Michael Phelps today: the Olympic legend shares on mental health, his family, his swimwear brand and what he’s been up to since he set 39 world records
- Phelps set his first record at age 15 and still holds four, though Caeleb Dressel is the current record holder for the 100-metre butterfly
- He used his US$1 million Speedo pay cheque to set up a charity foundation, and became a mental health advocate after opening up about ADHD and depression
Michael Phelps is arguably the greatest Olympian of all time by sheer number of Olympic medals won. His 28 medals spanning five Games is unrivalled, and no other Olympic athlete comes close to his 23 gold medals.
The 36-year-old Baltimore, US native is built for swimming. At 193cm (6-foot-4), Phelps’ large frame, broad shoulders and big hands and feet, which act like fins, make his body perfect for his chosen sport.
Phelps made his mark on the Games starting over 20 years ago at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when, at 15 years old, he became the youngest man on US Olympic swim team in 68 years (Ralph Flanagan was 13 at the 1932 Olympics). In Sydney, his highest place was fifth in the 200-metre butterfly – which would become his signature event – but that was the lowest Phelps would ever place in any Olympics.
Through the next four Games, Phelps would medal in every event he competed in except one, which was a fourth-place finish in the 400-metre individual medley at the 2012 London Games.
Phelps called it quits after competing in the 2016 Rio Games. In his final Olympic race – the 4x100-metre medley relay – the greatest swimmer of all time posted a 47.12 second run, the fastest 100 free split of his career, to truly go out on top. He added six medals (five golds) to his overall total in Rio.
Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time, collecting 28 total medals in his career. Of those medals, 23 are gold, three are silver and two are bronze. He has 10 more medals than the next closest Olympian, former Soviet Union gymnast Larisa Latynina. No one comes close to his gold medal count, which is 14 more than Latynina’s nine, which is shared with three additional athletes.
Over the course of his career, he set 39 world records – the most for any male swimmer, according to the Guinness World Records. Twenty years ago, 15-year-old Phelps set his first world record, swimming a 1:54.92 in the 200-metre butterfly in the 2001 United States Spring Nationals. That was the start of a record-breaking career, setting 39 world marks before his retirement. Phelps still holds four world records: 400-metre individual medley (Olympics), 4x100-metre freestyle relay (Olympics), 4x100-metre medley relay (World Championships) and 4x200-metre freestyle relay (World Championships).