“There are a lot of things that go into it” – 18-year-old Michael Phelps on planning to ‘break world records’
Michael Phelps has nothing else left to conquer in his career. The 28-time Olympic gold medalist started breaking records at the mere age of 15.
World Trans Sports posted archive video footage of Michael Phelps two years ago, talking about his journey back then and how he knew he would achieve greatness at the age of 18 itself:
"I think everyone dreams about breaking a world record every second time they get in the pool, but more than likely, it's not gonna happen. I mean, I couldn't get in the race today and say I'm gonna break a world record because I'm not Baird. I mean there are a lot of things that go into it."
Michael Phelps talks about his road to success
A man who has won 82 medals in major tournaments, out of which 65 are golds, is definitely not an ordinary man. Michael Phelps, often referred to as the 'Flying Fish', broke Mark Spitz's 35-year long-standing record for the highest number of medals in a single Olympic event.
In 2004, Michael Phelps gave an interview in which he talked about his journey, his confidence in breaking world records, and his relationship with coach Bob Bowman.
He initially talked about crossing the mark in 4.08, which he eventually broke at the 2004 Olympics. Phelps went on to talk about how most of his time goes into swimming pool training and the atmosphere there:
"I mean, there's not like two days back-to-back where I train the same stroke. I mean yesterday we did butterfly, today we could do breaststroke, I mean, it's... it changes every single day, so it's sort of variety and gives us something different to work on every day. So, I mean, I think having that in your training, it's definitely a big help and stuff. It's a huge help for me."
Speaking about his training group and how close they are to him:
"It's pretty much so laid-back life, I'm like, I swim here and eat and sleep and just hang out pretty much."
"I mean it's sort of like a second home. You know, I swam with the group for 10 years. I mean five or 10 years and we've all just known each other and been around each other the whole time. So it's just fun," he added.
Speaking about his relationship with his coach Bob Bowman, he said,
"We're very close. You know, I mean, I think a good swimmer-coach relationship is needed once you get to a higher level in sport. And definitely ours is extremely high, and you know, we're extremely close and friends, I mean, it's like I said, something you need. So, I've been very fortunate to have him as a coach."
Michael Phelps made his Olympic debut at the age of 15 in 2000. He was also the youngest male swimmer since Ralph Flanagan to compete in the Olympics. However, his first Olympic outing did not fetch him a medal but hinted that he would go on to become the next great in swimming.
Phelps later participated in the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he won six gold medals, missing Mark Spitz's mark of seven first-place finishes in a single Olympic event. However, he crossed that mark at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning eight gold medals and establishing himself as the greatest Olympian of all time.