Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time
Young American
Michael Phelps became the
youngest American male swimmer in 68 years to compete at the Olympic Games when
he swam the 200m butterfly at the 2000 Sydney Games. Six months later he set a
world record in the same event. It would be the first of many records he would
set.
Athens prediction
As the 2004 Athens Games
began, Michael Phelps stated he was aiming for a record eight gold medals. The expectation
and pressure on him was immense. Phelps did not reach his goal, but still came
away with an astonishing six gold and two bronze medals.
Eight golds
Four years later in
Beijing, Michael Phelps again entered eight events – five individual and three
relays. This time there were no predictions, just a steely determination not to
let any swimmer touch the finish wall before him. Despite a heavy programme,
Phelps performed brilliantly in all distances and styles. He won a record eight
gold medals and also broke seven world records.
One hundredth of a second
Phelps most dramatic race
was the 100m butterfly. Before the results appeared on the giant screens, no
one could say who had won. But after an agonising wait, the electronic timing
made it official. Phelps’s hand had touched the wall first, only one hundredth
of a second ahead of Serbia’s Milorad Cavic.
London 2012
By winning his
18th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd medals in London, Phelps became the
most medalled Olympian of all times.
