Michael Phelps has been a household name in the United States since the 2004 Olympic Games where he won six gold medals and two bronze medals – but can trace his humble beginnings back to the North Baltimore Aquatic Club where he began training since he was seven.
In this video, we get a sneak peek into the life of Phelps before he was a star, focusing on his teenage years. Also featured in the video is a young Bob Bowman speaking highly of Phelps, including praising his mental attributes and physical attributes that make him even better.
Moving forward in the video Phelps gives the reporter a walkthrough of his then new Cadillac that he got customized. The car is filled with television screens, a high quality subwoofer in the back, and an original Xbox. And can’t forget about the 22-inch spinner rims that Phelps had put on the car as well.
Towards the end of the interview, Phelps goes on to discuss his goals for Athens where he said, “Coming back with one gold medal, I’ll be completely happy.”
He accomplished that goal with his win in the 400m IM in Athens, and then added five more despite saying, “one gold medal is all I want,” prior to the Games. Phelps went on to become the most decorated Olympian in history with a whopping 28 medals, 23 of which are gold.
Oh my goodness, 4:33-5:51 absolutely KILLS ME!!
The first shot of the spinners on his Escalade at 1:25 almost killed me. Then they dedicate like, a whole minute to his “Pimp My Ride” car bahaha.
And aww, he said he just wanted one gold medal. How adorable.
I’ve always wondered what it must have been like for the other NBAC swimmers who didn’t get the special individualized treatment that Mr. Phelps got. I have been on teams where there was a special relationship between some (or one) swimmers and a coach, those swimmers always swam very well but many times the other swimmers suffered because of it.
Because Phelps and Bowman have been so public with their relationship, and its ups and downs, it invites questions like yours. Bowman deserves a great deal of credit for what Phelps became, but he has been hit or miss with other swimmers (as most coaches are). From reading about hi program I suspect he has a tendency to really overtrain his swimmers sometimes to their detriment.
+Mikeh I think you are on to something. He was making Phelps do 10,000 m for time for the ,08 games. Phelps was swimming around 80-90/100 k per week. I don’t think Bob has made anyone work AS hard, but still a lot.
Is there anyone in the world that has a video of his first world record in the 200 fly, I would love to see that video !!!
Ive always looked for it and never found it
You know why it’s not on the internet? Because Phelps changed the sport of swimming just like he wanted. Swimming is so much more popular in the US now that Phelps has set unimaginable records.
All I could find was the video of his first WC gold: https://youtu.be/Y_xNmwYfANM.