Michael PhelpsThe crowd roared as he approached the block. As he clutched his glasses, he imagined his run for the last time. The starter said take the mark... go, the race is on. Seconds later Michael touched the wall and once again took the gold. Michael Phelps excelled in the sport of swimming and was destined to go to the Olympics, and with a little help, he changed the sport of swimming and is undoubtedly the best Olympic swimmer in history. Michael was born on June 30, 1985 and is the only son of three children (“Phelps” Current). Michael started swimming when he was seven and says his older sisters were the reason he started playing the sport (Phelps and Abrahamson 19, 20). He soon realized that he could move quickly in the pool and that it relaxed him. “In the water, for the first time, I felt in control. Swimmers like to say they can “feel” the water. Even in the beginning, I felt it. He quickly learned to find what made him faster or slower (20). During the 1996 Olympics, Michael watched Tom Malchow and Tom Dolan swim and during this time he soon realized his dream (“Phelps” Current). He wanted to win a gold medal (Phelps and Abrahamson 20). At age 11, Michael joined the NBAC and soon after Bob Bowman became a new coach (“Phelps” Current, Abrahamson 26). Phelps and Bob Bowman began to trust each other and became very close. He knew Michael had something very special (Abrahamson 26). Michael says he feels like his coach is like his older brother, but the two also know how to keep each other going. “But just for example, if I really want a reaction from him, I'll just say, 'Well, obviously you don't really want to do that. Why don't you get out of here?" He will absolutely represent... the center of the paper... history (Smabl 10). Michael Phelps has had an extraordinary career in the sport of swimming and the statistics can prove it. Phelps, at age 15, he made an Olympic team, being the youngest male to do so since 1932 (Busnak 32). At the 2004 Olympic Games he won six gold medals. He also captured five Olympic records and two world records. In Beijing Michael won eight medals and all of them were gold. He set nine Olympic records and eight of them still stand today six medals, four of them gold (33). Outside of the Olympics, Michael also won many other titles, including winning thirty-three medals, twenty-six gold, at the World Championships. He also won 5 titles world championships in one event. Michael also defends many of these titles.