Why did Michael Phelps start swimming?

Michael Phelps is the name that pops up in everyone's head when there is a discussion about swimming. He broke record after record and won lots of medals in his marvelous career. It would take several years for any other swimmer to replicate these feats of Phelps. But what motivated him to get into the sport?

The GOAT Olympian started swimming for two reasons: the influence of his sisters (Whitney Phelps and Hilary Phelps) and to provide himself with an outlet for his energy. Initially, Michael was afraid to put his face in the water but soon he overcame this fear, according to SwimSwam.

Michael Phelps was also inspired to swim by the performances of Tom Malchow and Tom Dolan during the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.

The ace swimmer was just seven years old when he started swimming. In 2016, Michael said, "The only reason I ever got in the water was my mom wanted me to just learn how to swim."

Michael Phelps claimed that he and his sisters fell in love with swimming and hence they decided to continue. The Baltimore Bullet joined North Baltimore Athletic Club and met his coach Bob Bowman, who would be a coach as well as a father figure throughout his life and career. The ace swimmer was gifted in swimming. He surpassed everyone in his age group.

The GOAT Olympian created a national record as a 10-year-old in the 100-meter butterfly event. He created several more age group records at a young age. During his time at school, the swimmer was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). But Phelps was so focused when he was swimming.

The champion swimmer couldn't spend his time in class without fidgeting but was able to swim for up to three hours in the pool, according to Understood. Michael was selected for the US National B team at just 14 years of age. This was the result of his hard work and Bowman's guidance.

Following this, the Maryland-born swimmer qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics at just 15 years of age. Though Michael Phelps is now 37 years old, he still has several age group records.

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How did Michael Phelps fare at his very first Olympics?

Michael Phelps was the youngest American Olympic swimmer since Ralph Flanagan to qualify for the Olympics. His first entry was at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Phelps finished in second place at the Olympic trials in the 200-meter butterfly event behind one of his inspirations, 1996 Olympic silver medalist Tom Malchow.

He qualified for the finals by performing well in the heats and the semi-finals of the Olympics. But young Phelps faced a huge task ahead of him as he was the youngest swimmer among all his competitors in the finals. One of his competitors was also fellow American Tom Malchow.

Michael Phelps at the 2000 Summer Olympics

The GOAT swimmer was only able to clinch a fifth-place finish in his first-ever Olympic finals. But that was just the start in the making of the legendary Olympian Michael Phelps. After finishing in fifth place at the 2000 Olympics, he went on to participate in four more editions of the Olympics, in which he won a record 28 medals.