How Fast Can Michael Phelps Swim? All About 28 Time Olympic Medalist and World's No. 1 Athlete Since 2000

Michael Phelps is a well-known and beloved figure. He is the most decorated Olympian in history, with 28 medals, 23 of them are gold. His career spanned 5 Games, representing 2 decades of supremacy.

Published on Jul 19, 2024  |  11:11 PM IST |  74.4K
Michael Phelps [Credit-Instagram@m_phelps00]
Michael Phelps [Credit-Instagram@m_phelps00]

Michael Phelps was born on June 30, 1985, in Baltimore, MD (Maryland). He began swimming at age seven for two reasons. The first? His elder sisters, Hilary and Whitney, swam, so he decided to try it. What about the second? Phelps had a lot of energy as a youngster, and his mother believed swimming may help him keep it in check. 

He developed his passion for swimming and joined the North Baltimore Aquatic Club at the age of ten. Around this time, Phelps met his coach, Bob Bowman. Bowman spotted Phelps' potential and began pushing him to swim harder.

By 1999, Phelps had reached the United States National B Team. He was only 14!  At the age of 15, he became the youngest male swimmer in history to turn professional. Bob Bowman and Michael Phelps spent the next 16 years competing worldwide, ultimately becoming household names.

Coach Bowman was present when Michael competed in his first Games in the 200-meter butterfly for Team USA in Sydney, Australia, and when he became the youngest swimmer ever to set a world record by winning the 200-meter butterfly in the 2001 World Championship Trials. Coach Bowman guided Phelps through all five Games and all 28 medals. 

How fast can Michael Phelps swim? 

Phelps is well-known for his rigorous training regimen. You have to if you want to be the best swimmer in the world! During his peak training, Phelps swam around 80,000 meters each week. That's over fifty kilometers! Phelps could swim the 200-meter freestyle in roughly 1.42 minutes, equivalent to 4.7 mph (miles per hour) or 7.6 km/h. 

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To achieve that level of performance, he would swim twice a day, maybe more if he was training at high altitudes. His training was mostly centered on drills, underwater kicking, vertical kicking, and sculling. Even the finest of the best must focus on the fundamentals every day!

Michael Phelps all world records

Phelps currently has four world records. He established world records in the 400m individual medley and 4 × 100m freestyle relay at the Olympics. In addition, he broke world records in the 4 × 100m medley relay and 4 x 200m freestyle relay at the World Championships.

During the 2008 Olympics, he set a world record in the 400m individual medley and won gold with a time of 4:03.84. In the same Olympics, Phelps set the world record for the 4 x 100m freestyle relay with his team, clocking in at 3:08.24.

At the 2009 World Championships, the former American swimmer set a world record for the 4 × 100m medley relay in 3:27.28 seconds. Furthermore, in the same World Championships, Phelps broke his own world mark and set a new one by winning gold in the 4 × 200m freestyle relay in 6:58.55.

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Phelps retired from swimming in 2016, but he left a legacy of extraordinary glory that no other athlete appeared capable of achieving.

Also Read: Michael Phelps Diet - The Remarkable Diet for His Olympic Records

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About The Author

A graduate in journalism. Blesson is an Indore-based writer who has a keen interest in exploring sports news,

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