The Olympic legend, Michael Phelps made history in the sport of swimming in his 25 years long career, winning medals left and right. Though his journey as a swimmer didn’t start from an interest in the competitive side, but due to his mother’s worries. Phelps’ mother wanted her kids to learn how to swim purely for safety concerns.

Eventually, his sisters took to the competitive side and Phelps followed, training under the tutelage of storied coach Bob Bowman since he turned 11. Now a father of three sons himself, Phelps cares more than ever about water safety for children.

Michael Phelps started his foundation to teach water safety

In 2016, about three months before the last run of his career at the Rio Olympics, Michael Phelps and his wife welcomed their first child, Boomer, into their lives. In the following years, they had two more sons, Beckett and Maverick. One of the first things Phelps did as soon as they came of age was to teach them how to swim.

In 2019, the swimming legend talked to POPSUGAR about his efforts to raise awareness about water safety. At the time, Phelps had two kids and revealed he had passed on some basic knowledge of the pool to them.  “They both know how to swim, but we also know how fast [drowning] can happen,” he stated.

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However, the Olympian has held this concern for a long time. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps bagged 8 gold medals, an unprecedented feat, all achieved in record-breaking times. As a reward, he received a million-dollar bonus for his efforts from his sponsor, Speedo.

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Consequently, he invested that entire amount to start the Michael Phelps Foundation. “We know how fast a kid can drown. When I started the [Michael Phelps Foundation]… in 2008, I wanted to go right back into teaching the importance of water safety because it’s the second leading cause of death for children under the age of 14.”

Phelps fears that the issue doesn’t get enough attention

The biggest issue with drowning is that, unlike what the movies and TV shows portray, it happens quickly and silently. The flailing of arms, splashing of water, and crying for help doesn’t happen. Drowning victims make no sound, and within minutes the situation gets dire.

Lifeguards receive training for spotting the signs of drowning, but to the untrained eye, parents may not even notice when something goes wrong. Michael Phelps, deeply aware of such dangers, wants to spread awareness on the issue so that no parent has to come face-to-face with such a scenario.

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“We have to think about that more because it’s something that can happen so fast,” he explained. “The only reason why I ever swam, or I was ever in the water is for water safety. My mom strictly just put myself and my sisters in the water. And that’s the only thing we’ve done with the boys.”