“I woulda lost” - Michael Phelps reveals the catch that enabled his win at 2008 Beijing Olympics
One of the most decorated Olympians, Michael Phelps recently gave out the secret tecnique that helped him achieve the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His 100m men’s butterfly gold medal was one of the eight gold medals that he won that year. Remembering that race, the legendary swimmer disclosed the crucial thing that he did to win it.
In the 2008 Olympics, Michael Phelps rose to massive fame after he broke legendary swimmer Mark Spitz’s record of winning seven gold medals in a single Olympics. That year, the young swimmer did the unthinkable, winning gold medals in all the eight events that he had participated in - 400m individual medley, 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m medley, 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle, and 4x100m medley.
The Baltimore Bullet faced a neck-to-neck competition in the 100m men’s butterfly race. Recently, when the official Instagram page of the Olympics shared a video of the swimming legend competing in that race in 2008, Phelps reshared it in his story and explained what he did to win it.
In the video, Phelps was mostly seen swimming at the same level as his competitors. However, as he approached the end wall, he touched it with force, unlike other swimmers in the race.
Highlighting it, he wrote in his story,
“If I didn’t hit the finish w force… I woulda lost”
Giving away his secret, he also educated his followers by putting up a hashtag in his story,
"#practicyourfinish"
Michael Phelps on achieving Olympic greatness
38-year-old Michael Phelps is a 28-time Olympic medalist, out of which 23 are Olympic gold medals. He has also been the recipient of several awards and honors, including World Swimmer of the Year Award (eight times) and the American Swimmer of the Year Award (11 times).
Phelp’s journey has been a saga of immense discipline and dedication. On many occasions, he termed his journey as “rocket science”. Moreover, in one of his interviews, he revealed that he always had big dreams of becoming the greatest in the world. To accomplish that, the swimmer gave himself no off days. He explained in his interview,
“I went through a span of five or six years when I didn't miss a single day of training, 365 days a year,” he stated.
Furthermore, he explained,
“I got 52 extra days each year, more than anybody else had. In the world of sports of swimming, if you miss one day, it takes you two days to get back to where you are."
He shared that, while everyone gave themselves a day to relax, he kept grinding all year to become the greatest swimmer ever.