Michael Phelps

Michael Fred Phelps II was born on June 30, 1985, in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in a family with a swimming background; he began swimming at age seven and joined the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, where coach Bob Bowman became his longtime mentor and coach. As a teen, Phelps showed extraordinary promise, setting age-group records and making the U.S. Olympic team at age 15 for the 2000 Sydney Games, where he finished fifth in the 200 m butterfly. Phelps quickly rose through the international ranks, winning his first world title at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka and becoming the youngest male world-record holder at age 15 when he set the 200 m butterfly world mark in 2001. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, he won six golds and two bronzes, and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he achieved global fame by winning eight gold medals in a single Games — breaking Mark Spitz's 1972 single-Games gold record — and setting multiple world and Olympic records across butterfly, individual medley, and freestyle events. Phelps continued to collect world titles and records, tied and broke numerous marks at World Championships, briefly retired after 2012, returned to competition in 2014, and then led the U.S. team again at the 2016 Rio Olympics where he added five golds and one silver to reach a career total of 28 Olympic medals before retiring from competitive swimming for the second time. Since retiring, Phelps has focused on health, mental-health advocacy, and philanthropic efforts through the Michael Phelps Foundation, promoting water safety, healthy living, and swimming for youth; he has also engaged in business and media projects related to swimming, wellness, and performance training.