- Birth: Michael Fred Phelps II was born on June 30, 1985 in Rodgers Forge, a neighborhood in Towson, Maryland, just north of the city of Baltimore, USA
- Parents: His mother Deborah Sue (Davisson) Phelps is a school principal, while his father Michael Fred Phelps is a retired police officer who was also very active in sports in his younger days
- Nickname: Michael’s nicknames include: Iron Mike, MP, Gomer and The Baltimore Bullet
- Size: Michael Phelps is 1.93 m tall, has a wingspan of 2 m, weighs 88 kg and wears a size 48 shoe
- Training: Michael Phelps trains 6 hours a day, 6 days a week. The majority of his training takes place in the water, of course, but he also includes some weightlifting in his program
- Start up: Michael Phelps started swimming at the age of 7, which helped him get rid of his excess energy, but was also due to the influence of his two older sisters (the eldest, Whitney Phelps, tried out for the US national swimming team in 1996 but had to give up due to injury). In sixth grade, he was diagnosed with ADHD
- First records: At 10 years old he held a national record for his age group and at 15 he became the youngest male member of the US national swimming team in 68 years. On March 30, 2001, he broke the world record in the 200 meter butterfly, becoming the youngest man ever to set a world swimming record at 15 years and 9 months. The record had previously been held by 16 years and 10 months old Ian Thorpe in the 400m freestyle
- Olympic gold: At the age of 15, Michael Phelps had already qualified for the 2000 Olympics and although he didn’t win any medals at first, he came back strong at the 2004 Olympics, where he won his first Olympic gold medal. He has won a total of 18 Olympic gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals, and with his 22 Olympic medals, he is the sports star who has won the most Olympic medals in world history (the previous record holder was Larisa Latynina with 18 Olympic medals). In addition, he holds numerous other records in the Olympics as well as in the World Championships and has also received several awards for his achievements
- Drunk driving: A few weeks after his victory at the 2004 Athens Olympics, he was arrested for drunk driving in Salibury, Maryland, USA. He was sentenced to 18 months probation, a $250 fine and was required to give informational speeches to students against drunk driving. He was even required to attend a ‘Mothers Against Drunk Driving’ meeting
- Coach: Michael Phelps has had the same coach throughout his career; Bob Bowman. Phelps met Bowman as a 10-year-old in 1996 when he started swimming at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. The coach immediately saw Phelps’ talent and competitive nature and implemented an intense training program, which was the start of Phelps’ successful career
Facts: Michael Phelps has 22 Olympic medals, making him the most Olympic medal-winning sports star in world history
Michael Phelps’ 12,000 calorie diet plan
Michael Phelps has an extreme diet plan where he consumes a whopping 12,000 calories per day, which is necessary to meet his enormous energy requirements (in comparison, a “normal” human has an energy requirement of 1800 – 2500 calories per day):
Breakfast in the morning
- 3 sandwiches with fried egg
- 3 pancakes with chocolate chips
- An omelette with 5 eggs
- 3 slices of sugar-coated toast
- A bowl of porridge corn
Lunch and dinner
- ½ kg pasta
- Two large cheese and ham sandwiches filled with mayonnaise
- Several liters of energy drink
Dinner
- ½ kg pasta
- Pizza
- More energy tricks
Michael Phelps trains 6 hours a day, 6 times a week. To cover his energy expenditure, he needs to consume 10,000 – 12,000 calories daily
Favorite…
Michael Phelps’ favorite…
- Sports (to watch): American football
- Sports (playing): Basketball
- Sports teams: Baltimore Ravens
- Sports star: Michael Jordan
- Actor: Denzel Washington
- Actress: Cameron Diaz
- TV broadcast: SportsCenter
- Book: To Kill a Mockingbird
More facts about Michael Phelps
- Charitable foundation: After the 2008 Olympics, Michael Phelps founded the Michael Phelps Foundation, a charitable foundation that aims to strengthen the sport of swimming as a whole and promote a healthier lifestyle. The foundation’s activities focus in particular on promoting swimming and a healthy, active lifestyle among children
- Road name: After the 2004 Olympic Games, Michael Phelps had a road named after him (“The Michael Phelps Way”) in his hometown of Baltimore, USA
- Rap music: Michael Phelps always listens to rap music before his competitions. His favorite rapper is Eminem and he gets pumped up by songs like ‘Party Up’ by DMX or ‘Connected for Life’ by MAC 10
- Cindy Crawford: Michael Phelps once met Cindy Crawford; he was so nervous he could barely speak
- Sponsors: Michael Phelps receives sponsorships from a number of companies such as Speedo, Visa, Omega, Power Bar and Matsunichi
