Michael Phelps

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Phelps was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson. He is the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue "Debbie" Phelps, is a middle school principal. His father, Michael Fred Phelps, was a retired Maryland State Trooper who played football in high school and college and tried out for the Washington Redskins in the 1970s. His parents divorced in 1994 when he was nine years old. Phelps later revealed that the divorce had a severe negative impact on him and his siblings, and his relationship with his father was distant for a few years after the divorce. During his school years, he was a target of school bullying due to his ADHD and protruding ears. It reached a point where he retaliated during a situation and received a suspension. The frustration from this experience fueled his drive into swimming. 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. After retirement in 2016, he stated "The only reason I ever got in the water was my mom wanted me to just learn how to swim. My sisters and myself fell in love with the sport, and we decided to swim." 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 (in the 100-meter butterfly) and began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman. He attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and graduated from Towson High School in 2003. Phelps qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15, becoming the youngest male (since Ralph Flanagan in 1932) to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years. While he did not win a medal, he made the finals and finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly. At the 2001 World Championships, he broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest male ever to set a world record in swimming. At the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships, Phelps won three gold medals and two silvers. At the 2003 World Championships, Phelps won four gold medals, two silver medals, and broke five world records. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Phelps tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games by winning six gold and two bronze medals. At the 2008 Beijing Games, he won eight gold medals, breaking Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes. 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. Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but he made a comeback in April 2014. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, 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, having won more medals than 161 countries.

Reader's Guide

Michael Phelps is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer of all time and is often considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time. He 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. His 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. He won the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award in 2017. As of August 21, 2018, Phelps still held 11 age group records, eight in long course, and three in short course. There is a popular myth that Phelps ate 12,000 calories every day, but Phelps has stated it has been exaggerated and that he did not eat so much even in his growing days.

Did You Know?

• Phelps tied the record of eight medals at a single Olympic Games, held by gymnast Alexander Dityatin, at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
• At the 2001 World Championships, Phelps became the youngest male ever to set a world record in swimming at 15 years and 9 months.
• Phelps 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, having won more medals than 161 countries.
• As of August 21, 2018, Phelps still held 11 age group records, eight in long course and three in short course.

Olympic Dominance and Record-Breaking Career

Michael Phelps stands alone in Olympic history, having collected 28 medals across four Olympic Games—a total no other athlete has matched. His 23 gold medals set the all-time mark, and his 13 golds in individual events alongside 16 individual-event medals of any color remain untouchable benchmarks. Beyond the Games, his major international long course tally reaches 82 medals: 65 gold, 14 silver, and three bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships. He once held long course world records in five events, including the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, and 400-meter individual medley. His dominance earned him the World Swimmer of the Year honor eight times and the American Swimmer of the Year title eleven times. FINA recognized him as Swimmer of the Year in both 2012 and 2016, and Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Year following his extraordinary 2008 performance. He is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer who has ever competed and is frequently cited among the finest athletes in any sport.

Defining Moments Across Four Olympic Games

Phelps first reached the Olympic stage at just 15 in Sydney 2000, becoming the youngest male to make a U.S. swim team in 68 years since Ralph Flanagan in 1932. Though he finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly without a medal, the experience launched a trajectory that would redefine the sport. In Athens 2004, he matched gymnast Alexander Dityatin's longstanding mark of eight medals at a single Games, collecting six gold and two bronze. The defining moment arrived in Beijing 2008, where he claimed eight gold medals to shatter Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at one Olympics. London 2012 brought four gold and two silver, and Rio 2016 delivered five gold and one silver, making him the most decorated athlete of the Games for a fourth consecutive Olympics. At Rio, teammates selected him to carry the American flag during the Parade of Nations—a symbolic capstone to a career spanning five Games that reshaped what was thought possible in competitive swimming.

Baltimore Roots and the Making of a Swimmer

Born in Baltimore in 1985 and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of Towson, Phelps was the youngest of three children. His mother, Debbie, worked as a middle school principal, and his father, a retired Maryland State Trooper with a football background, had tried out for the Washington Redskins in the 1970s. The family's divorce in 1994 left a deep mark on the young Phelps, who described the period as one of distance from his father. Diagnosed with ADHD in sixth grade and bullied at school for his condition and his protruding ears, he channeled his frustration into the pool. He first entered the water at seven, partly following his sisters' lead and partly to burn off energy. By age ten he had already broken a national age-group record in the 100-meter butterfly and joined the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman. Bowman's disciplined and regimented ways became the backbone of Phelps's development, and the partnership lasted from age eleven through his final competitive years, with Phelps training alongside Bowman at the University of Michigan and later in Arizona. Phelps has said, "Training with Bob is the smartest thing I've ever done ... I'm not going to swim for anyone else."

Retirements, Comebacks, and Lasting Legacy

After the 2008 Games, Phelps established the Michael Phelps Foundation, dedicated to growing swimming and encouraging healthier lifestyles. He stepped away from competition after London 2012, but in April 2014 he announced a return to the pool, ultimately competing in his fifth Olympics in Rio. His second retirement came on August 12, 2016, and he noted the remarkable fact that he had earned more Olympic medals than 161 individual countries. The following year, the Laureus Academy honored him with the World Comeback of the Year award. A persistent myth that he consumed 12,000 calories daily during training, he himself clarified, was an exaggeration. His influence extends well beyond the pool: his 11 age-group records, eight in long course and three in short course, still stood as of August 21, 2018, and his career arc—from a bullied, ADHD-diagnosed kid in Towson to the most decorated Olympian in history—has made him a cultural touchstone. He is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer of all time and consistently ranked among the greatest athletes across all sports.