grace.mackoul



__ MICHAEL PHELPS __

Michael Fred Phelps was born on June 30, 1985, in Baltimore, Maryland. Michael’s father, Fred Phelps is a retired state police officer. His mom, Debbie Phelps, is a former Maryland teacher and later became a Baltimore county school administrator. His parents divorced when he was nine. Michael and his two sisters, Hilary and Whitney, were primarily raised by their mother. Michael started swimming lessons when he was seven years old at North Baltimore Aquatic Club. In his book, Michael said, “You would think that on the first day I hit the water I just sort of turned into a dolphin and never wanted to leave the pool. No way. I hated it. Were talking screaming, kicking, fit-throwing, goggle-tossing hate. Once I figured out how to swim, I felt so free. It was like I had this new toy that my sisters enjoyed all the time.”

Michael went to Rogers Forge Elementary School and Towson High school. He later enrolled in the University of Michigan in 2005. By the time Phelps was in high school, he was already a nationally ranked swimmer. In fact, Phelps missed the beginning of his sophomore year to compete in the 2000 Olympics in Athens. Michael signed an endorsement with Speedo and broke his first world record, making him a professional athlete, before his junior year in high school. After that, breaking records seemed to be a theme for Phelps.

In 2000 at the Sydney Olympics, Michael made the USA Swimming A team at the age of 15. That made him the youngest athlete in 60 years to qualify for the US Olympic team. Phelps finished fifth in the 200 meter Butterfly in Sydney. In 2001, Michael became the youngest male athlete to swim the 200 meter Butterfly in 1.54:92 minutes. “When I hit the wall, I turned around and saw the score boards flashing ‘New World Record.’” He later broke the same record with a time of 1.54:58 minutes. He was named the swimmer of the year in 2001. In the 20004 Olympics, Phelps qualified for eight events. 6 individual events and 2 relay events. Michael dropped the 200 Backstroke in which he would have at least won a silver to compete in the 200 Freestyle, his weaker event. His reasoning behind this was because he wanted to race Ian Thorpe. In total, Michael won 8 medals, 2 bronze and 6 gold. The 2004 Olympics were successful for him. Before the 2008 Olympics and after the 2004 Olympics, Phelps got arrested for a DUI. Michael admitted his mistake and apologized. The judge sentenced him to 18 months of probation. Michael moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan and published his auto biography, __Michael Phelps: Beneath the Surface.__ Michael then started preparing for the 2005 world championships. He said, “Once I get to the competition, its like I’m in a cage, so just let me out, because I know exactly what to do. At the 2008 Olympics, Phelps was a favorite to win multiple gold’s. Those who favored him were right. Phelps won 8 gold medals in one Olympics, beating Mark Spitz record. The 8 competitions Michael won were the 400 meter IM (individual medley), 4x100 Freestyle relay, 200 meter Freestyle, 200 meter Butterfly, 4x200 Freestyle relay, 200 meter IM, 100 meter Butterfly, and the 4x100 meter medley relay. Teammate Aaron Peirsol said about Phelps, “He’s not just winning, he’s absolutely destroying everything.” So far Michael has 16 career medals- 14 gold and 2 bronze.

Some other facts about Michael are that he hosted Saturday Night Live and the 2008 Video Music Awards. He is a national spokes person for the Boys and Girls Club of America. He is not married and doesn’t have any children. One thing going on while he lives is that the first African American President was elected. The wars going are Iraq and Afghanistan. The 2012 Olympics are in London and the 2016 Olympics will be in Rio de Janeiro. Michael Phelps is 6’4” and has size 14 feet. He has been described as, “half man, half fish,” before. Michael is very determined and committed. He listens to music before a race to get him focused. I chose to write about Michael Phelps because I have admired all of his achievements for a long time. I love oh dedicated he is to swimming and wanted to know more about him. I think he is a great role model.

__ Bibliography __ Encyclopedia - Encyclopedia title: Biography Today - Article title: Michael Phelps - Authors names: Peggy Daniels, Laurie DiMauro, Jeff Hill, Kevin Hillstrom, Laurie Hillstrom, and Diane Telgen - Place of publication: Detroit - Publishing Company: EBSCO Publishing - Year of publication: 2009

Online Periodical - Title of article: Michael Phelps - Title of publication: Michael Phelps - Publishing company: Gale - Year of publication: 2004 - Date accessed: 9/30/09 - URL: www.galenet.galegroup.com/