Timeline of Events in Michael Phelps LifePicture from AP Images

Born

Michael was born on June 30, 1985, to Debbie and Fred Phelps. He was born and raised in a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. He had two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary.

1987

At the age of 2, Michael almost died due to a serious blood infection. He reached the hospital in the just in the nick of time.

1992

Michael started swimming lessons at the age of seven. Things didn’t go so well when Michael started swimming because he was afraid to put his head into the water. So he would float on his back until he was comfortable putting his head into the water. So Michael mastered backstroke first.

1996

When Michael was 11, he joined the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. While there Bob Bowman became his coach and made him train with 18-year-olds. Bowman had Michael train for hours each day, which allowed him to increase his speed and strength significantly.

1997

Michael was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in 1997. Even though his teacher told his mom he would never be able to focus on anything, she believed if he found an activity to keep himself focused he could overcome his ADHD. It turned out that swimming became a good way for Michael to focus his energy.

2000 Summer Olympics

He made it to the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games. Where he became the youngest American swimmer to compete in the Olympic Games since 1932, at the age of 15.

2001

Michael broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly in 2001 at the Spring Nationals in Austin, Texas. At the age of 15 and nine months, Michael became the youngest man ever to set a world record.

2001

Speedo bathing suits gave Michael Phelps a high-paying contract to endorse their products. This meant that he was a professional athlete and he would be giving up an opportunity to receive a college scholarship for swimming or even swim in college.

2003 World Aquatics Championships

From July 12-27 2003, Michael went to Barcelona, Spain to swim in the World Aquatics Championships. While there he took part in six races, four of which he won gold medals and two of which he won silver medals. He also broke a total of three a world records.

Summer Olympics 2004

During the summer of 2004 Michael went to Athens, Greece to participate in the Olympics. While trying to beat Mark Spitz record of winning seven gold medals in one Olympiad, Michael won six gold medals and two bronze medals, tying Alexander Dityatin record of wining eight medals in one Olympiad.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-2relayphoto0818,0,4868036.photo

2004

After the Athens Olympics, Michael cofounded the program Swim with the Stars. He wanted to encourage people of all ages to take up swimming. Michael, along with other gold medalist swimmers, traveled to many different cities to give tips and encouragement to kids and adults about swimming.

2005 World Aquatics Championships

Michael traveled to Montreal, Canada where he participated in the 2005 World Aquatics Championships. He won a total of six medals, five gold medals and one silver medal. He broke the Championship record in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay and broke the National record in the 200 meter freestyle.

2007 World Aquatics Championships

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/1016571/107570/Michael-Phelps-2004

Michael Phelps went to Melbourne, Australia where he participated in the 2007 World Aquatics Championships. While there he received seven gold medals. He set his first world record of this Championship in the 200 meter freestyle, defeating Ian Thorpe’s six-year-old record. He set five world records and set one Championship record.

Summer 2008

In 2008, Michael made it to the Beijing Summer Olympics in China. At the Games he became the first person ever to win eight gold medals in a single Olympiad. He set seven world records and one Olympic record. During his 7th race he was trailing Milorad Cavic most of the race, and then with 6 meters to go he kicked into over drive and was able to win the gold by 1/100 of a second.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/08/images/20080811_p081008sc-0733-772v.jpg

2008

Michael appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated four times during 2008. On August 26, 2008 the title of the article was The Alltime Olympian Michael Phelps. He would be considered the an alltime Olympian because he holds the record for holding the most gold medals ever won by an Olympic athlete. Michael holds a total of 14 gold medals.

2009

http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps

During 2009, Phelps was honored by the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate. He was recognized for his accomplishments at the Olympics. Lawmakers in both houses gave him standing ovations for all of his accomplishments.

2009 World Aquatics Championships

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-ap-italy-swimming-ps20090729102220,0,5166882.photo

From July 17 – August 2 2009, Michael Phelps participated in the World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Italy. While there, he received six medals. Five of which were gold and one of the medals was silver. He participated in three relays and three individual events. He broke the world record in four of the six events, and broke on Championship record.