“I Felt Like an Idiot”: Michael Phelps Once Regretted Disclosing a Deeply Personal Information During a Press Conference

The legendary swimmer, Michael Phelps, won multiple laurels ever since he was an amateur swimmer. Despite not winning a medal in his debut Olympics, Michael did not lose hope. Michael went on to create history in the sport by winning a record 28 Olympic medals. All in all, he took the sport of swimming to another level altogether.

Michael became a worldwide star after winning 8 medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics. However, an incident after the Olympics affected his newly earned reputation. The police arrested Phelps for driving under the influence, which became the headlines in no time. 

Michael Phelps recalls an embarrassing situation

Athletes have to attend press conferences during their events. At such events, the media does not leave a stone unturned to get the best out of them. Ever since Michael joined the United States swimming team, he would attend media conferences after his races. After repeated conferences, he was used to answering the media. However, he recalled an incident during a press conference that made him feel like an idiot.

In his book, ‘Beneath the Surface,’ Michael opened up on a lot of incidents in his life. He recalled an embarrassing situation while he was at a press conference along with his coach, Bob Bowman.

During the post-race press conference after the Olympics, reporters enquired if he had a girlfriend. Opening up about the situation in his book, he wrote, “So, do you have a girlfriend?” I had no idea what to do or say or how to answer that. My face got pretty red as I told them I did. Then they asked her name, which I gave them.”

DIVE DEEPER: “Faster Than..My Body Could Handle”: Michael Phelps Opened Up on Struggles With His Rare Body in His Biography

They further went on to ask him whether he kissed her. His coach came to his rescue and asked him not to respond to the question. Regretting opening up too much, he wrote, “I felt like an idiot. I was pretty on edge about doing interviews after that if I didn’t know who I was talking to.”

Michael opens up on his struggles

To achieve something that has not been achieved before takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Michael followed the same mantra when it came to swimming. However, he faced several challenges during his swimming career. 

A dejected Michael Phelps looks to the scoreboard after finishing out of the money in the Men’s 400M Individual Medley at the London 2012 Olympic Games Aquatic Center. (Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Michael revealed an incident that took place right before the Olympic trials. Due to his growth spurts, he had a bone protruding out of his body whenever he took a stroke.

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“The bone grew faster than the rest of my body could handle, and when I moved my shoulders around, both of them popped out toward the backside,” he wrote. This led to people considering it as an early symptom of Marfan Syndrome.