7/14/2023 0 Comments Michael phelps wingspan![]() When he arrived with the rest of the U.S. spring nationals to take a third place finish, and then became a surprise qualifier for the He finished in last place in the 200-meter butterfly. national championships, in the summer of 1999. Those setbacks included his first-ever U.S. "It's when your body is not in the best situation, your mind is not in the best situation and things are against you those are the times that really count and really matter you overcome and rise to the occasion." Bowman warned him about his unsportsmanlike conduct, and since then Phelps has taken his handful of setbacks in stride. The first time he lost, however, he was so upset that he threw down his goggles. He began winning every competitive event he entered. When Bowman told Phelps that he had Olympic potential, the twelve-year-old gave up his other sports, which were soccer, lacrosse, and baseball, in order to bring all his energy to daily pool practice. women's swim team at the 1996 Summer Games but was sidelined by an injury. Phelps was thrilled by the idea, especially since one of his sisters had qualified for the U.S. Bowman predicted that Phelps would be Olympic-caliber material by the time he was fifteen, and might look forward to going to the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. After watching him swim, Bowman agreed to take over his training at a Baltimore-area swim club. When he was eleven years old, they brought him to a top swim coach, Bob Bowman (c. Phelps's parents quickly recognized their son's talent. "At first, I was a little scared to put my head underwater, so I started with the backstroke," Phelps told Frank Litsky, a sportswriter for the New York Times, adding, "I was still scared because I don't think I had goggles." He has two older sisters, and began swimming when they joined a local swim team. His mother, Debbie, is an administrator with the BaltimoreĬounty school system. ![]() Phelps was born on June 30, 1985, and grew up in the Baltimore suburb of Towson. These attributes have given him an edge in the highly competitive sport, but those who know him say that it is his inner drive, focus on achieving goals, and likeable personality that make him a winner. He stands more than six-foot four inches in height, and his wingspan, as it is called, is even longer: from finger to finger he measures six-foot seven inches across. Phelps, whose best stroke is the butterfly, is said to possess the perfect build for competitive swimming. Even his record breaking has broken new records: he was the first swimmer ever to shatter two world records in individual events during a single day, and was the first to swim five new fastest times at a world championship meet. Young American swimmer Michael Phelps has broken several world records in his sport.
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