Journey of Michael Phelps who secured his 20th and 21st individual gold medal

By Payal Dwivedi on August 10, 2016 at 2:03 PM

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“If you want to be the best, you have to do things other people aren’t willing to do”

This message of Michael has really motivate us to do something in life, the man who struggled very much in his life to come in this stage now, won 21^st individual gold medal I must say that his hard work and struggle had paid him back with gold medals.

Phelps has won his 20^th and 21^st individual gold medal by winning the 200m individual butterfly and 4x200m relay event. Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in 2012 London Olympics, Phelps holds the record for most individual gold medals and where Masato Sakai of Japan secured the silver medal. Phelps, who had won the 4X100m relay event, secured the 200m butterfly event after some fierce competition from Japan’s Masato Sakai to touch the wall in 1min 53.36. Tamas Kenderesi of Hungary won the bronze.

Phelps continued his incredible run by bagging his 21st gold medal of his incredible Olympic career, anchoring the United States to victory in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

The journey of a sportsmanship of Michael Phelps is commendable; here I am taking you to the journey of Phelps that you must know about him. Have a look

Phelps is known most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 23 Olympic medals spanning over three Olympic Games. He has actually competed at four Olympics; however, he did not medal at his first Games in Sydney, Australia. He is recognized for his formidable butterfly, though he also specializes in individual medleys and the 100 and 200-meter freestyle.

The Beginning life

Michael Phelps was born in Towson, Maryland on June 30, 1985 to Fred and Debbie Phelps. While following in the wake of his two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary, a young Phelps was initially fearful of putting his face in the water. However, he overcame this discomfort and, in 1996, was inspired by the performances of Tom Malchow and Tom Dolan during the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Shortly thereafter, he joined the North Baltimore Athletic Club, where he met Bob Bowman, the coach who would see him through the highs and lows of the rest of his career.

His 2000 Olympic games

Though Phelps struggled in school and was diagnosed with ADHD, he focused most when it came to swimming. In 2000, Phelps found himself in Sydney, Australia, having qualified in the 200-meter butterfly. At 15, he was the youngest male Olympian the United States had presented in nearly 70 years. While he did not medal at the meet, he competed in the finals against Tom Malchow, touching fifth. As a spectator at the event, Phelps gained another source of inspiration from observing the races of a bodysuit-clad freestyle legend, Australian Ian Thorpe.

Retirement

During his quasi-retirement, Phelps focused on the Michael Phelps Foundation, which he founded with Bowman after his success in Beijing. He continues to support youth interest in the sport of swimming and promotes the importance of a healthy lifestyle. For a time, he traveled around the world attending golf competitions, and was even on a golfing television show. But he never strayed too far from swimming – making an appearance in the stands at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, and joining his old training crew at the NBAC to stay in shape, stirring fans into a frenzy at the possibility of a return to competition. Even rival Ryan Lochte stated in multiple interviews that he knew Phelps would be back.

Controversy

The triumphant return suffered a jarring interruption in the fall, when Phelps faced his second DUI arrest in Baltimore. Within a week of the incident, Phelps issued a statement over Facebook in which he briefly discussed his decision to attend a treatment program in order to “make better decisions in the future.” USA Swimming banned him from competition for six months, and from competition at World Championships in 2015. Upon his return from the program in December, Phelps appeared in court, where he pled guilty to driving under the influence. He avoided jail time, but is undergoing 18 months of supervised probation and cannot drink during that period. Meanwhile, he has returned to training. His suspension will be lifted in the spring, and he still has over a year to prepare for Rio. At the heart of it, Phelps is a swimmer, 2015 is a starting block, and he knows it’s time to step up.

Michael launches MP brand

Michael Phelps and Aqua Sphere officially launch the ‘MP’brand with the release of their highly anticipated technical swim suit XPRESSO, April 15, 2015. The MP line, developed with the technical input and product testing of Phelps and Coach Bob Bowman, includes performance swim goggles, K180 and K180+, and competitive training Focus Swim Snorkel designed and manufactured by Aqua Sphere. The Phelps-Aqua Sphere collaboration is unique in one very important way. It is arguably a first in the competitive swimming market. While there have been signature lines of products carrying a swimmer’s name in the past, they were limited runs. MP is different. MP, the entire business model, is more akin to Nike and famous basketball star Michael Jordan’s iconic brand Air Jordan.

Michael’s Marriage

Michael Phelps wife once held the title of Miss California USA. Nicole Johnson was crowned in 2010 and was first runner-up in 2007. She worked for ESPN, Yellow Pages and Mercedes-Benz. Johnson is currently Volunteer Marketing Manager for the Michael Phelps Foundation. Johnson graduated at the University of Southern California with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a focus on Sports Entertainment

Johnson and Phelps dated way back in 2009 but have broken up and gotten back together numerous times. Phelps said they were on and off for eight years and they’ve been through a lot. But this only strengthened their relationship and made them grow. “I love her to death,” Phelps said of Johnson.

2016 Rio Olympics

Olympic medal number 23 came in Phelps’ first event in Rio, 4×100 meter freestyle, and it was his 19th gold. Phelps took over for the second leg from Caeleb Dressel in second place just behind France. By the time he finished his leg, Team USA were over a second ahead. Ryan Held and Nathan Adrian maintained the lead for the rest of the way to take gold in 3.09.92. Phelps’ split of 47.12 was the fourth fastest of all the swimmers.

The times has Michael been in the Olympics?

At the 2004 Olympic Games, Michael Phelps became only the second athlete, after Aleksandr Dityatin (URS-GYM-1980) to win eight medals at a single Olympics, and he repeatd this in 2008 at Beijing. Phelps had attempted to win gold medals in eight swimming events in 2004, to better Mark Spitz’s performance at München.

Olympics that are done by Phelps

Over three Olympics, from 2004 through ’12, Michael Phelps had won 18 gold medals and 22 medals overall, each total more than anyone ever.

Gold Medals won by Phelps

The swimmer who won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.Swimmer Michael Phelps has won 18 Olympic gold medals and 22 Olympic medals in all — more than anyone in history.