Olympics G.O.A.T. Michael Phelps once revealed that he broke his wrist in a silly accident. Despite that, Phelps went on to be the only Olympian to have won eight gold medals in a single Olympic Games event. In addition to that, he tore down an epic 36-year standing record to set up another within his gold-laden swimming career.
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The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was iconic and a milestone for the legendary athlete. In yet another record-setting feat, he beat Australia and collected his 14th overall Olympic medal. Wonder how all that happened? Let’s find out.?
Michael Phelps came back stronger
According to an article in the New York Times, the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, was aiming to overpower Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics Games event. Unfortunately, preceding the competition, he suffered from a broken wrist as a result of slipping on ice and tripping over while climbing onto his friend’s car in Michigan.
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However, this incident didn’t dissolve Phelps’s pursuit to destroy the Spitz’s record. Michael, then 23, had a difficult time training initially. Although, there was no room for setbacks in the finale. “I wanted to do something nobody ever did”, Phelps disclosed. Well, spoiler alert, he did!
At the event, Michael aced the butterfly leg at the United States 4×100 meter medley relay beating Australia which brought him his 8th gold glory and overall 14 Olympic medals. Additionally, the 6’4 legend broke a series of records. Extending on that, he swam all four strokes with distances ranging from 100 to 400 meters while facing a total of three rounds. Comparatively, Spitz had covered less than 200 meters with two strokes?the freestyle and butterfly?while facing only two rounds.
Michael Phelps couldn’t see when he achieved the greatest milestone of his career?
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The 23-time gold medalist was widely debated on whether he actually was the greatest athlete in the history of the Olympics. While that happened, Phelps recalled his race from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and revealed, “So, in 2008, when my goggles filled up with water, I was relaxed because I reverted back to my training. I swam blind for 175m out of a 200m fly, won gold, and broke the world record.” Well, that itself concludes the debate. He is the G.O.A.T.
Moreover, The Baltimore Bullet didn’t solely depend upon his physical capabilities to establish his achievements. He said, “I was taught at a very young age to visualize. So for me, it was visualizing a race.??Honestly, Michael Phelps did something nobody could ever do.
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The Spitz record was destroyed after 36 years. In fact, he restricted the Australians from winning the relay medley, all the while still recovering from his injury. Technically, he ‘blindly’ swam his way to success. Let us know what you thought of Phelps’s tiring list of achievements.