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Issue Date: August 8, 2004
SORRY THIS CONTEST CLOSED MIDNIGHT AUG. 19
Before Phelps became the media darling of the Olympics, we traveled to Baltimore, where he trains, for our photo shoot. He was a good sport and played along, donning a USA WEEKEND beach towel. After the shoot, we gave him the custom-made towel. So you can't win that particular one. But we thought you might like one, too.
We'll randomly pick 10 lucky readers to receive one of these exclusive towels.
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Forget all the hype. Michael Phelps wears his dreams on his hip, in the form of a tattoo of the Olympic rings. Phelps, 19, has a chance to beat Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals in one Olympics (Munich, 1972). That's quite a leap from his unnoticeable fifth place in the 200-meter butterfly at Sydney, where, at 15, he became one of the youngest Olympians ever. Five months later, he'd broken the world record in that event, making him the youngest male swimmer to hold a world record.
He's been smashing records ever since. At last year's world championships in Spain, he became the first athlete ever to set five world records in one meet. He broke his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley on the first day of the Olympic trials and hopes to compete in -- and win -- eight Olympic events (five individual, three relays). He's been featured on the cover of nearly every sports magazine in the country and appeared in national commercials for the Olympics; he'll even get $1 million from sponsor Speedo if he pulls off the Spitz thing.
Being doused by the media spotlight seems to have put little stress on his work ethic or performance. In his own words, he's "experienced that atmosphere, faced that pressure, and I know how things work." The attention has raised the performance bar for the entire U.S. Olympic swim team. As Phelps set the 400m individual medley record at last month's Olympic trials, other American swimmers broke five additional world records.
A scientist might say Phelps' ambition is to defy the laws of physics in water. On meeting the Baltimore native, who spends up to five hours a day, seven days a week, in water, it becomes obvious his drive is not about money, but glory. With a typical teen 'tude, he says he just likes winning. Stalking the pool deck in a skintight Speedo bodysuit, the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Phelps resembles a hero right out of the "X-Men" comics. "The Swiminator" is more like it: expert in every stroke, sinewy and lean, with gangly oars for arms, propeller legs and Hollywood-broad shoulders that could support multiple gold medals nicely.
Is the weight of expectation unfair pressure on the teen? Please. This kid is so seasoned, the next of his many endorsements (Visa and AT&T Wireless among them) ought to be for KFC. Phelps begins his quest for a record gold medal haul next Saturday with the 400m individual medley, an event in which he is the reigning world champion. Between practice laps that would drown most mortals, Phelps spent a few minutes on land with USA WEEKEND Magazine to look back at his journey to Athens:
THE TADPOLE YEARS
"I had a pretty normal childhood. My older sisters started the family in the sport of swimming. [Sister Whitney narrowly missed qualifying for the 1996 Olympic team.] I grew up around the pool -- running around, wasting energy, having fun and playing with my friends. That was normal for me, just hanging around the pool."
ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?
"My favorite teacher was Mr. Brewster, who taught government my freshman year of high school. He made it fun, kept it interesting. Instead of just having us read out of a textbook, he would lead field trips to the Statehouse. My coach, Bob Bowman, is the same way. Grinding in the pool can get as monotonous as reading a textbook, but Bob always changes things up so it's not the same exact thing day in and day out."
EARLY ASPIRATIONS
"I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up; I just knew I wanted to do something in sports. I played soccer, lacrosse and baseball, and I swam. I began moving away from other sports when I was 11 and started working with Bob, who at the time was a new coach for our swim club. He recognized I had a talent and suggested the possibility I could make an Olympic team, so I started to focus on swimming. I don't remember the first race I won, but there are a lot of boxes in my attic with ribbons and medals and trophies."
OLYMPICS, ROUND 1
"I was only 15 when I competed in Sydney, but I most definitely was able to appreciate the experience. Being an Olympian and representing America was always my goal. Going into the 2000 trials, I did not have high expectations; I just wanted to go and have fun and swim my best, and I did, and I made the team. Having one Olympics under my belt definitely helps heading to Athens. I've experienced that atmosphere ... and I know how things work."
TRAINING DAYS
"I am a pool rat. I swim seven days a week, two to five hours a day, about 50 miles a week. Once I'm in the water, I feel more at home. I am really able to relax. Racing, for me, is more acting than reacting. When I am in the solitude of the pool, I am not really thinking. I'm just ... going."
THE WHEATIES PITCH
"Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I'm not on any specific diet. I just eat pretty much whatever I want and as much as I want, because I burn so much. I'll swim in the morning, then sit down and polish off a stack of pancakes, a bowl of grits, an omelet, maybe an egg-and-cheese sandwich or two. I'll follow that with a little dessert. Then I take a three-hour nap. Sometimes I dream I'm standing on the Olympic medal stand with the gold medal around my neck, listening to the national anthem. Being an Olympic champion is what drives me. I don't think it gets better than that."
MICHAEL, THE VIDEO GAME
"I love playing video games. But I am a bad loser. I can't stand it. I really do not like to lose at anything -- not video games, not swimming, nothing. If it does happen, I work that much harder to make sure it doesn't happen again. I came home from Sydney with nothing. I want to break Mark Spitz's record, but if I can win one, just one, I will consider these Olympics a success. Maybe, someday, there will be a Michael Phelps swimming video game. That would be nice."
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Others to watch
More American athletes within reach of gold:
Beach volleyball. Doubles partners Kerri Walsh and Misty May, or Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs, will shake up the game.
Gymnastics. Paul Hamm, 21, is the men's all-around world champion. Courtney Kupets, 18, and Courtney McCool and Carly Patterson, both 16, will vie to become the first American woman to win all-around gold since Mary Lou Retton in '84.
Water polo. U.S. women took silver in 2000 but hope for gold this year.
Fencing. Sada Jacobson, 21, is ranked No. 1 in the world in individual saber, a first-time women's event.
Track and field. Maurice Green, 30, looks to defend his 100m gold medal, won in 2000. World champion decathlete Tom Pappas, 27, wants to bring glory to his Greek ancestry.
Photograph of Michael Phelps by Peter Gregoire for USA WEEKEND
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