When was michael phelps first olympic medal

Even given the fact that Phelps practices a sport in which extremely capable athlete can bag golds across different distances and strokes, his feats still blow away those of any other sportsperson. Phelps has 28 medals in total: his 23 gold medals are more than double the count of his nearest rivals, and its not as if other swimmers have accrued silly numbers of medals, either.

A hyperactive Phelps was encouraged into swimming aged seven to give his boundless energy an outlet. By the time he had swum his last race in Rio five years ago the American had become the most decorated Olympian of all time with 23 gold medals, three silver and two bronze — 13 of the golds in individual events, another record. But in he came out of retirement and at 31 — well beyond the usual peak age for swimmers — extended his incredible run with five more golds and a silver in Rio.

Records are meant to be broken, goes the cliche. At age seven, Phelps was still "a little scared" to put his head underwater, so his instructors allowed him to float around on his back. Not surprisingly, the first stroke he mastered was the backstroke. He launched his swimming career at the Loyola High School pool. The coach immediately recognized Phelps' talents and fierce sense of competition and began an intense training regime together.

By , Phelps had made the U. National B Team. Phelps followed his coach to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where Bowman coached the Wolverines' swim team, to study sports marketing and management. At the age of 15, Phelps became the youngest American male swimmer to compete at an Olympic Games in 68 years.

While he didn't win a medal at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, he would soon become a major force in competitive swimming. In the spring of , Phelps set the world record in the meter butterfly, becoming the youngest male swimmer in history at 15 years and 9 months to ever set a world swimming record. Phelps then broke his own record at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, with a time of , earning his first international medal. Phelps continued to set new marks at the U. Summer Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, establishing a new world record for the meter individual medley, and U.

The following year, at the same event, he broke his own world record in the meter individual medley with a time of Shortly after graduating from Towson in , year-old Phelps set five world records, including the meter individual medley at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, with a time of Then during the U.

Michael Phelps competing in the final heat for the Men's Meter Butterfly during day seven of the U. Phelps became a superstar at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, winning eight medals including six gold , tying with Soviet gymnast Aleksandr Dityatin for the most medals in a single Olympic Games. Phelps scored the first of six gold medals on August 14, when he broke his own world record in the meter individual medley, shaving 0.

He also won gold in the meter butterfly, meter butterfly, meter individual medley, 4-bymeter freestyle relay and 4-bymeter medley relay. The two events in Athens, in which Phelps took bronze medals, were meter freestyle and the 4-bymeter freestyle relay.

At the Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Phelps won his 14th career gold medal, the most gold won by any Olympian — surpassing swimmer Mark Spitz's record of seven golds. He also set the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics by winning eight gold medals, in the 4-bymeter medley relay, 4-bymeter freestyle relay, meter freestyle, meter butterfly, 4-bymeter freestyle relay, meter individual medley and meter butterfly.

Every gold medal performance set a new world record, except the meter butterfly, which set an Olympic record. At the Olympic Games, held in London, Phelps' Olympic medal count increased to 22, setting a new record for most Olympic medals beating gymnast Larisa Latynina's prior record of He won four gold medals, in the 4-bymeter freestyle relay, meter individual medley, meter butterfly and 4-bymeter medley relay; and two silver medals, in the 4-bymeter freestyle relay and meter butterfly.

After the London Olympics in , Phelps announced he was retiring from swimming. However, he gave some indication of a possible return in July and would not rule out a possible Olympic bid for the summer games. In April , Phelps put the retirement rumors to rest and announced plans to compete at the Mesa Grand Prix in Arizona. Meanwhile, the sports world continued to speculate whether Phelps would compete in the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

His longtime coach Bowman told the Washington Post :. While Phelps did compete at the Mesa Grand Prix, he made a more impressive showing at the Pan Pacific Championships held that summer in Australia, winning three golds and two silvers. On June 29, , Phelps celebrated a huge comeback when he became the first American male swimmer to earn a spot on five Olympic teams. His then-girlfriend Nicole Johnson, their baby, Boomer, and Phelps' mother Debbie watched the Olympic legend break history from the stands in Rio.

On August 7, , Phelps clinched his 19th Olympic gold medal in Rio swimming the second leg of the men's freestyle relay. He went on to win gold in both the meter butterfly and in the 4xmeter freestyle relay along with Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas and Ryan Lochte.

Phelps went on to compete in the meter individual medley, an event dubbed "the Duel in the Pool" because he faced off against friend, teammate and rival Ryan Lochte, the world record holder in the race.

Phelps dominated the race, winning gold in over a body-length at Lochte failed to medal. Phelps' victory made him the first swimmer to win four consecutive golds in the same event. Being able to finish how I won is just something very special to me and this is why you are seeing more and more emotion on the medal podium. Phelps then competed in the meter butterfly, tying for the silver medal with Laszlo Cseh of Hungary and Chad le Clos of South Africa.

Joseph Schooling of Singapore, a year-old swimmer who idolized Phelps when he was boy, won the gold. In another emotional victory, Phelps took gold again in his final Olympic race, helping the U. Upon finishing, the most decorated Olympian in history received a standing ovation from the crowd. In a huddle with his teammates following the race, Phelps felt the emotion of the moment, according to the New York Times. Phelps has accumulated a total of 28 medals at the Olympic Summer Games in Athens, Beijing, London and Rio — 23 gold, three silver and two bronze — setting the record for the most medal wins by any Olympic athlete.

At the Olympic Games, he won one silver and five gold medals, becoming the oldest individual gold medalist in Olympic swimming history, as well as the first swimmer to win four consecutive golds in the same event, the meter individual medley. Phelps has set 39 world records, the most of all time. And 24 years in the sport.

I'm happy with how things finished," he said. I'm happy about it. I'm in a better state of mind this time than I was four years ago. Phelps is just under 6 feet, 4 inches tall. He has a disproportionately large wingspan, reaching a bit less than 6 feet 7 inches from fingertip to fingertip, and a torso with measurements that are more common in a man who measures 6 feet 8 inches tall. When he broke the world record in the meter butterfly at the World Championships, Phelps swam at an astonishingly speedy or at least by human standards 5.