“Put a sports car into a full-length, Olympic-size pool and remain jaw-dropped by the magnanimity of the sight of speed: the man who could produce some spine-chilling moves inside the pool at great speed with utter ease inspired a popular search-engine study: Michael Phelps records. And this continues to inspire an intricate online study to this day!”
Clearly when it comes to swimming, for the current generation of swimmers and the generations hence; greatness will always be measured according to the landmark set by one man and his feats; Michael Phelps records.
In any sport, whether one talks of Soccer, Tennis, Athletics, Gymnastics, Hockey or any other endeavour, winning a medal at the highest-possible stage truly counts big. It means a special achievement. Then, when one positions himself to grab a medal at the mother of all sporting battles, i.e., the Olympics, then it doesn’t just become an achievement; it becomes a milestone.
That feeling is special; it’s indescribable.
In a sport where most swimmers would fade away into oblivion in their arduous attempts at gathering multiple Olympic medals, Michael Phelps emerged an Olympian, in his own right.
Akin to the natural sight of seeing a fish in the waters, Michael Phelps became an amphibian, each time he dived into a full-length pool, only to emerge off it, having broken records and set new ones. He was, quite often, in the exact same instance of going the long mile in the pool his own competition; and the man he would better.
In some ways, therefore, given the sheer weight of Michael Phelps Records and the impact they have had on others’, it can be said, Michael Phelps was the great white shark of swimming in the top-most echelons of the competition.
There never was another quite like him. There might be more agile, athletic swimmers, but there may possibly be never another quite like Michael Phelps.
At an age where, given his herculean fitness standards- the man being a stickler for fitness- Michael may have easily continued for a good half a decade, he quite professional swimming a few years back. In so doing, the 33-year-old Baltimore-born star of the 2012 Olympics, reignited the discussion whether it is apt to quit when one’s at his peak?
For clearly in Michael Phelps’ case, he was a bit too young to have quit the sport he ruled with an iron fist, thus leaving behind others with either their jaws-dropped or their minds craving for more.
Having said that, let’s understand and touch upon some great Michael Phelps records:
A great records among the finest Michael Phelps Records
Back in 2016, during the Rio Olympics, Michael Phelps actually broke a record that had remained unbroken for 2168 years. Can you believe that? So the question is- what did he exactly do?
Well, the Great White shark of swimming, by earning his thirteenth (13th) title in the form of winning his 22nd Gold medal in a 200-meter medley did this unthinkable, two years back in time.
One of the youngest qualifiers for the Olympics
At the age of 15, when most around him might have been hooked on to online dating sites, Michael was busy forging a solid career. He had, by then, already qualified for the Olympics of 2000, held in Sydney, Australia.
An Immensity of records within 8 years at the top level
By the conclusion of 2008, Michael Phelps already had acquired a vast number of records. He had, in his possession, at the conclusion of 2008 Olympics, 7 World Records and 1 Olympic record.
His famous Olympic record came in the form of acing a Butterfly contest at the 50.58 seconds, in a 100-meter swim.
The following were the other records he held:
400 m individual medley 4:03.84
4 x 100 m freestyle relay 3:08.24
200 m freestyle 1:42.96
200 m butterfly 1:52.03
4 x 200 m freestyle relay 6:58.56
200 m individual medley 1:54.23
4 x 100 m medley relay 3:29.34
The youngest-ever achiever in Swimming at the highest possible level
For someone who, at age 15 and a half achieved so much in the sport that others take decades to garner, one wonders as to what all might have Michael attained had he not quit.
Among the greatest Michael Phelps Records, is the very fact that he happens to be the youngest male swimmer to have broken a world record: at age 15 years and 9 months.