. Phelps won the World Championship In Japan and won 5 medals at the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships. Success kept coming at a rapid pace from here on.

READ MORE : “Motivation for the Next Olympics”- Michael Phelps’ Recalls Loss to Rival Wasn’t Failure for Him

Michael Phelps at the 2000 Summer Olympics

In a video recently posted on Twitter by Kyle Sockwell, Michael can be seen competing in his first-ever Olympic race. In the video, we can see Michael competing in the heats of the 200m butterfly at the 2000 Summer Olympics. After a mediocre first 100m which saw Michael in 5th position, he came back strong to win the heat with a time of 1:57:30.

His finishing time meant he qualified third from the heats. In the Semifinals, Phelps placed 4th overall with a time of 1:57:00 and qualified for his first-ever Olympic finals. He finally finished 5th overall with a personal best time of 1:56:50.

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Although he did not win any medals at the Australia Olympics; Phelps had already made a name for himself by becoming the youngest male to become a member of the US Olympic Swimming team since 1932.

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