Michael Fred Phelps was born on June 30, 1985 Baltimore, Maryland. He is the youngest of the three children of Fred and Debbie Phelps. His father, Fred, is an athlete and a state trooper. While his mother, Debbie, is a middle-school principal in Baltimore. The Phelps children grew up in the neighborhood of Rodgers Forge. In 1994, Michael's parents got divorced, and the all the children’s custody was granted to Debbie Phelps.
Michael’s sisters, Whitney and Hilary, influenced him to engage in swimming when the two joined the local swimming team. In 1996, Michael’s oldest sister, Whitney, tried out for the U.S.A Olympic team at the age of 15 but due to injuries she was forced to stop her swimming career. Michael started to engage in the waters at seven years old, and his swimming instructors allowed him to do floating on his back because he was a bit scared to put his head underwater. And this explains that he mastered first the backstroke.
Michael started his dream to be a swimming champion after watching the champions Tom Dolan and Tom Malchow swims for the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. In Loyola High School pool, Phelps commenced his swimming career. When was training at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, he met his coach, Bob Bowman. The coach instantaneously saw Michael's talents and skills, and his strong sense of competition. By then, they started a rigorous training together and this brought Phelps in the U.S. National B Team in 1999.
Phelps set the record of the youngest American male swimmer competed at an Olympic games in 68 years record at the age of 15. At the Summer Olympics in Australia last 2000, he didn’t won a medal but from then on he will be making and breaking world records in the swimming competition history.
Phelps became the youngest male swimmer at the age of 15 years and 9 months old to make a world record in the 200-meter butterfly swimming last 2001. Then in 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, he broke his own record with the time of 1:54:58 and there he earns his first ever international medal. After that, he continuously set marks in U.S. Summer Nationals last 2002 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There he established a new world record in 400-meter individual medley category and in 100- meter butterfly and the 200-meter individual medley for the U.S. records. And in 2003 at the same events, he broke his own world record with the time of 4:09:09 for the 400-meter individual medley category.
In 2003, after he graduated from Towson, at the age of 17 Michael Phelps has made five world records at the World Championships in Barcelona in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:56:04, and at the2004 Summer Olympics U.S trials he has broken his own world record again in the 400 meter individual medley category at a time of 4:08:41.
In the Olympic Games 2004 in Greece, Phelps became a big name when he won 8 medals (6 gold). On August 14, he got his first of 6 gold medals when he broke his own world record for just 0.15 seconds for the 400-meter individual medley and also grabs gold medals for the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, and 200-meter individual medley category. The200-meter freestyle and the 4x100-meter freestyle relay were the events in Greece that Phelps got bronze medals.
After a few weeks of his victory in Greece, Michael Phelps he pleaded guilty in driving under the influence of alcohol in Salisbury, Maryland and was sentenced to probation for 18 months, paid fines for $250, and had to do a speech tackling about responsible drinking and driving to several schools, and subsequently attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving conference.
And after that incident, he studied sports marketing and management in University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Still, Bowman coached him with the Club Wolverines' swimming team, the club where Phelps belong and swims for. He continued to make world records in Pan Pacific Championships 2006 in British Columbia, World Championships 2007 in Australia, and won gold in the Olympic Games 2008 in China in the following categories: 4x100-meter individual relay, 4x100-meter freestyle relay, 200- meter freestyle, 4x200-meter freestyle relay, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, and 200-meter individual medley. Every time he have gold medal winnings make a new world record, except for the 100-meter butterfly that make an Olympic record. And he surpassed Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals in 1972 when he made up to make the all-time single Olympics gold-medal record. This is the most won by any Olympian in history and this is his 14th gold medal in his career so far.
Michael Phelps biography isn’t complete without giving credits to his two written books entitled No Limits: The Will to Succeed that has been in bookstores since December 2008. There he shared his story of dedication, perseverance and key factors in his success like the Michael Phelps diet that has created amazement to everyone. The Swim with the Stars was co-founded by Phelps which is a nonprofit organization that organizes camps for aspiring swimmers.