Who believed this scrawny 15-year-old kid with questionable hair in 2001 would become the most decorated Olympian of all time?.
Michael Phelps made his first Olympics in 2000, but he did not medal in his lone event, the 200-meter butterfly. In 2001, Phelps’ thoughts were on getting his driver’s permit and preparing for the 2004 Olympics.
“I guess one of my long term goals is to win the gold medal in Athens,” Phelps said. “I mean I have a lot of goals. I think that I want to take it day-by-day.”
Today, you have a lot of medals, Michael. To be exact, you have 28 medals (23 gold).
At this point, Phelps had already set his first world record, with a 1:54:58 in the 200 butterfly final in the 2001 World Aquatics Championships. Phelps won his first of 10 American Swimmer of the Year Awards in 2001 (likely 11 after 2016). In Athens, he claimed six gold and two bronze medals. That set up an eight-gold run in Beijing, a four-gold affair in London and a five-gold finale in Rio.
“I guess I give up a lot of things,” Phelps said. “But I am getting tons of other things that normal 15-year-old’s aren’t getting.”
Now 31, Phelps is a father and as of this weekend, an officially retired swimmer. In life, he’s gotten a lot of things normal people don’t get.
