One famous personality whom I deem successful is Michael Fred Phelps.Early Years
Phelps was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood. He graduated from Towson High School in 2003.
In his youth, Phelps was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He started swimming at age seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy. He excelled as a swimmer, and by the age of 10 held a national record for his age group. More age group records followed, and Phelps' rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15.
Physical Attributes
Height: 6 ft. 3in. (193 cm) Weight: 165 (88 kg) Feet size: 14 Arm span: 200 cm
Family Background
His father, Fred Phelps, worked for the Maryland State Police and his mother, Debbie Davisson Phelps, is a middle school principal. The two divorced in 1994. Michael, whose nickname is "MP", has two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary. Both of them were swimmers as well, with Whitney coming close to making the U.S. national team for the 1996 Summer Olympics before injuries derailed her career.
Some of his achievements
- He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian. As of 2008, he also holds seven world records in swimming.
- Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics with the eight golds he won at the 2008 Olympic Games. With this record, he surpassed Mark Spitz, who was also a swimmer and had held the previous gold medal total with the seven that he won at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
- He is the only swimmer to ever break five world records at one meet
- He won FINA trophy at 2003 World Championships as top swimmer
- He is the only man to win five U.S. National titles at the same Championships
- He is the only man to ever win a U.S. National title in three different strokes at one national championship
- He is the youngest member of 2000 Olympic Games team
- He is the youngest male Olympian since 1932
- Swimmer of the year 2001 (USA Swimming)
- At the US Olympic Trials in 2004 set a record of qualifying to compete in six individual events.
- He broke five world records at the 2003 world championships
- Phelps represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He qualified to compete in three team and five individual events, swimming seventeen races in nine days and winning the gold medal in all eight events.
His success story
An inspiration for me
“Every morning I wake up at 4.30-5.00, and it takes me a while to get up in the morning but it’s the Olympics, you have to. I need to recover as much as I can and it is crucial for the coming events,” - Michael PhelpsNo matter how naturally talented Michael Phelps is, the main reason he achieved his goals was because he was prepared to put in the thousands of hours of grueling hard work necessary to compete at the highest level. He made me believe that as long as I work hard, I will achieve my goal.
In October 2007, Phelps slipped on a patch of ice
and fell while climbing into a friend's car in Michigan, breaking his right
wrist. His coach recalled that in the beginning, Phelps was in despair over the
injury. For a few weeks after the surgery, he started kicking in the pool with a
kickboard while his teammates swam. This allowed him to strengthen his legs,
which may be the reason for him being able to edge out Milorad Cavic in the 100
butterfly final for his seventh gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. In the last
five meters, an exhausted Cavic was dragging his legs while Phelps used a strong
kick to get his hands to the wall first, by a hundredth of a second.
Although Michael Phelps met with an obstacle, he did not give up, but instead preserved and found alternative methods to continue his training.
“If I didn’t swim my best, I’d think about it at school, at dinner, with my friends. It would drive me crazy.” - Michael Phelps
“Four years ago I wanted to race and I hated to lose, getting third in the 200m freestyle and when I do lose in races like that it motivates me to swim faster,” -Michael Phelps
“I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I think your mind really controls everything.” - Michael PhelpsMichael Phelps determination to win enables him to give in his best. Like everybody, he does not like losing. However, his defeats motivate him to swim faster and perform better the next time.
"Everything is possible if you dream. My coach helped me to dream big. When I got to him he said to me that I should dream big. He told me to dream as big as you can." - Michael Phelps
"You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get." -Michael PhelpsDreaming big, this is a quality in him that I admire. When setting goals I have to dream big and believe that I can do it.
His mindset for excellence and the qualities that he has are his secrets to success. They also inspire me to excel.
