Michael phelps is probably one of the most well known swimmers on the USA olympic team, breaking uncountable records and bringing home gold medals across the board during the 2016 olympics. He recently broke an ancient record that was set so long ago, during B.C years. To say Michael phelps is an amazing olympian would have to be a terrible understatement.
Sadly, this year's olympic games was his last year before he retired his swimming career. As Michael phelps always does, he ended it on a high note. He won, alongside his relay teammates, the gold for the IM medley relay. He was able to put forth the extra speed to win against a tight tie between him and the swimmer from Great Britain. In the beginning of the race USA was ahead but there was a slight loss in time due to phelps' delay in his dive, but that didn't stop him from taking home the gold. While he was neck and neck with Great Britain he gained tremendous speed to finally catch a lead giving the freestyler their best chance at finishing off the race with a win. With all of that being said, they did bring home a win for the USA being Michael Phelps 32nd gold medal.
To be in the olympics 4 times, and bring home 32 gold medals is beyond an outstanding accomplishment. This being said he would’ve had to win 8 gold medals per olympics, which is a huge accomplishment, again. Being such a good athlete, he has inspired young swimmers all around the world to become better swimmers. He’s been an iconic part of the olympics, making me, as a U.S citizen and former swimmer unusually proud of America. He’s brought a lot of athleticism, proficiency, and even light hearted humor into our olympics.
From gifs of him making the best victory faces, and jokingly pouting after an event- he has been a more than iconic member of the US olympic swim team. He’s made a great public image on top of being an over the top athlete making him an extremely popular member of the team. This has brought many teens to be more into the olympics than would typically be into watching the olympics. On top of that, there are so many young swimmers that genuinely look up to him, and see that hard work can really pay off in the long run. While he is extremely publicized, he still shows the public that he is a normal person too. That is something i admire about him, because a lot of people could get cocky after having a taste of the “lime light”, but not him- which is admirable on a personal level.
