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Michael Phelps was born in the year of 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland. He still lives in this city today. His height is six feet and four inches. His best events are 100m and 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m individual medley, and the 200m freestyle. |
| Michael’s mother is a schoolteacher and his father is a state trooper for Maryland. Phelps likes to play baseball, lacrosse, and soccer which he played until he was twelve years old. He has two older sisters. He started swimming at age seven. |
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In the year of 2003, Michael Phelps won the Sullivan award. He was eligible for this award because he did not accept any money given to him as prize money given to him for swimming. In 2001, his coach, named Bob Bowman, was given the honor of being the USA Swimming Coach of the Year. |
| In 2000, he became the youngest male American swimmer to compete in an Olympic Games. This was since 1932. In this Olympics, he finishes in fifth place in the 200 meter butterfly. In the Spring Nationals, in 2001, Phelps became the youngest man to break a world record. He was fifteen years and nine months old. |
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Michael became the first swimmer to ever set five world records at one meet at the 2003 World Championships. In this meet he won four golds and two silver medals. Also, he is the first man in history to win titles in three different strokes at one National Championship. This was in 2003. |
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In the Olympic Games in 2004, he became the first American to win eight medals in one Olympics. He won six gold medals and two bronze medals. He joined Mark Spitz, an Olympic icon, in 2004 as the only two swimmers to win four individual events in one Olympics. For Phelps, this was in the 100m and 200m butterfly and the 200m and 400m individual medley. He qualified for the Games in six individual events, which was the first time anyone did this. |
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