This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Andres (talk | contribs) at 02:11, 13 July 2004 (et:). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 02:11, 13 July 2004 by Andres (talk | contribs) (et:)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Michael Phelps (born June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American swimmer and world-record holder (as of 2004).
Michael Phelps appeared at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney as the youngest American male swimmer in 68 years at the age of 15. While he didn't medal at the 2000 Olympics, Phelps proceeded to make a name for himself in swimming shortly thereafter. Five months after Sydney, Phelps broke the world record in the 200m butterfly and then broke his own record again at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan (1:54.58). At the 2002 Summer Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Phelps also broke the world record for the 400m individual medley and set American marks in the 100m butterfly and the 200m individual medley.
In 2003, Phelps broke his own world record in the 400m individual medley (4:09.09) and in June, he broke the world record in the 200m individual medley (1:56.04). Then on July 7, 2004, Phelps broke his own world record again in the 400m individual medley (4:08.41) during the U.S. trials for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Phelps' dominance brought comparisons to another dominant American swimmer, Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals in the 1972 Summer Olympics, a world record. Phelps has the chance to break that record in 2004 by competing in eight swimming events: the 100m freestyle, the 100m butterfly, the 200m butterfly, the 100m backstroke, the 200m backstroke, the 200m individual medley, the 400m individual medley, the 4x100m freestyle relay and the 4x100m medley relay. Should he win eight golds, he will be eligible for a US $1 million bonus from his sponsor, Speedo.