"Was the media exposure adversely affecting my training?” - When Michael Phelps opened up on external factors affecting his performance

Michael Phelps once opened up about the external factors that affected his training regimen. He enjoyed an illustrious career with multiple Olympic and World Championships and numerous world records.

Phelps' unparalleled career can be attributed to his intense training, which the legendary Phelps has mentioned frequently, stating he never missed his sessions, including five consecutive years without missing a single day, and attending sessions even on holidays and birthdays.

However, they were still affected by the constant media attention, including interviews, photo shoots, and coverage for major newspapers and TV channels. In his memoir 'Michael Phelps: Beneath the Surface,' originally published in 2004, the former swimmer reflected on the moment when he and his coach began realizing the effect of media engagements on his training:

"We did cover shoots for Sports Illustrated, SI Kids and Time, and I gave long interviews to The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and USA Today. The local paper, The Baltimore Sun, was writing stories almost daily," Phelps wrote.

"Even on a day I wouldn’t give interviews, there would be stories in the local papers and on the Baltimore TV stations. All along, we had to ask, “Was the media exposure adversely affecting my training?”

When Michael Phelps opened up about how he and his coach Bob Bowman struck a balance between an intense training regime and media engagements

Coach Bob Bowman and Michael Phelps during the Arena Grand Prix in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Getty Images)

In the same memoir, Michael Phelps opened up about the solution he and his coach Bob Bowman found to navigate and find a balance between the swimmer's training and demands in media engagement. They created a scale of importance and only accepted the high-priority engagements. They tried to adjust the media activities in the afternoon to avoid any disruptions in Phelps' training.

"Bob would ask Peter: On a scale of 1 to 10, how much would this benefit Michael? I also wanted to do as much as possible because it was a chance to get swimming on the front pages, the way it is in Australia. We did the nines and tens, tried to accommodate the sevens and eights and had to pass on everything else."

Phelps added:

"Usually we tried to aim for 2 p.m. as a time for interviews, because I could still have a morning practice, eat, take an afternoon nap, and be ready for a late-afternoon practice after the interview."

Under coach Bowman's guidance, Michael Phelps earned 61 world and Olympic medals.