Where did michael phelps come from. Where did michael phelps come from biography of michael phelps in english

The nickname "Baltimore Bullet" this athlete deserved not in vain. Michael Fred Phelps II - this is the full name of the famous American swimmer - managed to win 23 times at the Olympic Games, 13 of them in individual competitions. Today he is the record holder for the number of awards, which no one has yet managed to surpass.

Michael Phelps was born in June 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Michael was one of 3 children of school principal Deborah Sue Davisson and football player Michael Fred Phelps. When Michael was 9 years old, his parents' marriage ended. The boy painfully experienced the divorce of his father and mother. In the 6th grade, the future sports star was diagnosed with hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder.

The older sister brought the 7-year-old brother to the pool. After 3 years, the boy broke the national record in his age group. An experienced coach Bob Bowman took up the further career of a talented swimmer.

Swimming

Under the guidance of a mentor, Michael quickly climbed the sports Olympus. At the age of 15, Michael was selected to participate in the 2000 Olympics, becoming the youngest competitor in the history of the games. Then in Sydney, Australia, the swimmer managed to win only 5th place. But a year later, Michael surprised everyone by breaking the world record. In the United States, Phelps was named Swimmer of the Year in 2001.

But it was only a glorious beginning. In 2003, after graduating from high school, the 17-year-old athlete set world records 5 times. But fame came to him the following year at the Olympics in Athens. 8 medals, of which 6 are gold, before Michael Phelps, only Russian gymnast Alexander Dityatin managed to win in 1980. As for swimming, the American turned out to be a pioneer.

In the same 2004, Phelps moved with his own permanent coach Bob Bowman to Michigan. Here Michael entered the university, choosing the faculty of sports management.

In 2007, Michael went to Melbourne, where he participated in the World Championship. Here Phelps managed to win 7 gold medals and set 5 world records. Phelps is becoming a household name for the swimmers of the world.

But the athlete himself saw in front of him those peaks that remained unconquered. Michael dreamed of breaking the record of compatriot Mark Spitz. The one at the Olympic Games, which were held in Munich in 1972, managed to win 7 gold medals. Phelps has been training hard. And at the Olympics in Beijing in China in 2008, the athlete managed to achieve what he wanted: 8 gold medals. Spitz's record, previously called "eternal", was reached and broken.

In 2009, the athlete was accused of doping. Paparazzi captured a swimmer with a marijuana pipe. And although the athlete’s tests turned out to be clean, and smoking cannabis is not prohibited out of competition, the US Swimming Federation pointedly disqualified Phelps for three months for disappointing people who believe in him.

The sports biography of Michael Phelps is a series of real triumphs. During his career, the American champion managed to win 19 Olympic gold medals and break world records 32 times - a result that most swimmers in the world can only dream of.

In 2012, after the London Olympics, 27-year-old Michael Phelps announced his decision to put an end to his sports biography. After participating in this Olympics, the swimmer surpassed all athletes in all sports in terms of the number of Olympic awards. Michael Phelps received 22 medals at that time and broke the record set by a Soviet gymnast. This record stood for 48 years.

But in 2014, the athlete again took part in the games. The fans of the champion heard the same words about the end of their career in 2016: the swimmer again said that the Olympics in Brazil would be his last. In Rio de Janeiro, Phelps once again met the expectations of his fans. The athlete managed to break his own record for gold medals.

Now Michael Phelps is a 23-time Olympic champion. He has 28 awards in his piggy bank, collected from all the Olympics in which he participated. At the same time, 13 of the swimmer's 23 gold medals belong to individual competitions, which allowed the athlete. Moreover, this record remained unattainable for 2168 years: in 152 BC, the ancient Greek athlete Leonid of Rhodes received 12 gold medals in the individual competition.

Personal life

Not only a sports career, but also the personal life of Michael Phelps was excellent. He is happily married to model Nicole Johnson, who was crowned Miss California in 2010.

In May 2016, Nicole gave birth to her first child, whom the couple named Robert. Michael Phelps shared his joy with his fans, saying that he had never experienced greater happiness.

The couple have been together since 2010. The athlete assures that now he simply has to spend more time with his grown family. And the swimmer really sticks to this plan, in " Instagram» Phelps in every second photo, the athlete is captured with his family.

The swimmer's athletic achievements are often associated, in addition to the swimming technique, with the features of the Phelps figure. Michael has a size 47 foot, which is statistically larger than the average size for his height. The athlete also has disproportionately short legs and a long torso and arms. At the same time, according to various estimates, the swimmer's arm span reaches 201-203 cm, which is as much as 10 cm more than the athlete's own height (193 cm).

The weight of the athlete is 83 kg, which is not so remarkable if it were not for the myth of the “Phelps diet”. Against this background of the swimmer's victories, the diet attributed to him with 10,000-12,000 calories consumed became especially popular. But the athlete himself claims that he has never eaten so much.

The swimmer is engaged in advertising and acts as the face of LZR Racer tracksuits. In addition, the athlete opened his own personalized brand that produces specialized goggles for swimming. The design of the glasses was developed by Phelps himself in collaboration with trainer Bob Bowman.

Michael Phelps now

Michael Phelps has repeatedly proved that he has no competition among people. Therefore, in 2017, the swimmer agreed to an unusual competition offered by the Discovery TV channel. At a distance of 100 meters, the Olympic champion with. In this competition, the swimmer lost, the shark overcame a hundred meters faster by 2 seconds.

February 12, 2018 by Michael Phelps The athlete shared this news on Instagram, saying that both Nicole and the baby are doing well.

Awards

2003 - Champion of the World Championships in Barcelona in competitions at a distance of 400 m and 200 m individual medley, at a distance of 200 m butterfly style, in a combined relay race 4 × 100 m
2004 - Olympic champion in Athens in 400m and 200m medley, 200m and 100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay
2005 - Champion of the World Championships in Montreal in the 200 m medley and freestyle competitions, in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and 4 × 100 m medley relay
2007 - Champion of the World Championships in Melbourne in competitions at a distance of 400 m and 200 m individual medley, at a distance of 200 m and 100 m butterfly style, at a distance of 200 m individual medley, in relay races 4 × 200 m and 4 × 100 m
2008 - Beijing Olympic champion in 400m and 200m medley, 200m and 100m butterfly, 200m freestyle, 4x200m and 4x100m freestyle and medley relay events 4×100 m
2009 - World Championships champion in Rome in 200m and 100m butterfly, 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays and 4x100m medley relay
2011 - World Championship champion in Shanghai in 200m and 100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay
2012 - London Olympic champion in 200m medley, 100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay
2016 - Olympic champion in Rio de Janeiro in 200m medley and butterfly, 4x200m and 4x100m freestyle relays and 4x100m medley relay

The fastest swimmer, the most titled Olympic athlete, the greatest athlete of all time. And all this is one person - American Michael Phelps. At the moment, he has 28 Olympic awards in his piggy bank (an absolute record), of which 23 are gold and 37 world records, of which 7 have not yet been broken. If on land, then on the water it is definitely Phelps.

Who is the fastest swimmer

Michael Phelps was born in 1985 in Baltimore. He started swimming at the age of 7. This was facilitated by his unusual addition. Disproportionately short legs and an elongated torso, long arms, large foot size - the perfect combination for swimmers. In the photo of Phelps in full growth, you can appreciate the structure of his body.

Already in childhood, at the age of 10, Michael Phelps set a national record in his age group. At the age of 15, he competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Thus, he became the youngest Olympian in the last 68 years among swimmers. Phelps did not break into the top three at that Olympics and took 5th place. He was 0.33 seconds short of 3rd place.

But the very next year, at the World Championships, he sets a world record at a distance of 200 meters in butterfly style.

At the age of 15 years and 9 months, Phelps becomes the youngest athlete to set a world record in swimming.

The next 4 Olympics brought Michael Phelps 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. Especially successful for him was the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. Phelps won at all the distances he started, which allowed him to win 8 gold medals at once.

After the completion of the games in Rio de Janeiro 2016, he announced his retirement.

Interesting facts about Michael Phelps:

has the nicknames "Baltimore Bullet" and "Flying Fish";
height 193 cm, weight 88 kg;
the daily norm of food consumed contains 10,000 kcal, the so-called. "Phelps diet";
9 times recognized as the best swimmer of the year in the USA and 7 times in the world;
the absolute leader in swimming records;
all of his world and Olympic records were set before 2008;
in 2012, at the London Olympics, he broke the record for the number of all medals (22) in all sports, held for 48 years and owned by our gymnast Larisa Latynina (18 medals);
if Phelps had competed for himself as a separate country at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, he would have taken 10th place in the official standings, thus ahead of 177 participating countries;
has 47 foot size, arm span 203 cm, which is 10 cm more than his own height.

Incredible and rare for an ordinary person, Phelps's dimensions are practically the norm for top swimmers. Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorp, with a height of 196 cm, could boast of a similar parameter of the lower extremities. Our illustrious Olympian Alexander Popov, who dominated swimming in the mid-90s, was over 2 meters tall and wore size 48 shoes.

Baltimore Bullet and Other Olympic Champions

Reading about the achievements of Phelps, people far from sports will not quite understand how cool he is. Well, yes, many medals, many records, but he is not the only one who shows outstanding results in sports. There are many great athletes in the world who have also set and continue to set records.

If an athlete wins Olympic gold, then in his country he is already a hero. If 2 gold - twice a hero. Well, if 3, then he is incredibly cool and is one of the world's elite.

In the entire recent history of the Olympic Games, we have 333 athletes who have won Olympic gold 3 times.

4-time Olympic champions are already only 152 athletes;
7 gold each - 5 athletes;
8 gold for 7 athletes;
Only 5 Olympians won 9 gold medals.

How much does Phelps earn?

As the most titled athlete who has set many world and Olympic records, the Baltimore Bullet cannot boast of the same outstanding income. We can say they are quite modest for an athlete of this level. Swimming in itself is not the most profitable sport. In America, the swimming federation pays top 16 athletes a $3,000 stipend. And of course prize money, from 3 to 75,000 dollars.

And the costs for swimmers are also not small. Although at first glance what they need: swimming trunks, a cap, glasses and a pool. In fact, not everything is so simple. Let's say only for the pool where Michael trains, the annual expenses are $ 30 thousand. Also world starts throughout the year around the world. It is still about 20-30 thousand. And more on the little things. As a result, it accumulates about 100 thousand dollars annually.

In terms of income, Phelps is not even in the top 100 most paid athletes in the world, which is led by Floyd Mayweather with an income of $ 300 million.

For the last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the swimmer received only 140 thousand dollars for 5 gold and 1 silver from the US Olympic Committee. In addition, from the swimming federation another 75 thousand for each gold.

For the Olympics in Rio 2016, the athlete earned about half a million dollars in prize money

But this is not Michael's main income. The lion's share of the money comes from advertising contracts. And not only from manufacturers of sports equipment. In some years, Phelps had up to 11 advertising contracts at the same time, such companies as Visa, Procter & Gamble, Sabway, Mazda, the Hilton hotel chain, Omega Swiss watches and many others.

All this made it possible to earn about 5-7 million dollars annually.

Phelps made $6.3 million last year. His fortune is estimated at $45 million.

In 2008, some of the sponsors did not renew contracts in connection with the scandal, when photos of Phelps smoking marijuana were published online. According to Michael's agent, the loss from this amounted to about $ 100 million in lost income in the future.

Swimming

In the same 2004, Phelps moved with his own permanent coach Bob Bowman to Michigan. Here Michael entered the university, choosing the faculty of sports management.

Personal life

Not only a sports career, but also the personal life of Michael Phelps was excellent. He is happily married to model Nicole Johnson, who was crowned Miss California in 2010.

In May 2016, Nicole gave birth to her first child, whom the couple named Robert. Michael Phelps shared his joy with his fans, saying that he had never experienced greater happiness.

Michael Phelps now

February 12, 2018 by Michael Phelps The athlete shared this news on Instagram, saying that both Nicole and the baby are doing well.

Awards

2003 - Champion of the World Championships in Barcelona in competitions at a distance of 400 m and 200 m individual medley, at a distance of 200 m butterfly style, in a combined relay race 4 × 100 m
2004 - Olympic champion in Athens in 400m and 200m medley, 200m and 100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay
2005 - Champion of the World Championships in Montreal in the 200 m medley and freestyle competitions, in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and 4 × 100 m medley relay
2007 - Champion of the World Championships in Melbourne in competitions at a distance of 400 m and 200 m individual medley, at a distance of 200 m and 100 m butterfly style, at a distance of 200 m individual medley, in relay races 4 × 200 m and 4 × 100 m
2008 - Beijing Olympic champion in 400m and 200m medley, 200m and 100m butterfly, 200m freestyle, 4x200m and 4x100m freestyle and medley relay events 4×100 m
2009 - World Championships champion in Rome in 200m and 100m butterfly, 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays and 4x100m medley relay
2011 - World Championship champion in Shanghai in 200m and 100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay
2012 - London Olympic champion in 200m medley, 100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay
2016 - Olympic champion in Rio de Janeiro in 200m medley and butterfly, 4x200m and 4x100m freestyle relays and 4x100m medley relay

He was always different from everyone else. A non-standard figure, a special psyche, incredible performance and a record number of victories, which it is unlikely that anyone will be able to surpass in the foreseeable future. Michael Phelps is a swimmer who literally turns into a torpedo in the water, which is why he was given the nickname "Baltimore Bullet". Much is said and discussed about him. If the Olympic Games are a fight on equal terms, does a swimmer have the right to win thanks to non-standard proportions and mental disorders? Be that as it may, no one doubts that Phelps is a great athlete, whose name will always be written in gold in the history of world sports.

Facts of an early biography

Michael Fred Phelps is a native of the American city of Baltimore (Maryland). Born in the family of a school principal and a football player, who, despite three children born in marriage, divorced when Michael was 9 years old.

Two years earlier, the older sister took the boy to the pool, where he literally immediately showed outstanding swimming abilities. After 3 years, a national record in the corresponding age category was already recorded in his personal standings. An experienced mentor Bob Bowman took on the further development of Michael's sports career. The ascent to the sports Olympus was truly swift. Already at the age of 15, Phelps was selected for participation in the 2000 Olympics. The fact that he was able to take only 5th place is fully justified by the fact that by age Michael was the youngest participant in the games. Moreover, after only 1 year, he already received the title of swimmer of the year in the United States, having managed to break the world record.

Features of the psyche

In childhood, the boy was diagnosed with "hyperkinetic disorder" or, as it is more commonly called, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The set of symptoms of this disease is the impossibility of long-term concentration up to “I forgot where I was going”, impulsiveness and illogical behavior, forgetfulness, a sense of unclear danger, a constant feeling of an impending disaster, and, which is completely, it would seem, not in the spirit of Phelps, a tendency to habitual defeat and inability to complete the task.

In addition, Michael was diagnosed with mild autism. The situation was aggravated by the divorce of the parents, which the boy experienced very hard. But at this time, sports entered Michael's life, which teaches, disciplines and helps to overcome many problems. On the other hand, it was these deviations that became the guarantor of the swimmer's extraordinary diligence and his hyper-responsible attitude to training. Be that as it may, the disease has not gone away, and now, after the end of his sports career, he returns with severe depression and other clinical signs of the disorder, which the swimmer struggles with with psychologists and which he does not hide from the public.

Sports achivments

The list of outstanding achievements of Michael in sports is not just impressive - at this point in time it is an absolute world record. Participation in four Olympiads, where 28 medals were received, of which 23 were of the highest standard, and 13 were received as a result of individual competitions. At the age of 17, he already had 5 world records. In 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, he achieved his long-standing goal - to break the "eternal" record of Spitz, receiving 7 top awards, and at the next Olympics - eight! In terms of the number of medals and victories, he has no equal in the world.

Body features

The figure of Phelps throughout his sports career has been the talk of the town of fans, commentators and sportswriters, especially from rivals. Its disproportion is visible to the naked eye. A very long thin body with an incredibly powerful upper part, broad shoulders and long arms, like helicopter blades. Normally, a person's height is either equal to the "wingspan", or exceeds it. Michael's "blade" span is 10 cm larger than his own height, which is 193 cm. The paradox of proportions is completed by Phelps' 47th leg size.

Evil tongues call the swimmer a victim of hereditary mutations, since the features of the figure are due to the so-called Marfan syndrome, which is an autosomal dominant pathology of the development of connective tissues of a hereditary origin. Among other symptoms of its manifestation are expressiveness, high growth and elongated limbs with the same extended fingers, poorly developed subcutaneous adipose tissue, thin light bones and increased joint mobility. In addition, the disease is accompanied by a serious heart pathology, which does not allow patients to live without special therapy for more than 30-40 years. Michael needs drugs if only to just live, and this fact is also of interest to many against the backdrop of the worldwide fight against doping.

Physical factors that help win

Despite the congenital cardiac pathology (or maybe because of it), the swimmer's heart is able to pump a huge amount of blood per unit time. This allows him to quickly recuperate after marathon swims. In addition, Phelps has a unique muscle metabolism. Due to the low level of lactic acid and, as a result, the slow acidification of the muscles, he does not get tired for a long time and has incredible muscle performance.

Another factor that gives Phelps a huge advantage in the water is his super-elastic, literally gutta-percha ankle, thanks to which his legs do not work like ordinary swimmer's legs, but literally turn into flexible boneless fins. His foot arches more than ballerinas in pointe shoes. Lightweight for its size, it weighs only 88 kg. Of course, all these non-standards raise a lot of questions about supposedly equal chances in the fight for the Olympic podium. But Michael's defenders have serious objections - no one, for example, forbids putting oversized girls and guys on the basketball court.

The amount of water he consumes is incredible - up to 91 liters per day, which is more than his own weight. This fact has already entered the Guinness Book of Records and suggests that Phelps is 10 percent more water than other people. Together with the peculiarities of the physique and light bones, this allows him to stay in the water higher than other swimmers.

Mikes drinks a lot of not only water and all kinds of useful mineral compounds, but also alcohol. He had already been convicted by the police of drunk driving, for which, despite his services to the fatherland, he was fined $ 250 and forced to attend a lecture course on the topic "Mothers against alcoholism at the wheel." The final measure was the taking of the penalty box on bail. The swimmer himself comments on the fact calmly, calling alcohol the fuel for his "internal combustion engine".

With a large stature and huge leg size, he has such disproportionately short legs that he could ride a pony without reaching the ground. This adds aquadynamics to his body, thanks to which he overtakes swimmers with fins on their legs and even, on a dare, mini-submarines.

His arms are long enough to wrap around his back. During his school years, he easily hugged five classmates at the same time.

According to various sources, its daily calorie intake is from 10 to 12 thousand. With Marfan syndrome, there are problems with the development of fatty tissue, which is why the swimmer does not gain weight. The main source of energy is chips, pasta, pizza and cola. At least in public. However, the number of calories still raises doubts among experts, because it is 5 times higher than the norm of an ordinary person.

Despite medication, proven and acknowledged by Michael himself smoking marijuana and weakness for alcohol, none of the nine Olympic doping tests were positive. Now he is part of the WADA organization, whose participants (athletes) have given voluntary consent to screening samples at any time on any day. However, there are strong suspicions that the athlete receives doping doses using a different method, the so-called canning method, as evidenced by the marks on his body.

Due to hyperactivity and distraction in childhood, the boy was very difficult to keep track of. There was a case when he ran out into the street for a walk and eventually forgot where he lives. Found it in California. When his activity became limited to the space of the swimming pool, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

A street in his hometown is named after the swimmer.

More than 500 cases are known when, after his Olympic performances in Beijing, people called pets and birds by the name Phelps, not to mention babies.

Phelps Michael(English) Michael Fred Phelps II, born June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA) is a great American swimmer, the only fourteen-time Olympic champion and 17-time world champion in the history of sports. Height - 193 cm, weight - 91 kg, foot size - 47th. The sports nickname is "The Baltimore Bullet".

Biography

Michael Phelps was born on June 30, 1985. His father Fred Phelps was a police officer and his mother Debbie Phelps was a teacher. The Michael Phelps family lived in Baltimore (Maryland, USA).

Michael started swimming at the age of 7 when his two older sisters, Whitney (born 1978) and Hilary (born 1980), were accepted into the local swim team. In 1994, his parents divorced, and the children began to live with their mother, with whom Michael still has a very close relationship.

Michael met his coach, Bob Bowman, while training at the Swim Club in North Baltimore. Bob immediately recognized the potential of Michael and became his coach, who trains him now.

At 15, Michael Phelps became the youngest Olympic swimmer in American swimming history. He participated with the American team in the Sydney Olympics (2000), although he came only fifth there.

A year later, at less than 16 years old, Phelps broke the world record in this event, becoming the youngest world record holder in history. Then he was declared the swimmer of the year in the United States.

2002 brought Phelps participation in the American Summer National Competitions (U.S. Summer Nationals). And a few more records: a new world record in the 400m medley and US records in the 100m butterfly and 200m medley. At the same event the following year, Phelps broke his own 400m medley world record in 4:09:09.

Shortly after graduating from Towson High School (a suburb of Baltimore) in 2003, 17-year-old Michael Phelps set 5 world records, including the 200m medley at the World Swimming Championships in Barcelona with a time of 1:56:04. Then, during the 2004 Olympic qualifiers, he again broke his own world record for the 400m medley in 4:08:41.

Phelps became a celebrity after the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he earned 8 medals (6 of them gold). So he repeated the record of the Russian gymnast Alexander Dityatin for the total number of medals received in one Olympics, set by Dityatin in 1980. Phelps received gold for distances of 100 m butterfly, 200 m butterfly, 200 m complex, 4x200 freestyle and 4x100 complex, bronze - for 200m freestyle and 4x100 freestyle. He also set 3 Olympic records and 1 world record.

In 2004, Bob Bowman was transferred to Michigan, and Michael went with him. He entered the University of Michigan in the Department of Sports Marketing and Management, continuing to train under the guidance of his coach.

In 2007, Phelps took part in the World Championships in Melbourne, where he won 7 gold medals, setting 5 new world records. In preparation for the 2008 Olympics, Phelps set himself the task of breaking the record of his compatriot Mark Spitz, who won 7 gold medals at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Phelps became a real sensation, winning 8 gold medals. At the XXIX Games in Beijing, Spitz's "eternal" record of 1972 was broken.

The phenomenally talented American won the 400m medley, 200m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 200m medley, 100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relays. In all these heats, except for the 100-meter butterfly, M. Phelps set world records. And he set the final "golden" point as part of the relay team at a distance of 4x100 meters in individual swimming. At the same time, the American team won the relay with a world record of 3 minutes. 29.34 s.

Thus, in just a career, the 23-year-old American won 14 Olympic gold medals and turned out to be the most titled athlete in the history of the Olympics. M. Phelps set world records 32 times in total.