“Parental Warnings Didn’t Usually Stop Me”: Young Michael Phelps’ Rebellious Behavior Got Him Into a Lot of Troubles in Childhood

Legendary swimmer Michael Phelps was born and brought up in Baltimore. Phelps had a wonderful family of two sisters and parents. However, his parents separated when he was nine-year-old. After that, Deborah Phelps brought up Michael and his sisters, and undeniably she did a brilliant job looking at what her children have achieved in their life.

There are two ways of learning things in life. One is to listen to others who have experienced or have knowledge about that thing, and the other is to experience it on your own. And especially as a kid, your curious mind tempts you to learn by the second method. Phelps had a similar incident where he ignored the advice and learned something on his own. 

Michael Phelps’ first anecdote about water

Michael Phelps is certainly the king of water. However, he wasn’t born with that tag. For instance, he was afraid of water when he began training for swimming because he didn’t like to put his face in the water. However, the story about Phelps and water dates way back then his first swimming lesson. 

Phelps was 7-year-old then. The Phelps family went out for dinner at a Mexican place. As they were served, they warned him to stay away from the hot sauce. As Phelps said, “But parental warnings didn’t usually stop me from experimenting with danger or discomfort.” He added, “What happens when you tell a kid to be careful? You awaken his inner daredevil. The red sauce looked a lot like ketchup, and that wasn’t too hot, was it? “

READ MORE: Legendary Swimmer Michael Phelps Revealed the Inspiration Behind His Hilarious Meme That Broke the Internet in 2016: “His Optimism Is in His Name”

So he accepted the challenge and took a spoonful of sauce onto the nacho and had a bite. Instantly he reacted, “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Within seconds I was waving my arms like a windmill and my eyes were like faucets. Water, water, I need water. He later claimed, “I was drinking it so fast that about half of it ran down my cheeks.”

Life of the legend in a glimpse

Michael Phelps’ childhood got disturbed when his parents filed for divorce. However, soon he joined swimming lessons with his elder sister and got indulged in that. At the ripe age of 15, he participated in his first Olympics but returned without a medal. But the popularity he got for just appearing and the disappointment of not winning the medal pumped him up.

Then on, there is no other Olympic in which Phelps competed and did not bring home a medal. He concluded his legendary career with 28 Olympic medals that include 23 gold medals. Moreover, after retiring, he is now championing a cause that affected him throughout his career. He is now a mental health advocate and is trying to fight against it so that athletes don’t have to go through it alone.

Watch This Story: Paige Spiranac Hailed Olympic Legend Michael Phelps for His Courageous Act in 2018

Like every child, Phelps’ curiosity did land him in trouble for a few moments in life. But that’s the essence of childhood. You are not afraid of trying and getting hurt. You get hurt, but you learn instantly. Phelps moved on to have a more than wonderful career and is enjoying retirement with his wife and his three kids.