When he won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Phelps broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games.
At the 2004 Olympics Games in Athens, Phelps had already tied the record of eight medals of any colour at a single Games by winning six golds and two bronze medals. At the 2012 Olympics Games in London, Phelps won four golds and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. Taking all of these into account, Michael is also the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.
Phelps is the world record holder in the 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, and 400m individual medley. During his career, he set a remarkable 39 world records (29 individual, 10 relay). He has won 82 medals in major international competitions, of which 65 were gold, 14 silver, and 3 bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World Swimming Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships.
Phelps’s international titles and record-breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award eight times and the American Swimmer of the Year Award eleven times, as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year Award in 2012 and 2016. Phelps earned Sports Illustrated magazine’s Sportsman Of The Year Award due to his unprecedented Olympic success at the 2008 Games.
After the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but he made a comeback in April 2014. At the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, his fifth Olympics, he was selected by his team to be the flag bearer of the United States at the Parade of Nations. Phelps announced his second retirement in 2016. Since then he has continued his charity work promoting his foundation promoting health and activity in boys and girls.
Michael is a dedicated and passionate Olympic speaker and he movitates and inspires audiences with his selfless attitude to helping others. Available to hire as a sports speaker and swimming expert, Michael Phelps is, without doubt, one of the most qualified and respected Olympians of all time and the perfect addition to any event.
In February 2024 Michael Phelps conducted a keynote address discussing his mental health struggles and how he overcame suicidal thoughts. Watch this Exclusive Keynote Speech from Michael Phelps here.
