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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 win a 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 had the chance to break that record in 2004 by competing in eight swimming events: the 200m 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. As his 4x100m freestyle relay team only won a bronze medal, and he personally placed for bronze in the 200m freestyle, he can no longer challenge that record. However, he is still on track to win eight medals in one Olympics, a feat only achieved by Aleksandr Dityatin, a gymnast, in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

Had he won seven golds, he would have been eligible for a US $1 million bonus from his sponsor, Speedo. Only a few days before the beginning of the swimming competition in Athens 2004, however, members of the U.S. 4x100m freestyle team publicly criticized the possibility of allowing Phelps to swim in the event. They claimed that Phelps is not a top swimmer in the event and his presence could compromise the US team's performance in the name of what was called a "media circus" for Phelps to win eight gold medals. The episode only made it yet more clear that Phelps's participation in at least some of the relay events would depend solely on his performance in the individual events.

On August 14, 2004, he won his first Olympic gold, in the 400m individual medley, setting another new world record (4:08.26).

See also: Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics

External links

• Michael Phelps official web site
• NBCOlympics.com: Michael Phelps
• Michael Phelps fan site

• Current events
• U.S. swimmers