Michael Phelps Biography

The American competitive swimmer Michael Phelps was born in 1985 in Towson, Maryland. Today, Phelps is known as one of the most decorated Olympic athletes of all time, rising to win twenty-two Olympic medals over the course of his career as a competitive swimmer, but long before his Olympic debut he grew up struggling with ADHD as a child. His family encouraged him to pursue athletics to help serve as an outlet for his energy. Phelps tried a number of sports and activities, but swimming ultimately became his activity of choice.

It quickly became apparent that Phelps had a natural knack for the sport, and by the time he was ten, Michael had broken records for his age group and amazed his peers and coaches with his unique skill. Phelps quickly began to train more seriously to swim competitively, and by the age of fifteen he’d become the youngest athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic swim time in nearly seventy years. The rest, as they say, is history - Michael Phelps went on to compete in the summer Olympics of 2004, 2008, and 2012, breaking records for his staggering twenty-two gold medals and rising to become a household name.

In 2008, Michael Phelps established his own foundation to help further the sport of swimming and to promote an active and healthy lifestyle. Ironically, shortly thereafter he became the subject of much controversy after video and images of him smoking marijuana emerged. In 2014, Phelps was charged with a DUI, his second, and so he entered a six week treatment program to overcome his addiction challenges.

Despite the setback, Phelps emerged with a determination to forge forward. He recently announced that he would be coming out of retirement, with a goal to re-enter the sport of swimming competitively in 2015. He is currently on track for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.