Michael Phelps | Olympics

Athlete Name: Michael Phelps

Olympic Events: Men’s Swimming 200m freestyle, Men’s 100m butterfly, Men’s 200m butterfly, Men’s 200m Individual Medley, Men’s 400m IM, 4x100m men’s freestyle relay, 4x200m men’s freestyle relay, 4x200m men’s medley relay

Olympic team: USA

Height/Weight: 6'4" / 195 lbs

Personal Best: 200m free 1:43.86, 100m fly 50.77, 200m fly 1:52.09, 200m IM 1:54.98, 400m IM 4:05.25

2008 Beijing Olympics Expectation: Gold

About Michael Phelps: Phelps has established himself as the dominant force in men’s swimming and will attempt to break Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympic Games. Phelps was close in Athens where he won six gold and two bronze medals, which equalled the single-games record of eight medals. Since Athens he has gone from strength to strength and will once again compete in eight events at the Beijing Olympics. Having achieved a bronze medal in the 200m freestyle in Athens, Phelps went on to break Ian Thorpe’s world record at the 2007 World Swimming Championships. This drastic improvement in the 200m freestyle event could prove to be the key to equalling Spitz’s seven Olympic gold medals, with only the 4x100m freestyle relay standing in his way of breaking it. (Phelps also won a further six gold medals and broke five world records at the 2007 World Swimming Championships.)

(picture by danzden on flickr.com)