If his attitude is "If I have all this energy and I'm annoying, too bad. That's who I am", then it's no wonder that he's had trouble when he's not under water. How do people who have success in one area of their lives get convinced that excuses all the boorish behavior and mistakes they may choose to make?
Seems like Phelps can't function without putting impossible pressure on himself. First it was swimming, now it's to show the world he has changed.
If he doesn't exercise kindness and forgiveness towards himself it's going to be deja vu--all over again.
If he doesn't exercise kindness and forgiveness towards himself it's going to be deja vu--all over again.
2
"So how does Phelps move forward in life by returning to competitive swimming?" He doesn't. He is just "treading water". He won't move forward with his life until he HAS TO step out of the pool permanently. That will be the most difficult stroke.
2
I applaud Michael Phelps efforts to straighten himself out. Given the talents (and history) of both Phelps and Johnny Manziel, perhaps Manziel can profit from talking with Phelps. They have both walked the same mile in the same shoes. It would be wonderful if both of them succeed in regaining their athletic victories without destroying their psychological and emotion victories.
Good for you, Michael. Becoming an adult is hard, hard work. Not everybody manages it. It's hard to see past where you are to where you want to be, if the result can't be measured by a clock, title, test score, job title, salary, etc. Being world-famous and having the messages constantly reinforced that (a) your sport is the only truly important thing and (b) all the success you've experienced means you're already an amazing person, with very little attention paid to the other components of life, only makes it more difficult.
Best of luck.
Best of luck.
4
Just another drug abusing athlete. People who don't abuse need better athletes to focus on. Phelps has a long list of broken promises.
A good move might be to get really involved in some cause that he believes in. He has money and fame - doing some good in the world might make him fell better about himself as well.
1
I know the feeling.
At 16 I was tops in the 100 yard freestyle on the Jersey coast, swimming for Al Neuschaefer of Trenton High in the summer from Elberon Bathing Club as a member's son. Al Neuschaefer's teams won 17 Eastern Interscholastic Championships during a period when this meet was the nearest substitute we had for a High School Nationals. His teams also won 19 New Jersey State titles and twice won the Rutgers Invitational in years when this meet included both high schools and the mighty 1-2-3 of pre-war prep school squads from Mercersburg, Blair and Massanutten.
so... What did I do when Neusch marketed me to Yale for a 4 year scholarship before I finished high school? My dad was thrilled. He ran Bear, Stearns.
I quit and never swam again.
Who wants to be a machine in a swimming pool?
There is more to life than doing laps, regardless your record. The experience is boring and addictive. Could well lead to alcoholism...
And there is no point in swimming for an Ivy. Going to class and learning are far more important than collegiate sports.
At 16 I was tops in the 100 yard freestyle on the Jersey coast, swimming for Al Neuschaefer of Trenton High in the summer from Elberon Bathing Club as a member's son. Al Neuschaefer's teams won 17 Eastern Interscholastic Championships during a period when this meet was the nearest substitute we had for a High School Nationals. His teams also won 19 New Jersey State titles and twice won the Rutgers Invitational in years when this meet included both high schools and the mighty 1-2-3 of pre-war prep school squads from Mercersburg, Blair and Massanutten.
so... What did I do when Neusch marketed me to Yale for a 4 year scholarship before I finished high school? My dad was thrilled. He ran Bear, Stearns.
I quit and never swam again.
Who wants to be a machine in a swimming pool?
There is more to life than doing laps, regardless your record. The experience is boring and addictive. Could well lead to alcoholism...
And there is no point in swimming for an Ivy. Going to class and learning are far more important than collegiate sports.
I hope this time he can apply his talents and work ethic to maintaining sobriety, making real friends, and getting an education. It is sad he decided at some point that he's stupid, because he isn't. Unlike many "goofy" kids who struggle with academics, he could afford support tailored to how he learns. If he could find it.
3
Phelps sure says "I" a lot, but what about the drunk driving? If he had killed someone, would he be swimming now?
2
Well, he didn't, so what's the point of hypothesizing?
3
Isn't the important thing that he is trying to turn his life around? Instead of condemning him for what might have happened, why not try applauding his efforts at rehabilitation?
2
If Michael Phelps needs to prove anything, he needs to prove to himself that he isn't the world's biggest idiot for squandering his supreme good fortune. What does he expect now—sympathy?!
5
Phelps has not been able, or interested in, transition from his Olympic's fame to something else. At times it seems to me, his heart is not really in it anymore, is his Mom and coach who are pushing him. I've always wondered why lots of Olympians, once reached the pinnacle, may come back once but that's it. Phelps explained it once, he basically trains 24x7 and has no life, I wouldn't want to do this long term either.
Phelps started having the world in his face at age 15. This on top of coming from a family with issues. How many people can say that between the ages of 15 and 29 their lives were virtuous in all respects, wholesome, and G rated. He's doing great and he's a real inspiration even though he may have lost some dollars in endorsement deals (which should not be the barometer of goodness anyway). He's only 29 and probably capable of so many more exceptional things over the course of his lifetime. But if he chooses to be simply average, he still has my respect and admiration.
15
Watching Michael Phelps in the pool is a joy. It will be decades before as gifted a male swimmer surfaces again, just as Phelps appeared decades after Mark Spitz won 7 golds in 1972. Meanwhile, Missy Franklin is the current astonishment.
Swimming fast requires effort and efficiency and focus and attentiveness. Water is a real drag. Drop your hips, lift a shoulder, or drop an elbow for a couple strokes and you can lose half a body length, half a second. Exerting oneself into heaving breathlessness while lying face down in the water requires some mental toughness.
To Phelps and Spitz, three golds came from relay events; the 4x100m medley, the 4x200m free, and the 4X100m free. I watched Spitz in '72 Munich games, but I don't remember the 4X100m free final, always the final race. But the 2008 4x100m relay final is hard to forget.
On the anchor leg, Jason Lezak swam the fastest 100m relay split ever in 46.06, close to .7 seconds faster that Alain Bernard's split. Always when I hear or read a reference to Phelps eight golds, I think of Jason Lezak. Phelps ought to engrave Lezak's name on that 8th medal.
And 'rivalry' poorly characterizes Phelps' relationship with Lochte. The shared agony of competitive training creates something more, something richer than mere rivalry. The respect and friendship they demonstrate after a race, whatever the outcome, makes me believe that Phelps remembers and honors Jason Lezak for that relay leg; that without it, Phelps doesn't get 8 golds.
Swimming fast requires effort and efficiency and focus and attentiveness. Water is a real drag. Drop your hips, lift a shoulder, or drop an elbow for a couple strokes and you can lose half a body length, half a second. Exerting oneself into heaving breathlessness while lying face down in the water requires some mental toughness.
To Phelps and Spitz, three golds came from relay events; the 4x100m medley, the 4x200m free, and the 4X100m free. I watched Spitz in '72 Munich games, but I don't remember the 4X100m free final, always the final race. But the 2008 4x100m relay final is hard to forget.
On the anchor leg, Jason Lezak swam the fastest 100m relay split ever in 46.06, close to .7 seconds faster that Alain Bernard's split. Always when I hear or read a reference to Phelps eight golds, I think of Jason Lezak. Phelps ought to engrave Lezak's name on that 8th medal.
And 'rivalry' poorly characterizes Phelps' relationship with Lochte. The shared agony of competitive training creates something more, something richer than mere rivalry. The respect and friendship they demonstrate after a race, whatever the outcome, makes me believe that Phelps remembers and honors Jason Lezak for that relay leg; that without it, Phelps doesn't get 8 golds.
6
Back in 2008, Phelps's agent said he thought Phelps would make more money in product endorsements than Tiger Woods within the next five years. Phelps expected to spend his post-swimming life with no real career, but simply trading off being a universally famous/beloved Olympic hero of the sort churned out in the 70s/80s (Mark Spitz, Dorothy Hamill, Bruce Jenner, Nadia Comaneci). Then a photo of Phelps with a marijuana bong appeared in the media; the reaction would probably be tamer now, but public outcry was huge, with Phelps likely having some lucrative sponsorships not renewed.
If one wants to make $100+ million trading on a "wholesome" image, then Phelps has to accept the image of rectitude, not of marijuana and DUIs. One can't have it both ways.
Re: post-career mentoring, perhaps Phelps should look to speedskater Eric Heiden, who was Phelps before Phelps was Phelps? Heiden won his five gold medals in 1980, walked away, and went back to school. He's been an orthopedic surgeon for many years now. Another Olympian-turned-surgeon is skater Debi Thomas -1988 bronze medalist in Olympic figure skating, 1986 world champion, and two-time US national champion (the first African-American champion). They and other athletes have shown that the Olympics can be only one phase of life, not one's entire life.
It also seems clear that the era of a contemporary athlete living solely off Olympic fame for decades is over, even for one with 18 golds. People have short memories now.
If one wants to make $100+ million trading on a "wholesome" image, then Phelps has to accept the image of rectitude, not of marijuana and DUIs. One can't have it both ways.
Re: post-career mentoring, perhaps Phelps should look to speedskater Eric Heiden, who was Phelps before Phelps was Phelps? Heiden won his five gold medals in 1980, walked away, and went back to school. He's been an orthopedic surgeon for many years now. Another Olympian-turned-surgeon is skater Debi Thomas -1988 bronze medalist in Olympic figure skating, 1986 world champion, and two-time US national champion (the first African-American champion). They and other athletes have shown that the Olympics can be only one phase of life, not one's entire life.
It also seems clear that the era of a contemporary athlete living solely off Olympic fame for decades is over, even for one with 18 golds. People have short memories now.
14
We have an assignment for you Mr. Phelps.
It's called Open Water Marathon Swimming. Challenges abound like the 8Bridges Marathon where swimmers race from on bridge to the next down the Hudson River, from Catskill to the Verrazano Narrow one bridge per day. June 7- 14 this year. 120 miles!
Or the world famous MIMS around the island of Manhattan.
Plymouth to Provincetown, MA
There is the English Channel, Catalina, and Cuba to Florida is still open (Sorry, Diana, you're a hero, but that didn't make the record books.)
Good luck in Brazil. But when it's "over" the true adventure really begins. Open Water marathon swimming invites you!
http://marathonswimmers.org/
It's called Open Water Marathon Swimming. Challenges abound like the 8Bridges Marathon where swimmers race from on bridge to the next down the Hudson River, from Catskill to the Verrazano Narrow one bridge per day. June 7- 14 this year. 120 miles!
Or the world famous MIMS around the island of Manhattan.
Plymouth to Provincetown, MA
There is the English Channel, Catalina, and Cuba to Florida is still open (Sorry, Diana, you're a hero, but that didn't make the record books.)
Good luck in Brazil. But when it's "over" the true adventure really begins. Open Water marathon swimming invites you!
http://marathonswimmers.org/
3
It's a lack of imagination, really. Phelps has every kind of opportunity in the worlds of business, philanthropy and sport. He simply -- yes, simply -- needs to extend himself, to think about someone else for a change. It's not so hard when you have everything else in place.
9
What about college?
6
RDeanB: I seem to remember a bridge that spans the East River from Manhattan to ... well, you know where, n'est-ce pas?
Did you attend? I didn't; was lucky to get into Syracuse, Religious Studies, S.I. Newhouse School.
Did you attend? I didn't; was lucky to get into Syracuse, Religious Studies, S.I. Newhouse School.
It's extraordinary that he is willing to put himself into the pool in this way, at this level, at the age of 29. We talk about sustaining bodies, but what about sustaining psychological strength? Phelps and Serena Williams are pioneering something no one thought possible. Swimming is deeply meditative and I sometimes think Olympic swimmers and the Dali Lama and his followers have a lot in common.
3
David Foster Wallace wrote an excellent piece about the empty lives of aspiring professional tennis players. Is making it to the top of a sport worth abandoning all intellectual and emotional growth?
8
Seriously, did anyone believe this guy was not going to come back to another Olympics? He has absolutely nothing going on in his life except swimming. He doesn't know how to do anything else. I found the announcement to be rather sad, actually. At some point he will have to give it up for good... and then what?
10
Don't worry, after Michael finally retires from competitive swimming as the greatest of all time, I suspect he will be able to pursue any endeavor he pleases. Maybe even just rest on his laurels and enjoy a hedonist lifestyle that most can only dream of. More power to him. He earned it.
1
@MD: He already IS the greatest of all time, and by a wide margin. Primary reason for that is that there never used to be a sustainable career path for swimmers older than college age. Mark Spitz won those seven Golds and enrolled in Dental School. There WAS no swimming career for him.
Phelps has been set on a monomaniacal focus for so long, I just don't think he's ever had to consider anything else, and there's a huge void. Further, the pushing of Phelps has been at least half external, coming from Bob Bowman and Debbie Phelps. He needs to find his own way as an adult in life. He isn't likely to find it in the Olympic Village in Rio, I'm sad to say.
Phelps has been set on a monomaniacal focus for so long, I just don't think he's ever had to consider anything else, and there's a huge void. Further, the pushing of Phelps has been at least half external, coming from Bob Bowman and Debbie Phelps. He needs to find his own way as an adult in life. He isn't likely to find it in the Olympic Village in Rio, I'm sad to say.
2
Who could have imagined someone could conquer an Olympic-sized pool and then lose his way in a highball glass?
3
Mr. Phelps--I knew I liked you for a reason. Your honesty. Thank you.
6
The way media and commercial fame, fortune ravaged Mr. Phelps' life and career; doesn't really seem all that different that the way ASL ravaged Lou Gehrig's, in many respects. Both cases illustrate insidious mechanisms commanding control over mortal humans who may be strong in stature, but as in the case of Mr. Phelps, unable to not be overcome by the excess financial ingratiation and celebrity in return for for pernicious exploitation.
Lou Gehrig has a physical disease named for him that people can empathize for him because of, therefore it would only be right if Mr. Phelps' celebrity infection were given his name too as a condition that people could easily relate and sympathize with.
Lou Gehrig has a physical disease named for him that people can empathize for him because of, therefore it would only be right if Mr. Phelps' celebrity infection were given his name too as a condition that people could easily relate and sympathize with.
Perhaps not immediately thereafter, but sometime after the euphoria of winning a record eight gold medals in Beijing had faded, there had to have been a real, "Now what?" moment for Michael Phelps. The only way he could have pushed himself past Spitz was to all but lose the rest of his life in that swimming pool, becoming superhuman while losing any humanity. The family and bullying issues just added to his incalculable resolve, never more evident than in his refusal to lose to Milorad Čavić in the 100-meter fly, one of the greatest finishes in sports history, given the stakes involved.
He talked about doing the 50-meter freestyle to check off yet another event on his glittering competition résumé. Then came his marijuana arrest, then came the goofy golf show, and then he tried to wind up everything in London, a proper place to say goodbye on the world stage. Despite a few early hiccups, he had another splendid Olympiad in London. And yet he seemingly had nothing to move on to except more Subway commercials and a second drunk-driving arrest. To win multiple golds at a fourth straight Olympics would be mind-boggling, but we shouldn't put it past him. He's the best there ever was and probably the best we'll live to see at what he does. People forget how dominant he was in Athens because he won "only" six gold medals at those Games!
He talked about doing the 50-meter freestyle to check off yet another event on his glittering competition résumé. Then came his marijuana arrest, then came the goofy golf show, and then he tried to wind up everything in London, a proper place to say goodbye on the world stage. Despite a few early hiccups, he had another splendid Olympiad in London. And yet he seemingly had nothing to move on to except more Subway commercials and a second drunk-driving arrest. To win multiple golds at a fourth straight Olympics would be mind-boggling, but we shouldn't put it past him. He's the best there ever was and probably the best we'll live to see at what he does. People forget how dominant he was in Athens because he won "only" six gold medals at those Games!
5
Phelps is most definitely the greatest swimmer ever. But even he admits that there was nothing else that he recognized in life but swimming. For his sake I hope he now has come to grips that that can't last forever, and he needs to branch out beyond the pool.
9
What if his dominance *requires* singular devotion like his? Perhaps Phelps, and we, can't have it both ways.
Like everyone who has used druuuggss.
Just say no to druuugggss.
BIG PHARMA - druuggss.