“Really Throw Away My Disability”: Michael Phelps Inspired a Man Suffering From Cerebral Palsy to Fulfill His Lifelong Dream With Dad

Michael Phelps is one of the greatest swimmers the world has ever seen. His enormous wingspan and lactic threshold helped him dominate races. Throughout his long career spanning 5 Olympic Games, Phelps inspired millions of young athletes around the globe with his incredible performances.

The Baltimore Bullet won 28 Olympic medals, making him the most decorated Olympic athlete in the history of the sport. After hitting his lowest, his unbelievable comeback in the 2016 Olympics gave hope to many people. Phelps became an example of the phrase ‘ The comeback is always greater than the setback.’ He learned the lessons during his lowest times and used them as a weapon to turn his life around.

Michael Phelps inspires an aspiring athlete 

The popular brand Under Armour has sponsored Michael Phelps for a long time. Due to Michael’s immense worldwide popularity, he has been the face of the brand in multiple ad campaigns. One such ad campaign, which featured Michael Phelps, became an inspiration to an aspiring Ironman athlete with cerebral palsy. The advertisement was titled “Rule Yourself”.

The quote from the advertisement read, “It’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the light” which inspired Johnny Agar, the 28-year-old athlete with cerebral palsy who had already attempted to complete the Ironman marathon four times. Despite failing to achieve his goal four times, Johnny did not give up. He went for his fifth attempt confidently.

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His parents supported Johnny in his quest to become an Ironman. During his fifth attempt, he completed the marathon four minutes before the midnight cut-off time. Describing his final walk while completing the race, Jonny said, “Walking for me is very difficult. I need to think about every single movement that I make when I walk. So, to be able to finish and really throw away my disability was really something that I’ll never forget.”

Michael’s incredible comeback

After the 2012 London Olympics, Michael Phelps announced that he would no longer participate in competitive swimming events. He had decided to retire from the sport. However, Michael changed his decision and announced that he was coming out of retirement in April 2014. The national team’s failure to secure the win in the men’s 4 × 100 m freestyle relay since their Beijing 2008 and Rome 2009 titles motivated him to make a comeback.

The Police arrested Phelps in September 2014 for driving under influence. After his arrest, USA Swimming suspended him from all competitions for six months and excluded him from the squad, which would take part in the World Aquatic Championships in 2015. Phelps’ life had hit the lowest point. Despite having such adversities, he trained very hard and put forward a medal-winning performance in Rio. His comeback at the Rio Olympics is often considered one of the greatest comebacks in swimming history.

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