Michael Phelps Trivia: 40 interesting facts about the athlete!

Michael Phelps  is an American competition swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time. Lets see some amazing facts and trivia about him!

1.He was born on June 30, 1985.

2. His full name is Michael Fred Phelps II.

3. Michael Phelps was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson, Maryland.

4. He attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and Towson High School.

5. Michael Phelps is the youngest of three children.

6. His ancestry includes English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and German.

7. Michael 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.

8. When Michael Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

9. By the age of 10, he held a national record for his age group (in the 100-meter butterfly).

10. Michael Phelps began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman.

11. Michael 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.

12. While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly.

13. At the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, on March 30, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest male ever to set a swimming world record.

14. At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-meter butterfly en route to becoming a world champion for the first time.

15. At Nationals, the selection meet for the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Phelps set an American record in the 200-meter individual medley and was just off the world record in the 200-meter butterfly.

16. At 2003 Nationals, Phelps won the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, and the 100-meter butterfly. He became the first American swimmer to win three different races in three different strokes at a national championship.

17. At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won four gold medals, two silver medals, and broke five world records.

18. In winning six gold and two bronze medals, at the Olympic Games of Athens 2004 Michael Phelps, still a teenager, had the second-best performance ever at a single Olympics, behind Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Also, he became the second male swimmer ever to win more than two individual titles at a single Games with four, tying Spitz’s four from 1972.

19. At the 2005 World Championship Trials, Phelps decided to drop his specialty events, the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter butterfly, and experiment with the 400-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle.

20. Even though Michael Phelps competed in the backstroke in international competition only once (at the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships), he was among the best backstroke swimmers in the world. This is illustrated by his personal best times set in 2007, four months after the World Championship.

21. At the Olympic Games of Beijjing before the final of the 100-meter butterfly, US born Serbian swimmer Milorad Čavić caused a minor stir when he said it would be “good” if Phelps lost. “It’d be good for him if he loses. It would be nice if historians talk about Michael Phelps winning seven gold medals and losing the eighth to ‘some guy.’ I’d like to be that guy”, Čavić said. Michael Phelps responded, “When people say things like that, it fires me up more than anything.

22. On August 16, Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the Games in the men’s 100-meter butterfly, setting an Olympic record for the event with a time of 50.58 seconds and edging out his nearest competitor Čavić, by one hundredth (0.01) of a second.

23. On August 17, Phelps won his eighth gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay, breaking Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals won in a single Olympic Games, which had stood since 1972.

24. On July 28, 2012,at the Olympic Games of London, Michael Phelps placed eighth in the morning prelims for the 400-meter individual medley. Phelps, the two-time defending Olympic champion, won his heat in 4 minutes, 13.33 seconds with a time that was well off his world record of 4:03.84 set four years ago in Beijing, when Phelps won a record eight gold medals.

25. He was the American flag bearer at the opening ceremony of Rio 2016.

26. In his first event, the 4×100 m freestyle relay, he won his first gold medal of the 2016 Games and his 19th Olympic gold medal overall. Phelps swam the second leg and achieved a split time of 47.12, the fourth-fastest of the field (the three fastest times were posted by the anchors), which was also faster than any of his relay splits at the last three Olympics.

27. Several physical attributes particularly suit Phelps to swimming: his long, thin torso offers low drag; his arms span 6 feet 7 inches (201 cm)—disproportionate to his height of 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm)—and act as long, propulsive paddles.

28. His relatively short legs lower drag, and perhaps add the speed enhancement of a hydrofoil; his size-14 feet provide the effect of flipper and his hypermobile ankles can extend beyond the pointe of a ballet dancer, enabling him to whip his feet as if they were fins for maximum thrust through the water.

29. His lungs are nearly twice the size of the average human, at 12 litres.

30. In November 2004, at the age of 19, Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Salisbury, Maryland.

31. In February 2009, publication of a photograph of Phelps using a bong, a device used for smoking, resulted in the loss of the Kellogg Company as a sponsor, as well as a three-month suspension by USA Swimming. Phelps admitted that the photo, taken at a party at the University of South Carolina, was authentic. He publicly apologized, saying his behavior was “inappropriate”.

32. Michael Phelps idolized Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe as a teenager, modelling his public image after him.

33. Ian Thorpe was in the stands for the 4×100-meter medley relay, where Phelps was swimming for his eighth Olympic title. When Phelps and his teammates captured the gold, Thorpe gave a congratulatory kiss to Phelps’s mother, then gave a handshake and a hug to congratulate Phelps.

34. Thorpe afterwards said “I’m really proud of him not just because he won eight golds. Rather, it’s how much he has grown up and matured into a great human being. Never in my life have I been so happy to have been proved wrong.

35. Michael Phelps was a USA Olympic team member in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016, and holds the records for most Olympic gold medals (19), most such medals in individual events (11), and most such medals at a single games (8, in Beijing 2008).

36. A street in his hometown of Baltimore was renamed The Michael Phelps Way in 2004.

37. With 39 world records (29 individual, 10 relay), Phelps has set more records than any other swimmer, surpassing Mark Spitz’s previous record of 33 world records (26 individual, 7 relay).

38. The male swimmers with the next-highest career medal totals have exactly half of Phelps’ total. Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi and Ryan Lochte all have 11.

39.With a net worth of around $55 million, he is counted among the richest Olympians ever. He has endorsed for Subway, Hilton, Speedo, Visa, Omega, Power Bar and Matsunichi.

40. Michael Phelps had set up a Michael Phelps Foundation, which aims at increasing the awareness of swimming as a sport and focuses on promoting healthy lifestyle.

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