Michael Fred Phelps II[5] OLY (born June 30, 1985)[6] is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time[7] with a total of 28 medals.[8] Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23),[9] Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16).[10] At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Phelps tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games, held by gymnast Alexander Dityatin, by winning six gold and two bronze medals. Four years later, when he won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, he broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.[11][12]
Phelps is a former long course world record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, and 400-meter individual medley. He has won 82 medals in major international long course competitions, of which 65 were gold, 14 silver, and three bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships. Phelps's international titles and record-breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award eight times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eleven times, as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year Award in 2012 and 2016. Phelps earned Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award due to his unprecedented Olympic success in the 2008 Games.
After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but he made a comeback in April 2014.[13] At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro,[14] his fifth Olympics, he was selected by his team to be the flag bearer of the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations. He announced his second retirement on August 12, 2016,[15] having won more medals than 161 countries. He won the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award in 2017.[16] He is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer of all time and is often considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time.[17][18]
- ^ Harris, Nick (August 11, 2008). "'Baltimore Bullet' has history in his sights". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
- ^ "'Flying Fish' Phelps largely unknown in China". NBC News. August 17, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
phelpsbiowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Michael Phelps". London2012.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
- ^ "Michael Phelps(Full Birth Name)". britannica.com. December 1, 2005. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ "Michael Phelps Biography: Swimming, Athlete (1985–)". Biography.com (FYI / A&E Networks). Retrieved November 18, 2015.
- ^ Walters, Tanner (August 13, 2016). "Michael Phelps: 30 medals in Tokyo? 'I don't think so'". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
- ^ "Michael Phelps". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ "Rio 2016 | Simone Biles dazzles while Phelps wins his 22nd gold on day 6". August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ^ Gibbs, Robert (August 11, 2016). "Phelps breaks ties for most overall & gold individual medals". Swimswam. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ^ Anderson, Jared (September 28, 2016). "Phelps named USOC's male athlete of the Rio Olympics". Swimswam. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
- ^ Lord, Craig (September 16, 2012). "Franklin Pips Phelps For Top Honour". SwimNews. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ Harris, Beth (April 14, 2014). "Olympic Great Michael Phelps Ending Retirement". NBC Washington. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
- ^ Zaccardi, Nick (May 3, 2016). "Michael Phelps left with one meet before Olympic Trials". Olympics on NBC. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
- ^ Rogers, Martin. "Michael Phelps on Olympic future: 'I am not coming back in four years'". USA Today. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^ "PAST WINNERS". Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
- ^ "Where Does Michael Phelps Rank Among Great Athletes Of All Time?". BleacherReport. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ Jones, Tom. "Jones: Put Michael Phelps in talk about greatest athlete of all time". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 7, 2020.