Athletes who have a natural talent in sports start to display prodigious feats. Parents of such athletes are aware of their child’s abilities from an early age. Therefore, Michael Phelps’ mother, Deborah ‘Debbie’ Phelps, also realized her son’s potential in sports early on.

Debbie narrated her experience raising the most decorated Olympian of all time during a podcast hosted by Stephen Curry’s parents. The series on parenting prominent athletes is aptly named “Raising Fame: Sports Edition,” and the episode was titled “Making a Splash: A Single Mom Forges Gold.”

The mothers of Michael Phelps and Stephen Curry draw parallels

Phelps always displayed a competitive spirit, even as a kid. And his mother knew that her son was talented in sports. During the episode, the parents of both athletes shared their experience of raising a child who would dominate their sport in later years.

At one point, the mothers felt their experiences so relatable that they began drawing parallels between their sons. Debbie understood that her son was fast, but she realized it was something not limited to the pool arena. The 28-time Olympic medalist had a knack for a fast-paced existence.

Speaking about it, Debbie said, “Was he fast? Yes. Was he ahead of everyone else? Yeah. Did I think anything of it? No, because everything Michael did was fast. He talked fast, he did his homework fast, he ran fast.”

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Hearing this, Stephen’s mother, Sonya Curry, chimed in, “I know with Steph, and a lot of times we would get on him because he would be doing his trick shots and things like that he would see you know the NBA players do when he would go to practice with his dad. And so a lot of times were like, ‘Dude chill, just do the basics.’”

She added, “But he was always doing something that some people would think was kind of like playing around a lot and those kinds of things.”

Phelps displayed talent at swimming from a young age

Phelps displayed skills and superior swimming techniques from a young age. And when coach Bob Bowman witnessed this firsthand, he approached Debbie to speak about his future in swimming. Since the kid was only 11 years old, the mother hesitated a little.

She did not want to put additional pressure on her child than necessary. She understood the hard work and dedication required to pursue the sport. As such, Debbie knew the stress it could put on a child.

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But she also believed in her son and knew about his passion for swimming. And after putting much thought into it, she decided to go along with Bowman’s suggestions.