Legendary Swimmer Michael Phelps Once Rocked the Stage Rapping to Eminem’s Lose Yourself

The 2016 Rio Olympics marked the end of an era in swimming. The games ended with one of the most dominant runs in sports history. The Rio Olympics was the last time legendary swimmer Michael Phelps dazzled the audience with his swimming excellence. And he won the gold medal in his final race too! (duh, no?)

But that was not what 2016’s Phelps was all about. He had a special moment up his sleeve for us. And when he delivered it, we were all impressed.

Michael Phelps dazzled with Eminem’s Lose Yourself

2002 marked the release of one of the most iconic movies of all time: 8 Mile. With it came one of Eminem’s greatest songs, ‘Lose Yourself.’ The song became so legendary that even 20 years after its initial release, people groove to it just the way they did back then. The song’s status elevated when Eminem performed it live at the 2020 Oscars, and everyone present at the ceremony could not hold themselves back from grooving along.

Continuing his string of excellent performances, Phelps appeared at the famed Lip Sync Battle. The song of choice for the G.O.A.T. swimmer was, you guessed it – ‘Lose Yourself,’ which seems apt if you’re familiar with Eminem and Phelps’ ‘game face.’

The performance proved that, in an age when most celebrities are known for their personalities, some are known for their talents. Phelps looked like a natural performer, placing his mic close to his lips so no one could see if he could mimic the words. While Phelps may not have known all the words to the song (which no one has a problem with because he was busy breaking records), his competitor, Olivia Munn, certainly knew each word.

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The performance ended with dancers running onto the stage and a massive American flag (because, why not?) and Phelps throwing his arms in the air like a proper performer. Looking at his performance, one could say Phelps is already about 75-80% on his way to becoming a star performer on stage. Inevitably, Phelps won here too.

Two more Olympians graced the set with their presence

Taking Phelps on is no child’s play and Munn knew exactly that. She knew she’d need some Olympic champion power of her own to go head to head with Michael. And she did exactly that.

The actress called for help from Olympic gymnastics champions Aly Raisman and Simone Biles as she performed to Sia’s ‘Cheap Thrills’. The gymnasts performed some of their championship-winning moves as Munn performed. She said, ‘the only way to beat a gold medal champion is to bring two gold medal champions.’ Phelps, too, was in shock when he saw the gymnasts take the stage wearing tutus.

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It was all in vain for the trio as Phelps stood tall over all of them; there was no defeating the great Swim Shady.