Michael Phelps Eyes Unprecedented 8 Olympic Gold Medals | Voice of America - English
American swimmer Michael Phelps is seeking to navigate uncharted territory.
Manysay Michael Phelps' quest is a mission impossible. But no otherswimmer is coming into the Beijing Olympics with the conditioning andrecords that Phelps possesses. Phelps secured his eight-raceOlympic schedule by winning the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S.swimming trials last Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska. To surpass MarkSpitz, Phelps says he has to overcome just one competitor in Beijing -himself. "You never know what can happen," said Phelps. "Theonly person I can worry about is myself. And, if I can prepare myselfthe best way that I can, then that is really all I can ask. If I go inthere and I do a best time and I still get beat, that is all I can askfor. So, I am trying to prepare myself the best way I can. And justgo out there and swim fast." When he was 15, Phelps got hisfirst taste of international competition at the 2000 Sydney Olympics,where he became the youngest U.S. male Olympian swimmer since 1932. In2001, Michael Phelps began his assault on the record books, becomingthe youngest swimmer to break a world record in winning the 200-meterbutterfly in 1:54.92 minutes at the national championships. Fourmonths later in Japan, he lowered the mark at the World Championshipsby 34-100ths of one second (1:54.58). Phelps was named the 2001 USASwimmer of the Year. The two-time Olympian became the firstathlete ever to win eight medals total at a non-boycotted OlympicGames, collecting six gold and two silvers in 2004 in Athens. Phelpsset four individual world records and won seven gold medals at the 2007World Championships to become the winningest athlete in WorldChampionship history. Phelps says his success and experience has prepared him well for Beijing. "Rightnow, I am more relaxed than I was in 2004 going into the Olympics," hesaid. "After going through everything I had been through in the lastfour years, it helped me prepare a little bit better for these gamescoming up and really understand what is going to happen. BeforeAthens, I was (like a) deer in the headlights, and did not really knowwhat to expect." Phelps has set his best times in all of hisevents since March 2007. At the recent U.S. swimming trials, helowered the world record in the 400-meter individual medley (to 4:05.25minutes). His fans expect to see more records, and Michael Phelps hasno doubt that he can improve on all of his results. "I do notthink anything is too high. The only way for you to limit yourself isif you put a limit on yourself. The sky is the limit," Phelps said. "And the more you use your imagination, the farther you will go. Ithink anything is possible. I set very high goals for myself. And Iwork as hard as I can to get there." The talented Phelps beganswimming at the age of seven. Four years later, he started trainingunder his current coach Bob Bowman at his Baltimore, Maryland, swimclub. Bowman has watched and guided Phelps' steady improvement overthe years. He says the past four years have been especially impressive. "Probablythe two areas where Michael has improved the most are, number one, hisphysical strength," Bowman said. "And that is a result of a much moreintense strength-training program since Athens. And the other areawhere he really has improved the most is his breaststroke. It has gonefrom being a stroke that was quite weak in Athens to being a strengthof his." Michael Phelps will be one of the busiest athletes inBeijing, as he is scheduled to swim five individual events and possiblythree relays in nine days. Including heats, semifinals and finals, hecould swim as many as 20 races. At the end, Phelps could be standingas the most decorated athlete in Olympic history.