"I was upset, so I used that as a motivation" - Michael Phelps how Olympic debut performance disappointment led to his first world record
Michael Phelps has stated that he took the disappointment of his debut Olympic Games to train harder, which saw him break a world record within six months of the event's conclusion.
At the tender age of 15, Phelps qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. While he did not win a medal at the event, he managed to make the finals of the 200 meter butterfly, where he finished fifth.
While other athletes usually tame some time off after the Olympics, Phelps stated that he resumed training immediately as he was upset with his performances Down Under.
"I came back from the 2000 Olympic games as a 15 year old and after Olympic usually people take time off where they take a break, they relax for three, six months and then they get back into it. For me, I was into it the next day. I was upset. So I used that as a motivation leading into the next year," he recalled.
On his first day at practice, his then coach, Robert Bowman, wrote the initials "WR" on the right-hand corner of a paper, indicating he was targeting the world record. While Phelps was skeptical about it, he kept an open mind and indeed broke his first world record in six months.
"He's like 'we are gonna break the world record in six months' and I was like 'alright cool, let's try it'. Turns out six months later I break my first world record," he added.
At the 2001 World Aquatics Championship, Phelps broke the 200 meter butterfly world record to become the youngest male (15 years and 9 months) ever to set a world record in swimming.
#MichaelPhelps on how he broke his first World Record.
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Michael Phelps sees his records broken and equaled at 2023 World Aquatics Championship
At the ongoing 2023 World Aquatic Champions in Fukuoka, Japan, Michael Phelps has seen two of his record broken or equaled.
France Leon Marchand broke Phelps' world record (4:03.84) when he won gold in the Men's 400 Individual Medley with a 4:02.50 effort. The American had held the record in this category since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Incidentally, Phelps was working as a commentator for NBC at the event and personally congratulated Marchand for his efforts.
Later, his compatriot Katie Ledecky equaled his World Aquatics Championship title record when she won her 15th individual title in the worlds. It was also her fifth women's 1500m Freestyle title at the event.