“Just Been on Fire”: Legend Michael Phelps Reacted to Katie Ledecky Dethroning Him in the Swimming World

Michael Phelps, nicknamed ‘Baltimore Bullet’ is a retired, world-renowned swimmer. It’s fair to say that he is a born conqueror. From conquering aquaphobia to an unbeatable place in the history of the sport with five Olympic appearances and a whopping 28 medals, he set the standards high for the upcoming swimmers.

Having such a legend in the sport, it’s natural that any competent player would aspire to rewrite history with their names as much as they admire and respect their predecessor. In a 2017 interview, Phelps expressed appreciation and excitement about the next sensation, Katie Ledecky. However, how does Phelps, boasting 39 world records himself, regards the newbies challenging them?

Michael Phelps speaks about Katie Ledecky 

Katie Ledecky, who made her debut in 2012 made headlines for her dominance in the sport by earning 10 Olympic Medals and 15 World Championship gold medals. “Ledecky has just been on fire the last couple of years,” Phelps said in an interview in 2017. The swimmer genius said that he had a chance to train with her and watch her compete for around two years. Phelps commented, “She’s someone that’s very goal-oriented.”

Describing her level of determination, he said, “When she writes a time down or she writes a major milestone down, she’s gonna do whatever she can to make sure that happens.”  And that he had seen a strong-willed person like her only a couple of times in the sport.

All in all, he is appreciative of Katie. He not only expressed that she was an obvious choice to participate in all the relays to represent the country and keep the winning tradition alive but also shared his eagerness to see what interesting things she has in store for the world of swimming.

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Phelps continued by saying that he was always around and was ready to share his wisdom and insights for the benefit of the young swimmers. “Some of the things that I’ve gone through, they might see first hand, so hopefully we can continue to build,” he said.

Phelps on shattering his records

Michael Phelps believes that throughout history, Team USA has been the best team in the world. He said that he worked hard for the last twenty years to retain that position.

When asked what he, a record breaker and record maker himself, thought about the newcomers shattering his records, he replied, “I mean, I’ve always said that records are made to be broken. If it happens, great, I’d love to be there to watch it and witness some of the greats that are probably gonna be in the sport over the next couple of decades.”

He also added that it was very challenging because more and more people are starting to specialize in one or two events. Moreover, he emphasized that a combination of perfect mental, physical, and emotional strength throughout the eight-day program was essential to give their best performance. “I hope somebody has that chance to make history again,” he concluded.

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Throughout his two-decade career, Phelps stood tall and mighty, swam passionately, and broke record after record. As Phelps said, records are to be broken otherwise there is no progress. If he had to choose between being dethroned or the team making more records, he would choose the latter. What do you think?