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Michael Phelps is one of the best swimmers of his generation who has enjoyed many milestones in his career. He has won 28 Olympic medals and is the most decorated Olympian of all time.
Naturally, when the President of the United States of America Joe Biden announced 17 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, sports enthusiasts were curious to know if Phelps made the list.
The medal is the highest civilian honor that is presented to people who make contributions towards the security or national interests of the USA, world peace and other noticeable private or public efforts.
Has Michael Phelps won the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
Unfortunately, Michael Phelps was not one of the 17 individuals who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. The awards were presented at the White House on Thursday, July 7, 2022.
However, sports fans will be glad to learn that Simone Biles, who won the most Olympic medals in the artistic gymnast category from the USA, was one of the recipients of the honor.
She has won seven Olympic medals, and her medal tally is tied with that of Shannon Miller, an artistic gymnast in the mid-1990s.
Along with Biles, Megan Rapinoe, another Olympian who won gold with the US national soccer team at the 2012 London Summer Olympics and a Bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, was one of the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
She has also won the Ballon d'Or Feminin and was named The Best FIFA Women's Player in 2019.
Phelps fans need not feel upset on the snub, as the Baltimore Bullet was recently inducted into the US Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame on June 24, 2022.
The 36-year-old Olympian was his wife Nicole Johnson, and three kids – 6-year-old Boomer Robert, 4-year-old Beckett Richard, and two-and-a-half-year-old Maverick Nicolas. Phelps shared some adorable photos on his social media handles and thanked everyone who voted for him, along with congratulating his 2022 classmates.
List of recipients who were presented the 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom
Out of the 17 candidates, three were awarded posthumously. Here is the full list of individuals who won the 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom:
- Simone Biles - the most decorated American gymnast
- Simone Campbell - former Executive Director of NETWORK, and a member of the Sisters of Social Service
- Julieta Garcia - first female Hispanic college president (former president of The University of Texas)
- Gabrielle Giffords - youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate and co-founder of Giffords
- Fred Gray - one of the first black members of the Alabama State Legislature since Reconstruction and the attorney who represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP and Martin Luther King
- Steve Jobs (posthumous) - co-founder, chief executive and chairman of Apple, Inc. and CEO of Pixar
- Alexander Karloutsos - former Vicar General of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
- Khizr Khan - Gold Star father and founder of the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center
- Sandra Lindsay - New York critical care nurse
- John McCain (posthumous) - served in the US Navy in Vietnam and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008.
- Diane Nash - founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
- Megan Rapinoe - Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion
- Alan Simpson - US Senator from Wyoming for 18 years
- Richard Trumka (posthumous) - president of the 12.5-million-member AFL-CIO for more than a decade, president of the United Mine Workers, and secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO
- Wilma Vaught - one of the most decorated women in the history of the US military
- Denzel Washington - actor, director, and producer who has won two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, and two Golden Globes.
- Raul Yzaguirre – served as CEO and president of the National Council of La Raza for 30 years.
