Michael Phelps returns to pool, leaving Baltimore Ravens players, including Kyle Hamilton, trailing in 25 freestyle

Former American swimmer Michael Phelps was seen in swimming sessions with the NFL team, the Baltimore Ravens. This came just a few days after several Ravens players, such as Marlon Humphrey, requested Phelps for swimming training.

Phelps, being an ardent admirer of the team, gracefully accepted the request and had a friendly competition with the Ravens players in a 25m freestyle race in the pool. Notably, the veteran swimmer was way ahead of the field during the race, as he showcased his skills at the pool even at the age of 40 and touched the finishing line in 9.98 seconds.

Ravens player Kyle Hamilton finished second behind Phelps in 14.59 seconds. The Baltimore Ravens' Instagram handle shared a video of this friendly race between Phelps and its players, and further added a 4-word message in its caption:

"Competitive natures came out 😂😂😂"

Notably, in recent weeks, Phelps has found himself in controversy with USA Swimming, where he called out the latter for its behavior towards him during his active years in the sport. The swimmer also faced backlash from several active players for his comments on Team USA's performance at the 2025 World Championships.

Baltimore Ravens coaching staff member shares conversation between the team and Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps (Image via: Getty)

Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr shared the conversation between Michael Phelps and the team. Orr is also a former player of the Ravens and served the team for a couple of years from 2014.

In an interview, Orr shared that the message that Phelps and Ravens' former player Ray Lewis delivered was pretty much similar. Additionally, Orr also mentioned that Phelps talked about achieving great things in pressure moments. He said, via AP News:

"I’m not going to say I’m a big swimming fan, but I know Michael Phelps. I think it was neat having him and Ray come talk to us, because the message was the same. That’s one thing you notice when you listen to the greats. When you study the greats, you wonder, ‘How do they do such great things in the highest tense moments?’ And it all leads back to the work that nobody sees, and that’s what Michael Phelps talked about"

Phelps, a Baltimore-born swimmer, is frequently seen rooting for his hometown team, the Ravens, and is also a close acquaintance of Lewis, a former player with the Ravens and a two-time Super Bowl champion.