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WATCH: Michael Phelps Once Broke Down Into Tears After Watching His Own Commercial: ‘Things About Me… The World Has Never Seen’

Published 03/17/2022, 10:06 AM EDT

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There is no doubt that Michael Phelps is truly the most decorated Olympian of all time. Over the course of five Summer Olympics, Phelps secured 28 Olympic medals, the most by an Olympian.

Despite retiring in 2012, Phelps made a comeback two years later in 2014. Then, he decided to compete in one final Summer Olympics, at Rio in 2016. Apparel giant Under Armour, which has endorsed Michael Phelps since 2010, came out with a powerful commercial ahead of his final Olympic stint.

In fact, Michael felt so moved by the ad that he and his wife Nicole Johnson, during a private screening, teared up.

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Why Michael Phelps teared up watching his Under Armour commercial

Ahead of his final Olympic stint in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Under Armour released a beautiful and powerful commercial. The ad showed Michael Phelps putting in countless hours of work all by himself.

Moreover, it also showed how he dealt with the physical and emotional toll it takes to be an Olympian. Ahead of the commercial’s release, Michael and his wife Nicole Johnson visited the Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore, when they viewed its final cut.

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Despite not having gone through post-processing, the ad was powerful enough to move both Nicole and Michael Phelps to tears. When asked why she teared up, Nicole said that “it’s about what he sacrificed, and being able to see it on the screen”.

Michael himself had tears streaming down his face. “That commercial shows a lot of amazing things about me that probably the world has never seen,” he said. “The world will see the real Michael Phelps, and that’s what I’m excited for,” he said.

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Clearly, both Michael and Nicole were affected by the commercial. The message of the ad was very powerful, too- ‘it’s what you doing the dark that puts you in the light’.

Michael’s incredibly successful swan song

The 2016 Rio Olympics were the final time Michael Phelps would compete at the biggest sporting stage in the world. Despite his retirement in 2012, Phelps came back two years later to compete again.

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Thus, he decided to compete at the 2016 Olympics again. There, following suit from his 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympics, Phelps dominated the waters and secured five gold medals.

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Moreover, he also won a silver medal, taking his 2016 Olympic medal tally to six, and his all-time medal tally to twenty-eight. Truly, Phelps has been the greatest, most decorated Olympian and swimmer history has ever seen.

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Written by:

Samarveer Singh

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Samarveer Singh is a tennis writer at EssentiallySports. Holding a degree in English Literature and a diploma in Fitness Sciences and Training, Samarveer is obsessed with tennis and basketball. He is also an automotive writer at HotCars.
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