Swimmer Michael Phelps illness. Where did Michael Phelps come from? Michael Phelps with his common-law wife Nicole Johnson

What can an athlete who has defeated everyone do? No, not figuratively, but in fact – everyone! He even defeated the ancient athlete Leonid of Rhodes, whose achievements became a legend of the Olympic Games. So what should this athlete do? Michael Phelps made his choice: he decided to challenge the white shark at a distance of 100 meters and... lost. Well, now he has something to strive for again.

Of course, Michael didn’t compete with a real shark: that would be crazy. The shark was “forced” to swim a hundred meters at maximum speed, its completion of the distance was recorded, and then Phelps swam along with its computer simulation on the Discovery Channel. The loss was only 2 seconds.

"Baltimore Bullet"

Michael was born in the American city of Baltimore in 1985. He has been in the pool since he was 7 years old, and not at all because the future champion demonstrated any outstanding abilities since childhood. Diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, sports were an attempt to teach Michael how to concentrate and relieve stress. It really helped.

True, Michael suffered from one phobia... He could not put his face in the water, so he swam on his back. But gradually, with the help of coach Bob Bowman, we managed to overcome this. And also help the boy concentrate on achievements and victories, and believe in himself (this can be a problem for children with ADHD). Already at the age of 10, Michael set a national record for his age, and at the age of 15 he participated in his first Olympics.

Unique

Michael Phelps' second nickname is "flying fish." He really doesn’t just swim, but flies, developing incredible speed. This is helped by the athlete’s unique physique:

Phelps' height is 193 cm and his arm span is 201 cm, which is an unusual ratio: he is usually taller than his arm span.
Michael's ankle is more flexible than a ballerina's ankle: thanks to this, the movements of a swimmer's legs significantly increase his speed. And 47 foot size still increases the advantage.
Michael has a long body and relatively short legs: the optimal combination for a swimmer.
Thanks to his unique metabolism, Michael can train much longer than other athletes without feeling muscle pain: he produces less lactic acid than most people. Namely, it causes pain and forces athletes to stop training.

Achievements of Michael Phelps

The list of Michael Phelps' achievements could go on for a long time. He is truly a unique athlete who proves with his records that anything is possible, you just have to do your job honestly and believe in your lucky stars. Phelps became the only 23-time Olympic champion in history. And most likely, this achievement will no longer be surpassed. In total, his collection includes 28 Olympic medals of various denominations. The Baltimore Bullet holds 37 world records in a large pool (and that’s not counting the records set in a 25-meter pool). And in his native USA, he became the winner of the national championship more than 50 times at different distances.

What does Michael himself think? “The main thing they taught me was not to notice how time passes during training. Training on the side and on the water for two and a half to three hours every day was the norm for me. I set a goal: to always be first. In some places it worked, in others it didn’t, but I never deviated from this rule. My favorite swimmer, Pablo Morales, who won the Olympics in 1984 and 1992, said that there is a universal recipe for victories: you need to completely immerse yourself in your tension, and you will definitely get the desired result at the end.”

Support Group

But Michael Phelps' only secret can't be his unique physique and tenacity. Without support, none of us can open up to 100. The people who are always there for Michael are his mother and sisters.

And here we come to the most important thing. Who knows what the fate of the awkward boy who could not sit still for five minutes would have been if his mother had not believed in him. True, she herself was a school director and saw different children in her lifetime. Maybe this helped her when her own son faced difficulties.

At school she was told that a child with such a lack of concentration would never achieve anything. What did Debbie Phelps answer to them? “What are you doing to help him?” She went to training with her son and monitored changes in his behavior. When she realized that the boy could not always control his emotions, she came up with special signs: she showed them to Michael from the podium, and he understood that the feelings needed to be dampened. Debbie was always there, and at the Athens Olympics, Michael stepped off the podium to give his bouquet and winner’s wreath to his mother.

Also in the group of Michael’s loyal fans are his older sisters. If the girls weren't swimming, the younger brother might not have spent so much time in the pool. They were always friendly, and Michael was drawn to Hilary and Whitney. And today they rejoice for him from the stands.

Mascot

Michael Phelps with Nicole Johnson and son

“He is my talisman and my support.” This is what Michael said about his son Boomer, who was born in 2016 and managed to attend the Rio Olympics with his mother Nicole Johnson, where Michael won again and again. His Nicole, former Miss California, is next to him.

True, this was not always the case. They met in 2007, and broke up in 2008. They started dating again in 2010 and broke up a year later. In 2013, Michael called Nicole again... Both he and she made attempts to find other lovers, but they were unsuccessful. "We missed each other,- Nicole admitted. — We both had different relationships, but neither he nor I could find anyone who understood us as much as we understand each other."

Not without problems

There is no way to say that Michael Phelps is a person who doesn't have problems. He has a difficult relationship with his father. He was suspended from competition for smoking marijuana. He ended and resumed his career. He was arrested for driving while drunk, and he was treated in a special clinic. However, Michael finds the strength to admit his mistakes and move on.

He no longer wants to participate in swimming competitions. Michael Phelps performs in poker tournaments, participates in hearings on the problem of doping in sports, and participates in public life(at a children's sports award, he even allowed himself to be doused in gold paint from head to toe). “We miss Michael, he is missing from the team. But at the same time we are glad that he opened new chapter in my life and focused on my family.", said American swimmer Kathleen Ledecky. And we, the fans, miss it too, but the legend of Michael Phelps has already taken shape. And it became a part of our lives.

He went down in history as the only 23-time champion during the entire existence of the Olympic Games and the absolute record holder for the number of awards. To these merits of “swimmer No. 1,” as Phelps is called, one must add numerous world records, many of which have still not been broken and it is unknown whether they can be broken, dozens of victories at world championships, a record 13 gold medals in individual competitions...

The Teleprogramma.pro portal recalls the most curious and not well-known facts from the biography of the swimming star and tries to find out what is the secret of his stunning success. Hyperactive child Michael Phelps. Source: Globallookpress.com As a child, Michael Phelps, who had been swimming since the age of seven, was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He could go for a walk and forget where he lived. Studying was difficult for him. Therefore, the parents were very happy that the boy was engaged in swimming a lot and with pleasure: the restless Michael was “limited” by the space of the pool, he constantly disappeared in training and had little time for pranks. At the same time, thanks to sports, he became more focused. Unique man

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Vladimir Morozov: the path to records, Olympic dreams and other facts about the winner of the Swimming World Cup. The Russian record-breaking swimmer became the winner at all stages of the 2018 FINA Swimming World Cup. The American athlete is a real big guy. As medical examinations have shown, Phelps' heart is capable of pumping more than 30 liters of blood per minute, which is much more than that of most athletes. Thanks to this feature of the body, he recovered very quickly after the competition and even achieved record-breaking results. long distances were given to him quite easily.

Phelps' sports diet was about 10,000 kilocalories daily, which is four times the norm for ordinary people and significantly more than many of his colleagues. But many of his calories burned without a trace due to intense training.

At one time, journalists claimed that Michael Phelps actually absorbs even more every day - 12,000 kilocalories, but the athlete himself said that this was “too much” for him.

At the same time, on proper nutrition The record-breaking swimmer doesn't bother. Phelps was seen more than once devouring chips, chocolate ice cream, pizza and spaghetti, and his coach supplied him with cola before the competition. He did not become a fan of a healthy diet even after his career ended.

Michael Phelps at the 2008 Olympics

Where did the career of the best swimmer in human history begin and how did it develop?

1985. Born in the final resting place of the writer Edgar Allan Poe, that is, in Baltimore. Michael's father played American football, then became a police patrolman, and his mother worked as a school teacher.

1991-1996. At the age of six, Michael went to swimming school. A little later, his parents divorced, and the guy was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity. I had to study at a special school for unusual children. In 1996, a fateful meeting took place between Phelps and Bob Bowman, coach of a swimming team from Napa (California). A sensitive psychologist managed to find an approach to a talented but problematic boy. He forced his ward to swim 90 kilometers in a week, constantly offering motivating bets.

“In 2003, I told Phelps: if you break the world record, I’ll shave my head. It turned out that baldness suits me.”

2000 . Michael set his first world record three years earlier. He was only 15 and became the youngest record-breaking swimmer in history. After such a dizzying success, the guy could afford to leave correctional teachers in the past, loudly slamming the door.

Phelps qualified for the Sydney Olympics, but was still too young to win a medal. But I saw the triumph of my idol - Australian Ian Thorpe.

2004. Four years later, Phelps arrived at the tournament as a world champion. Having inhaled all his huge light breezes from the Aegean Sea and settled in the same room with Odessa resident Leonid (Lenny) Kraiselburg, the swimmer won 6 gold and 2 bronze medals. It became clear that a clear leader had emerged in the world of blue carpets and Speedo caps.

Then for the first time she made herself known dark side Phelps. The police arrested him for drunk driving. The champion got off with a fine and an 18-month suspended sentence.

2007 . At the ESPY Awards, Phelps meets future Miss California winner Nicole Johnson. They have been together ever since. In addition to several periods, during one of which the swimmer, according to yellow press reports, started an affair with a transsexual (they met on Tinder).

2008 . Legendary Olympics! Phelps swam eight gold medals and two world records. Thus, he beat the achievement of his compatriot Mark Spitz, who in 1972 won 7 gold medals at the Games in Munich, marred by a terrible terrorist attack. Phelps gave a million dollars in prize money to create his own foundation, which deals with the issue of water conservation and popularizes swimming.

"I was emotionally devastated. I didn't want to do it anymore. For these 4 years I missed at least 2 workouts a week. Why? I just didn't want to go."

Bowman tried to lure Phelps into the pool by inviting his friends there. It helped at times. Shortly before the start of the Games, the athlete and the coach had a huge fight, and Phelps disappeared for ten days. When he returned, Bowman immediately took him to training camp so that he would not disappear or shirk his classes.

2009 . Phelps was photographed at a party on college campus. The photo clearly shows the face of an athlete smoking marijuana from a glass device (bong). The swimmer did not deny it and confessed, saying, yes, he smoked. Despite the fact that the anti-doping committee does not prohibit “green parties” between competitions, the athlete was disqualified for 3 months in his homeland. For a bad example for the younger generation, so to speak. Either Michael was offended, or he read “Fight Club” and decided to go against the system, but very soon after the incident he was caught evading taxes in the amount of 24 thousand dollars.

2012. Before Elizabeth the Second had time to rejoice at the end of the Games in London, a scandal broke out. Despite the fact that Olympians do not have the right to participate in commercial events not related to the Games, the first three days after their end, Louis Vuitton published an advertising photo shoot of Phelps and Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina. The International Olympic Committee was angry with the athlete, but Phelps’s representatives quickly settled everything, complaining that the photos were posted without his consent.

At the tournament itself, Michael performed worse than in Beijing, taking “only” four gold medals. Soon he announced his retirement.

2013. Without swimming, the athlete became bored. One day, after getting very drunk on vacation with friends, he called Bowman and said in a slurred voice that he had decided to return. The coach said no and hung up. He still had nightmares about Michael’s preparation for London and knew that the athlete had gained 10 kilograms and was practically “not drying out.”

2014. One quiet night, Phelps played poker, fueled himself generously with alcohol, and then got behind the wheel of a white Range Rover to fully press the gas pedal to the floor, swerving along the road. Luckily it was Monday, the roads were empty, and the police in the USA were attentive.

The Institute of Law and Order treated the swimmer with patriotic tenderness, but he himself was on the verge of suicide. Michael told his family and friends about this problem. They listened and treated him like a rock star: they sent him to a rehabilitation clinic. Phelps spent 45 days in The Meadows and came out, by his own admission, much more peaceful.

And he also wanted to get to Rio at all costs. The champion met with the coach and this time convinced him. Michael worked out with such mania that other athletes unanimously stated: “Now he looks better than ever.”

2015. In February, Michael and Nicole were returning from her grandmother's funeral. At some point, a John Legend song started playing in the car, the swimmer, at the speed of his best swim, took out a ring and invited his beloved to marry him. She agreed, and the wedding date was set after the end of the Rio Games.

2016. Phelps became the face of the cool and powerful brand Under Armor from his hometown of Baltimore.

And also a father. In May, Nicole gave birth to his son, Bummer Robert Phelps.

Phelps had the honor of carrying the U.S. flag at the opening ceremony of the Rio Games and has already won five gold medals. Now he has 27 Olympic medals, 23 of them- gold. ESPN journalist Bill Barnwell joked about this, saying that Phelps is the 39th country in the ranking of the most successful teams in the history of the Olympic Games. In addition, he now has another record to his name. At the age of 31, swimmers had not yet won individual heats at the Olympics. In general, the demonstration of how one person rewrites the entire history is obvious.

By the way, those who want to win the Tokyo Games in 2020, don’t worry. Michael said that after Rio he will definitely end his career and devote time to his family.

Legendary American swimmer Michael Phelps became a 23-time Olympic champion when he won the 4 x 100 medley relay on August 13.

This award became his fifth gold at the Rio Olympics, writes CNN.

The only swim in Brazil in which Phelps came second was won by his fan, who just 8 years ago simply dreamed of being next to his idol.

In 2008, a boy from Singapore, on vacation with his parents at a hotel, ran into Michael Phelps, asked to take a photo with him and said that he wanted to be like him. Phelps was already a world star and an unattainable winner of Olympic swimming records. He advised the guy to train a lot and everything would work out.

Michael Phelps and Joseph Schooling in 2008.
Photo: Facebook

An inspired schoolboy named Joseph Schooling began to train intensively, in 2016 he set a new world record and took the first Olympic gold in the history of Singapore, ahead of his idol - at that time 22-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps, and leaving him with silver. .

Michael Phelps and Joseph Schooling in 2016.
Photo: Facebook

They were both shocked by the result.

Joseph Schooling called his victory “madness.”

“I just wanted to be close to him and be happy. “I will remember this all my life,” admitted the Singaporean athlete.

“Nobody likes to lose. But I’m proud of Joseph,” Phelps commented on his second place.

There is another story that proves that everything Phelps touches turns to gold.

In 2006, a 9-year-old girl named Katie Ledecky received an autograph from her idol Michael Phelps, who, most likely, also advised her to train and persistently pursue her goal.

Phelps gives Ledecky's autograph.
Photo: Facebook

And now in 2016, Katie Ledecky wins 4 gold medals and sets three world records.

Katie Ledecky won gold.
Photo: Facebook

For young athletes, this is just the beginning; for Phelps, according to him, the Olympics in Rio are a farewell chord that worked out perfectly for him. Firstly, he broke an ancient record that stood for more than 2000 years.

The fact is that of Phelps’ 23 gold medals, 13 were received in single swims, which allowed the American swimmer to break the record of the ancient athlete Leonidas of Rhodes, who won 12 individual awards.

At 36 years old, Leonidas won his last 3 medals in 152 BC. Phelps surpassed Leonidas, winning his 13th individual gold at age 31.

In addition, Phelps won 5 gold medals in one Games, which is also a record.

The only downside to his achievements is that if Phelps had the urge to show off and wear all his gold medals at once, it could be dangerous to his health, writes the Wall Street Journal.

At different Olympics, gold medals weigh differently. The Brazilian medals in Phelps's collection are the heaviest, with each medal weighing about 500 grams.

All 23 of the athlete's gold medals weigh about 6.6 kg, which means that if you hang them around your neck, they will feel about the same as an average bowling ball.

And if you add to this the swimmer’s 3 silver and 2 bronze medals, it will be very difficult.

We offer you a selection interesting facts about the American legend, collected by BuzzFeed.

Phelps started swimming at age 7.
The first swimming style he learned was backstroke because he was afraid to put his head in the water.
He set his first record at the age of 10 in the 100-meter butterfly in his age group.
In 2000, he became the youngest American swimmer to compete in the Olympics in nearly 70 years at just 15.
Phelps' arm span (203 cm) exceeds the swimmer's height (193 cm).
He has a foot size of 14 (47 by European standards) - 30.2 cm, which also helps him in swimming.
He became the youngest swimmer to break a world record when he was 15 years old.
At the age of 27, he became the athlete with the most Olympic medals.
He still holds records in 12 different swimming styles and age groups in the United States.
He is one of the top 5 richest Olympic athletes.

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

Who is he - 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 build. Disproportionately short legs and elongated torso, long arms, large foot size - perfect combination for swimmers. Phelps is pictured in full height you can appreciate the structure of his body.

Already as a child, at the age of 10, Michael Phelps set a national record in his age group. At the age of 15, he competed in the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Thus, he became the youngest Olympian among swimmers in the last 68 years. Phelps did not make it 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 set a world record in the 200-meter butterfly.

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. The Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 were especially successful for him. Phelps won at all distances at which he started, which allowed him to win 8 gold medals at once.

After completing 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 food intake 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;
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, which stood for 48 years and belonged to our gymnast Larisa Latynina (18 medals);
if Phelps had competed for himself as a separate country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he would have taken 10th place in the official standings, thereby ahead of 177 participating countries;
has a foot size of 47, an arm span of 203 cm, which is 10 cm more than his own height.

Phelps' incredible and rare size for the average person is practically the norm for top swimmers. Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe, with a height of 196 cm, could boast of a similar parameter lower limbs. Our famous Olympian Alexander Popov, who dominated swimming in the mid-90s, was 2 meters tall and wore size 48 shoes.

Baltimore Bullet and other Olympic champions

Reading about Phelps' achievements, people far from sports will not quite understand how cool he is. Well, yes, there are 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 also set and are setting records.

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

For the whole recent history Olympic Games we have 333 athletes who have won Olympic gold 3 times.

4 times Olympic champions already only 152 athletes;
5 athletes have 7 gold medals each;
8 gold from 7 athletes;
Only 5 Olympians have won 9 gold medals.

How much does Phelps earn?

Being the most decorated 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 itself is not the most profitable sport. In America, the swimming federation pays athletes in the TOP 16 a stipend of $3,000. And of course the prize money, from 3 to 75,000 dollars.

And the costs for swimmers are also not small. Although at first glance, what they need is swimming trunks, a cap, goggles and a swimming pool. It's actually not that simple. Let’s say that the annual expenses for the swimming pool where Michael trains are $30 thousand. Also world starts throughout the year around the world. This is still about 20-30 thousand. And some other little things. As a result, about 100 thousand dollars are accumulated annually.

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

For the last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the swimmer received only 140 thousand dollars from the US Olympic Committee for 5 gold and 1 silver. Additionally, 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 sports equipment manufacturers. In some years, Phelps had up to 11 advertising contracts simultaneously, with companies such as Visa, Procter & Gamble, Sabway, Mazda, the Hilton hotel chain, Swiss watches Omega and many others.

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

Behind Last year Phelps earned $6.3 million. His fortune is estimated at $45 million.

In 2008, some sponsors did not renew contracts due to a 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 future income.