Presentation on Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps: From a weak boy to the Olympic

Star

ChildhoodPhelps was born on June 30, 1985, and

grew up in the Baltimore suburb of Towson. His mother, Debbie, is an

administrator with the Baltimore County school system. He has two older sisters.

“At first, I was a little scared to put my head underwater, so I started with the backstroke”.

Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy. When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with  attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder  (ADHD).

By the age of 10, he held a national record for his age group, and Phelps began to train at the  North Baltimore Aquatic Club. More age group records followed, and Phelps's

rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the  2000 Summer Olympics

 at the age of 15 and becoming the youngest male to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years. While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the

200-meter butterfly.

2000 Sidney

Gold 100 m butterfly Gold 200 m butterfly

Gold 200 m individual medleyGold 400 m individual medleyGold 4×200 m freestyle relayGold 4×100 m medley relay

Bronze 200 m freestyleBronze 4×100 m freestyle relay

2004 Athens

At Beijing Phelps again entered eight events and this time he came thru with a

victory in all eight, becoming the first Olympian to win eight gold medals at one

Olympic Games. It was a real triumph!

2008 Beijing

“The more you dream the more you achieve”. 

2021 London

“I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I

think your mind really controls everything”. 

In London Phelps won his 19th Olympic medal in the 4x200m relay.He had finally broken the record held by Larisa Latynina. The gymnast from the former Soviet Union was awarded the last of her 18 medals in 1964. Latynina was present at the race and asked to be the presenter of Phelps's medal, but was told that Olympic rules would not allow it. She called Phelps deserving of the record

“Swimming is normal for me. I'm relaxed. I'm comfortable, and I know my surroundings. It's my home”. 

Phelps says his Olympic swimming career is over but adds he wants to keep swimming, but now in oceans: "I've always wanted to dive with great whites. Sharks are one of my favorite animals in the world."

The secrets of his success

“I can't remember the last day I didn't train”. 

Special diet Everyone is amazed to hear that anyone could possibly consume 12,000 calories each day, but Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps’ diet includes lots of food when he is training. Phelps trains six days a week and exercises five hours a day, so he is using up the calories that he consumes.

In peak training phases, Phelps swims minimum 80,000 meters a week, which is nearly 50 miles. He practices twice a day, sometimes more if he’s training at altitude. Phelps trains for around five to six hours a day at six days a week. To give himself some additional entertainment in the water, Phelps listens to music during his long workouts with waterproof headphones. Swimming in the water, especially that long, can be pretty boring. Listening to music can provide that extra spark to your workout.

Phelps starts his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.

He follows that up with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

"Breakfast of Champions"

Lunch

At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs - what he needs to give him plenty of energy for his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen - with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza.He washes all that down with another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

Dinner

In 2008 Michael established the Michael Phelps Foundation with a bonus of $1 million from his long-time partner, Speedo. The foundation promotes healthy and active lifestyles especially for children. The organization extends opportunities so that talented individuals can participate in national and international swimming events. The Michael Phelps Foundation has helped many individuals achieve their dreams and the organization vows to work harder to introduce more programs to help achieve the youngsters reach their goals.

Michael Phelps Foundation

Michael Phelps has a keen interest in golf which explains why he plans the post Olympic career move in Golfing. He also comments "As I enter this next chapter of my life, I think I will be able to shift my competitiveness to anything I put my mind to and golf is one of the things I want to focus on”.

Golf

“Even in high school, I'd tell my mom I was sick of swimming and wanted to try to play golf. She wasn't too happy. She'd say, 'Think about this.' And I'd always end up getting back in the pool”.

“I want to be able to look back and say, 'I've done everything I can, and I was successful.' I don't want to look

back and say I should have done this or that. I'd like to change things for the younger generation of swimmers

coming along.” 

Thank you for your attention!