So How Long Has Michael Phelps Been Training to Be a Champion?

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Stories about teenage phenoms winning gold medals and setting world records at world-class swimming competitions are legion. The list is long and you can add Michael Phelps' name to the list.

Phelps began swimming for the North Baltimore Aquatic Club at age 7. He was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and was encouraged to take up swimming to provide him with an outlet for his energy.

He attended the 1996 Olympic Trials as a 10 year old to watch his sister Whitney finish 6th in the 200-meter butterfly while trying to make the Olympic Team. He cried when she didn't. His other sister, Hillary, would later swim for the University of Richmond.

A year later, when Michael was 11, he caught the eye of Bob Bowman, former swim coach for the University of Michigan. Bowman began coaching Michael at age 12 and outlined a program for his development. While competing at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Phelps was nicknamed the "Baltimore Bullet".

By age 15, Phelps made the United States team by finishing as runner-up in the 200-meter butterfly for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney (Australia). Despite his age and lack of international experience, he qualified for the finals in Sydney and finished 5th as the youngest member of the U. S. team.

Five months after his Olympic race in Sydney, Phelps became the sport's youngest male world-record holder by winning the 200-meter butterfly at the 2001 World Championships in Japan. He was 15 years old, and he held a world record.

Before he arrived at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens (Greece), he would set 4 other world records in international competition. In Athens, Phelps would win 6 gold and 2 bronze medals while setting 1 world record, 3 Olympic records and 2 American records.

Before he arrived at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (China), he would set another 8 world records in international competition. In Beijing, Phelps would win another 8 gold medals while setting 7 world records and 1 Olympic record.

So what does it take to perform like Michael Phelps? Start with very intense and very tough training under Bob Bowman's watchful eye since age 12. In his peak training for the Beijing Olympics, Phelps was swimming 80,000 meters a week (49.7 miles). If he trained only 6 days a week, Phelps was swimming more than 8 miles every day he trained.

All of this training could make a guy hungry. Phelps reportedly eats up to 12,000 calories a day, about six times the intake of a normal adult male.

This endurance training is what helped Phelps win his 100 butterfly event at Beijing. He was in 7th place at the turn and somehow surged past 5 competitors to close the gap in the last 50 meters and took a half stroke at the wall to win by 1 one-hundredth of a second.

Phelps endurance training really paid off as he had to swim 17 times in 8 days to get through preliminary and semifinal heats to get to the finals of the 8 races where he won gold medals. Even though Phelps set 7 world records at Beijing, he does not have a sprinter's speed and could be beat at shorter distances.

His endurance training would be what runners call base training, only it is likely that Phelps was much more intense in his effort than a runner would be, in part because it is easier to swim than to run. In swimming, you are buoyant on the water; in running, every stride you take on land you are lifting your body weight, which is why running is much tougher on your joints than swimming.

So how does he beat competitors who also intensely train for years? Phelps has a very unusual body that gives him a physical advantage in the water. He is 6-feet-4 and 195 pounds, but has a 6-foot-7 wingspan (arms stretched out) than is 3 inches longer than his height. His torso is also longer compared to his legs, allowing him to ride high on the water. He also has flexible ankles and size 14 feet, allowing him to use a powerful kick.

He uses his physique with an impeccable swimming form and efficiency to literally churn through the water faster than his fastest competitors.

After training at Michigan's Club Wolverine with Bowman in Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan Wolverines, both Phelps and Bowman will return to the North Baltimore (MD) Aquatic Club, where Bowman will be the new chief executive officer. Bowman was coach of the University of Michigan men's swim team. Phelps was a student at the school but did not compete for Michigan's swim team because of his professional status.

Some people might think that Phelps' accomplishments are too good to be true. In fact, they are true. Phelps was tested 9 times during the Beijing Olympics for performance enhancing drugs, and passed every test with flying colors.

Like the greatest athletes of all time, Phelps can be beaten and his records can be broken. Should you want to try, I suggest you start very early in life and work very hard. It also would help to have his physique, his inexhaustible work ethic, his ferocious competitive drive and a phenomenal coach.