“Why everyone is talking about that swimmer” - Jennifer Lopez feels ignored with all attention on Michael Phelps (throwback)
Michael Phelps is the most decorated swimmer in Olympics history. With 28 medals, he not only holds the record for winning the most Olympic medals but also the record for most gold medals (23) at the quadrennial event.
However, an interesting event took place in 2008 after the Beijing Olympics. Phelps won an unimaginable eight gold medals in a single Olympics, a feat no swimmer has achieved before or since then.
Considering this success, it's no surprise that Phelps' performance was hailed as the most incredible sporting effort that year. While many celebrated his success, actress-singer Jennifer Lopez did not understand what all the fuss was about.
The same year as the Beijing Olympics, Jennifer Lopez started training for the 22nd Annual Malibu Triathlon, which was scheduled in September. She started training immediately after giving birth to twins, Emme and Max. There is no doubt that this was an altogether incredible feat by a woman.
However, all the attention was on Michael Phelps, and the pop star didn’t understand why such was the case.
She expected the attention to be on her as she was preparing for a marathon just six months after giving birth to twins. Lopez appeared on a US TV show, Good Morning America, to discuss her preparations for the event.
However, after the event, a source overheard the pop star talking about how “she couldn’t understand why everyone is talking about that swimmer.”
The source also claimed that the superstar couldn't even recall Phelps' name. According to her, the source said, the big story was her achievement and not what the swimming legend did.
Lopez ran for a social cause. She donated all the money she generated from the triathlon raise to the Los Angeles Children's Hospital.
While it's unfortunate that Lopez's achievement was overshadowed by Michael Phelps' Olympic success, it's understandable since Olympic success is the most sought after prize in sports and is also considered a national achievement.
Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Michael Phelps had a prolific 2008 season with the highlight being his eight Olympic gold medals in Beijing. Previously, Phelps won six golds and two silver medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Within four years, the teenager had achieved something that no one in the sport had so far.
Phelps finished all eight of his races as the winner and broke world records in seven of them. Even in that solitary race where he didn't set a world record, he managed an Olympic record.
He eventually broke Mark Spitz's record of winning seven gold medals at a single Olympics. Spitz praised Phelps' incredible feat, regarding him as the greatest athlete of all time.
"Epic. It goes to show you that not only is this guy the greatest swimmer of all time and the greatest Olympian of all time, he's maybe the greatest athlete of all time. He's the greatest racer who ever walked the planet."
Moving forward, Michael Phelps participated at the 2012 London Olympics and retired after the 2016 Rio Olympics. He left behind a sporting legacy to be remembered and revered by all athletes around the world.