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Rio Olympics 2016: 10 facts about Michael Phelps

Phelps won an astounding eight golds in eight events at Beijing.

Phelps won an astounding eight golds in eight events at Beijing. Photo: Getty

Michael Phelps is now a man defined by numbers, but sometimes even the statistics don’t do him justice.

Not only is Phelps clearly the best swimmer of all time, he is history’s most successful Olympic athlete – and by a country mile.

Phelps holds the record for Olympic medals (27), Olympic gold medals (22) and individual gold medals (13).

To put that in perspective, Phelps is the only athlete to have won 10 or more Olympic golds.

Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi, American long-jump star Carl Lewis and swimmer Mark Spitz – also of the United States – have all won nine.

Latynina is the closest athlete to Phelps in terms of medals, with 18 overall.

Here are ten more incredible facts about Michael Phelps.

1. He is physically similar to a fish

Phelps was literally born to be a swimmer.

He uses his double-jointed ankles, knees and arms to generate more thrust than other swimmers through the water, has a wingspan three inches longer than his height and has relatively short legs and torso, to help him ‘plane’ through the water.

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2. He’s been the best for 15 years

Phelps has held the 200m butterfly world record for fifteen years and has bettered it eight times.

3. He won eight gold medals in Beijing

Never was Phelps’ absolute dominance more on show than the Beijing 2008 Olympics, where he nabbed eight gold medals – seven of them in world record time.

Thanks to that performance he holds the record for the most golds in any Olympics.

michael phelps incredible facts

Phelps’ eight golds in Beijing broke the all-time record for one Olympics. Photo: Getty

4. If Phelps were his own country …

… He would be the 36th most successful nation of all time, above Argentina, Jamaica and Mexico.

5. He has ADHD

After Phelps was diagnosed with the disease aged nine, his parents wanted to give him an outlet for his extra energy.

“He’s very intense, but he never used to be able to focus,” mother Debbie Phelps said.

michael phelps incredible facts

Phelps became engaged to his girlfriend Nicole Johnson last year. Photo: Getty

6. He was 15 at Sydney 2000

Phelps became the youngest male to make the US Olympic team in 68 years when he swam in Sydney. He finished fifth in the 200m butterfly.

7. He used to eat like a pig

In 2008, Phelps told the New York Post his typical ‘Breakfast of Champions’ included three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise; two cups of coffee; a five-egg omelet; a bowl of grits; three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

These days, he’s slowed down a bit.

michael phelps incredible facts

He made headlines in 208, revealing a penchant for pizza and energy drinks. Photo: Getty

“I am eating just to maintain a weight, trying to stay between 200 and 205 pounds,” he said to the Associated Press in March.

“I don’t go too overboard on sweets or inappropriate fuel.”

8. He retired in 2012 only to return two years later

Phelps was reportedly inspired to jump back in the pool to avenge the US’ 4x100m relay loss to France in London – one of Phelps’ three silver medals in Games history.

The Americans not only took back the gold in Rio. They did it easy.

9. He is the only swimmer in Olympic history to have…

… won the same event at four successive Games.

Phelps’ 200m individual medley success in Rio saw him retain the crown he first won at the 2004 Athens Games.

He is only the third male, after Al Oerter (discus) and Carl Lewis (long jump) to win the same Olympic event four times in a row.

10. He’s a proud dad

Phelps’ fiancé Nicole Johnson gave birth to their baby boy Boomer Robert just three months ago, and if Instagram is anything to go by, Phelps has taken to fatherhood like a fish to water.

michael phelps incredible facts

Ian Thorpe is one of only two Australians to beat Phelps in an Olympic final. Photo: Getty

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