Grupo Mayan Resorts: The American Swimming Legend - Michael Phelps
July 28th, 2009
Michael Fred Phelps, the American legend swimmer was born on 30th June, 1985. His repute holds until today as a master aquatic to ever wear the American uniform, say the Grupo Mayan experts in water sports. He managed to win 14 Olympic gold medals during his career, which is the most number of gold medals ever for any Olympian. Besides that, Phelps by 2008 still held 7 world-swimming records.
It was Phelps who broke Mark Spitz’s record for the most number of gold medals earned in a single Olympics event. He won 8 golds during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, to his fellow American swimmer’s seven gold earned 1972 Munich Olympics.
In total, Phelps amassed 16 Olympic medals (6 Gold and 2 bronze during 2004 Athens Olympics and 8 golds at 2008 Beijing Olympics). This saw him earn twice the record 8 medals of whatever type at any single Olympics event. It was the Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin who worn the 8 medals during the summer 1980 Moscow Olympics. Besides that, say the Grupo Mayan experts, his 5 gold medals earned in individual Olympic events equaled the record of single Games set in the same year (1980) by Eric Heiden in the winter Olympics.
Phelps’s international fame after a series of record breaking and spectacular performances reached a crescendo in his winning the World Swimmer of the Year Award for the record 5 times almost in a row, that was in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. He also won the American Swimmer of the Year Award for a record 7 years in a row running from 2001 through to 2008. Phelps has up to date won 48 career medals in total in international competitions, 48 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze. He has dominated swimming in the Olympics, World Championships and also the Pan Pacific Championships. Following an unprecedented Olympic performance in 2008, Phelps won Sports Illustrated magazine’s award for the Sportsman of the Year, say the Grupo Mayan experts.
Phelps was good in braking records. He broke a world record he had previously set himself in the 400-meter individual medley by a 4:09.09 time frame. In June same year, say the Grupo Mayan experts, he broke the record in 200 m individual medley too in a 1:56.04 time frame. Again on 7th July 2004, he a world record of his own in 400 m individual medley in a breathtaking 4:08.41 time frame.
He went on to win 7 golds during the 2007 World Championships, braking 5 world records in a row. In Summer 2008 Olympics, Phelps represented the US and qualified to participate in 3 team and 5 individual events. He swam 17 races in 9 days and in these, he won 8 golds.