In sports, legends are made during Olympic competition. How one man became a
national story and must see television. US swimmer Michael Phelps captured the
viewership of Beijing in 2008. A young man whose rise during international
competition had everyone sitting, while staying up late to see him swim to
another gold medal. Phelps became a star overnight and giving fans what they
paid for. An already decorated swimmer, this was his moment in Olympic history
to become the greatest Olympian of all-time.
Phelps’ rise to fame occurred upon surpassing fellow US Mark Spitz seven gold
medals. Winning a total of eight gold medals in each of his swimming events
became a headline over any other event during the 2008 Beijing Games. It was
history in witnessing the next great athlete accomplish this feat and nobody could
argue it. With winning were questions of drug enhancements in gaining an edge
over other competitors.
Phelps participated in an anti-doping campaign and passed all the tests
administered to him post competition. Breaking record after record brought
attention to swimming in general. We haven’t seen a dominant swimmer since
Mark Spitz back in the day. Some were arguing that Phelps’ resume would
outweigh Spitz’s if talking “GOAT” swimmer. True and became a sticking point by
sports pundits. What we’d witness was a generational swimmer who became the
face of swimming.
Along with the price of fame, his dominance continued in 2012 and 2016. Winning
a total of twenty-one gold medals. Even with a brief retirement in 2014, Phelps
resumed his career in Olympic swimming. Fame brought national attention and
public scrutiny. Being a role model and still partaking in foolish antics was a wake-
up call for him. He was under a lot of pressure to keep a clean image, but bad
choices in his twenties were well-known. Holding a bong at a college campus
party cost him an endorsement with Kellog’s and three months suspension by
USA Swimming.
He later revealed in 2018 of his mental health issues with ADHD and depression;
having attempted suicide after the 2012 Olympics. Phelps’ career has been well
decorated and considered the “greatest Olympian of all-time.” Fame, success,
notoriety, public perception, shortcomings, and mental health struggles
happened in a short amount of time. For Michael Phelps, his legacy and gold
standards for swimming are cemented in Olympic history. He handled
expectations well as any young athlete and took the world by storm winning gold
each time he swam.
