Ian Crocker

Crocker in 2005.
Personal information
Full name	Ian Lowell Crocker
Nationality	United States
Born	(1982-08-31) August 31, 1982 (age 29) Portland, Maine
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Medal record Men's swimming Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney 4×100 m medley Gold 2004 Athens 4×100 m medley Gold 2008 Beijing 4×100 m medley Silver 2004 Athens 100 m butterfly Bronze 2004 Athens 4×100 m freestyle World Championships (LC) Gold 2003 Barcelona 100 m butterfly Gold 2003 Barcelona 4×100 m medley Gold 2005 Montreal 100 m butterfly Gold 2005 Montreal 4×100 m medley Silver 2001 Fukuoka 100 m butterfly Silver 2003 Barcelona 50 m butterfly Silver 2005 Montreal 50 m butterfly Silver 2007 Melbourne 50 m butterfly Silver 2007 Melbourne 100 m butterfly World Championships (SC) Gold 2004 Indianapolis 50 m butterfly Gold 2004 Indianapolis 100 m butterfly Gold 2004 Indianapolis 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2004 Indianapolis 4×100 m medley Pan Pacific Championships Gold 2002 Yokohama 100 m butterfly Gold 2006 Victoria 100 m butterfly Gold 2006 Victoria 4×100 m medley

Ian Lowell Crocker (born August 31, 1982) is a former American swimmer and five-time (three gold, one silver, one bronze) Olympic medalist. He is a former world record holder in the 50 and 100 meter butterfly (long course and short course) and the 100 meter freestyle (short course).

He has won a total of twenty-one medals in major international competition, fourteen gold, six silver, and one bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships.

Personal[link]

Crocker attended Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine, being one of Cheverus' most famous athletic graduates.

Crocker has not officially made an announcement about his retirement after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games but he has since taken a break and started a swim school with Olympian and former Longhorn teammate Neil Walker and U.S. National Champion and former Longhorn teammate James Fike with locations in Austin and Dallas.

Career[link]

Crocker, who specializes in the butterfly, has received five Olympic medals in his career. In addition to his accomplishments at the Olympics, Crocker was the first man to ever swim under 51 seconds in the 100 meter butterfly.^[1] Crocker improved his world record of 50.98 twice, down to a time of 50.40^[2] set at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, before being bested by Michael Phelps in 2009.

2000-2001[link]

At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Crocker was a member of the gold medal-winning 400 meter medley relay team^[3] and barely missed winning a bronze in the 100 meter butterfly.^[4]

At the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, Crocker won a silver medal medal in the 100 m butterfly, finishing behind Lars Frölander.^[5][6]

2003 World Aquatics Championships[link]

At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships, Crocker won a total of three medals, two golds and one silver medal. In his first event, the 50 m butterfly, Crocker won a silver medal finishing behind Australian Matt Welsh, who set the world record.^[7] Crocker is best known in these Championships for his world record performance in the 100 m butterfly final. After the semifinals of the 100 m butterfly, it seemed Crocker was out of the gold medal position after Andrii Serdinov and Michael Phelps went under the former world record. However, in the final of the 100 m butterfly, Crocker swam a 50.98 to become the first man under 51 seconds and win the gold medal.^[8] When Crocker saw the time after the race, he thought the world record belonged to Phelps.^[9] Crocker earned his final medal, a gold, in the 4x100 m medley relay. The American team recorded a time of 3:31.54 to beat the former world record set in 2002.^[10]

2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games[link]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Crocker received a bronze medal as a member of the 400 meter freestyle relay team,^[11] a silver medal in the 100 meter butterfly,^[12] and a gold medal as a member of the world-record setting 400 meter medley relay team.^[13] Of the three medals he won at the 2004 Summer Olympics, he is best remembered for his silver, as teammate Michael Phelps overtook him at the very end of the 100 meter butterfly to win the race by .04 seconds. Traditionally, the Olympian who places highest in an individual event will be automatically given the corresponding leg of the 4x100 m medley relay. This gave Phelps an automatic entry into the medley relay but he deferred and Crocker swam instead.^[14] Crocker had made a mistake starting the 400 freestyle relay final, which cost the Americans gold, so Phelps' gesture gave Crocker a chance to make amends as well getting his final shot at a gold medal. Crocker and the American medley team went on to win the event in world record time, so Crocker finally got his gold medal. (Phelps received a gold medal as well, since he had swum in the preliminary heat of the medley relay).

2005 World Aquatics Championships[link]

Victory lap of the 100 m butterfly during the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montréal. Crocker is in the center.

At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, Crocker won a total of three medals, two golds and one silver medal. In his first event, the 50 m butterfly, Crocker won a silver medal finishing behind South African Roland Schoeman, who set the world record.^[15] In the final of the 100 m butterfly, Crocker recorded a time of 50.40 to beat his own world record of 50.76 and win the gold medal.^[16] Crocker also handed Michael Phelps one of worst losses in his career when Phelps finished over a second behind. With this win, Crocker was awarded a spot in the 4x100 m medley relay. Crocker did not disappoint and swam the butterfly leg in 50.39. The American team went on to win the gold medal.^[17]

2007 World Aquatics Championships[link]

At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, Crocker won two silver medals. In the 50 m butterfly, Crocker won a silver medal finishing behind Schoeman.^[18] In the 100 m butterfly final, Crocker finished second to Phelps 50.82 to 50.77.^[19][20] In the heats of the 4x100 m medley relay, Crocker dove in too early on an exchange, causing the disqualification of the American team.

2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games[link]

Crocker competed in the his 3rd Olympics as a medal contender for his signature 100 m butterfly. Many felt Crocker's career was on a slide due to a poor showing in the Olympic trials and having not broken the 51 second barrier in over 12 months. Crocker finished in a tie for third in the semi-finals, behind Australia's Andrew Lauterstein. In the finals, he finished fourth behind teammate Phelps, Milorad Čavić, and Lauterstein, beating Kenyan swimmer Jason Dunford. He missed the medal stand by a hundredth of a second.^[21] Despite not earning a medal in his signature event, Crocker was given the opportunity to swim for the 4x100 medley relay B team. To his disappointment, Crocker did not get to swim in the finals nor stand on the podium, however he earned a gold medal for his contribution in the heats.

2011 return to drug testing pool[link]

In the 3rd quarter of 2011, Ian Crocker returned to the USADA drug-testing pool. This fueled speculation that he might be considering a return to competitive swimming after more than three years out.^[22]

See also[link]

• World record progression 100 metres freestyle
• World record progression 100 metres butterfly
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event

References[link]

External links[link]

• USA Swimming athlete bio: Ian Crocker
• Ian Crocker at the United States Olympic Committee

Records
Preceded by Michael Phelps	Men's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) July 26, 2003–July 9, 2009	Succeeded by Michael Phelps
Preceded by Milorad Čavić	Men's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (short course) March 26, 2004–November 15, 2009	Succeeded by Yevgeny Korotyshkin
Preceded by Alexander Popov Roland Schoeman (tie)	Men's 100 m freestyle world record holder (short course) March 27, 2004–January 22, 2005 January 22, 2005–November 17, 2007	Succeeded by Roland Schoeman (tie) Stefan Nystrand
Preceded by Matt Welsh	Men's 50 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) February 29, 2004–July 24, 2005	Succeeded by Roland Schoeman
Preceded by Geoff Huegill	Men's 50 metre butterfly world record holder (short course) October 10, 2004–December 17, 2005	Succeeded by Kaio de Almeida

Ian Crocker – Navigation templates v t e 2000 USA Olympic swimming team Men's team Pat Calhoun Chad Carvin Ian Crocker Josh Davis Tom Dolan Nate Dusing Anthony Ervin Scott Goldblatt Gary Hall, Jr. Tommy Hannan Klete Keller Lenny Krayzelburg Jason Lezak Tom Malchow Ed Moses Aaron Peirsol Michael Phelps Jamie Rauch Kyle Salyards Chris Thompson Scott Tucker Erik Vendt Neil Walker Tom Wilkens Women's team Amanda Adkins Samantha Arsenault Amanda Beard B. J. Bedford Lindsay Benko Brooke Bennett Kim Black Maddy Crippen Misty Hyman Kristy Kowal Diana Munz Rada Owen Erin Phenix Megan Quann Gabrielle Rose Kaitlin Sandeno Courtney Shealy Staciana Stitts Julia Stowers Ashley Tappin Cristina Teuscher Jenny Thompson Dara Torres Amy Van Dyken Coaches Peter Banks Jack Bauerle David Marsh Richard Quick (women's head coach) Eddie Reese Dave Salo Mark Schubert (men's head coach) Jon Urbanchek v t e 2004 USA Olympic Swimming Team Men's Team Ian Crocker Nate Dusing Mark Gangloff Scott Goldblatt Gary Hall, Jr. Brendan Hansen Bryce Hunt Larsen Jensen Klete Keller Dan Ketchum Lenny Krayzelburg Jason Lezak Ryan Lochte Tom Malchow Aaron Peirsol Michael Phelps Scott Usher Peter Vanderkaay Erik Vendt Neil Walker Gabe Woodward Women's Team Amanda Beard Lindsay Benko Caroline Bruce Kristen Caverly Haley Cope Maritza Correia Natalie Coughlin Margaret Hoelzer Katie Hoff Rhi Jeffrey Kara Lynn Joyce Kalyn Keller Dana Kirk Tara Kirk Rachel Komisarz Colleen Lanné Diana Munz Carly Piper Kaitlin Sandeno Jenny Thompson Dana Vollmer Amanda Weir Coaches Bob Bowman Frank Busch Teri McKeever Richard Quick Eddie Reese (Men's Head Coach) Dave Salo Mark Schubert (Women's Head Coach) Jon Urbanchek v t e 2008 USA Olympic Swimming Team Men's Team Nathan Adrian Ricky Berens Ian Crocker Mark Gangloff Matt Grevers Brendan Hansen Larsen Jensen Cullen Jones Klete Keller Jason Lezak Ryan Lochte Aaron Peirsol Michael Phelps Eric Shanteau Scott Spann Gil Stovall Peter Vanderkaay Erik Vendt David Walters Mark Warkentin Garrett Weber-Gale Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner Women's Team Amanda Beard Elizabeth Beisel Elaine Breeden Caroline Burckle Natalie Coughlin (Jessica Hardy) Kathleen Hersey Margaret Hoelzer Katie Hoff Megan Jendrick Kara Lynn Joyce Christine Magnuson Christine Marshall Lacey Nymeyer Allison Schmitt Emily Silver Julia Smit Rebecca Soni Chloe Sutton Dara Torres Kim Vandenberg Kate Ziegler Coaches Jack Bauerle (Women's Head Coach) Ray Benecki Bob Bowman Frank Busch Sean Hutchison Teri McKeever Eddie Reese (Men's Head Coach) Mark Schubert (National Team Head Coach) Gregg Troy Jon Urbanchek Paul Yetter v t e Olympic Champions in Men's 4×100 m Medley Relay 1960: USA (McKinney, Hait, Larson, Farrell) 1964: USA (Mann, Craig, Schmidt, Clark) 1968: USA (Hickcox, McKenzie, Russell, Walsh) 1972: USA (Stamm, Bruce, Spitz, Heidenreich) 1976: USA (Naber, Hencken, Vogel, Montgomery) 1980: Australia (Kerry, Evans, Tonelli, Brooks) 1984: USA (Carey, Lundquist, Morales, Gaines) 1988: USA (Berkoff, Schroeder, Biondi, Jacobs) 1992: USA (Rouse, Diebel, Morales, Olsen) 1996: USA (Rouse, Linn, Henderson, Hall, Jr.) 2000: USA (Krayzelburg, Moses, Crocker, Hall, Jr.) 2004: USA (Peirsol, Hansen, Crocker, Lezak) 2008: USA (Peirsol, Hansen, Phelps, Lezak) v t e World Long Course Champions in Men's 100 m Butterfly 1973: Bruce Robertson (CAN) 1975: Gregory Jagenburg (USA) 1978: Joe Bottom (USA) 1982: Matthew Gribble (USA) 1986: Pablo Morales (USA) 1991: Anthony Nesty (SUR) 1994: Rafał Szukała (POL) 1998: Michael Klim (AUS) 2001: Lars Frölander (SWE) 2003: Ian Crocker (USA) 2005: Ian Crocker (USA) 2007: Michael Phelps (USA) 2009: Michael Phelps (USA) 2011: Michael Phelps (USA) v t e World Long Course Champions in Men's 4×100 m Medley Relay 1973: United States (Stamm, Hencken, Bottom, Montgomery) 1975: United States (Murphy, Colella, Jagenburg, Coan) 1978: United States (Jackson, Nevid, Bottom, McCagg) 1982: United States (Carey, Lundquist, Gribble, Gaines) 1986: United States (Veatch, Lundberg, Morales, Biondi) 1991: United States (Rouse, Wunderlich, Henderson, Biondi) 1994: United States (Rouse, Wunderlich, Henderson, Hall, Jr.) 1998: Australia (Welsh, Rogers, Klim, Fydler) 2001: Australia (Welsh, Harrison, Huegill, Thorpe) 2003: United States (Peirsol, Hansen, Crocker, Lezak) 2005: United States (Peirsol, Hansen, Crocker, Lezak) 2007: Australia (Welsh, Rickard, Lauterstein, Sullivan) 2009: United States (Peirsol, Shanteau, Phelps, Walters) 2011: United States (Thoman, Gangloff, Phelps, Adrian) v t e World Short Course Champions in Men's 50 m Butterfly 1999: Mark Foster (GBR) 2000: Mark Foster (GBR) 2002: Geoff Huegill (AUS) 2004: Ian Crocker (USA) 2006: Matt Welsh (AUS) 2008: Adam Pine (AUS) 2010: Albert Subirats (VEN) v t e World Short Course Champions in Men's 100 m Butterfly 1993: Miloš Milošević (CRO) 1995: Scott Miller (AUS) 1997: Lars Frölander (SWE) 1999: Lars Frölander (SWE) 2000: Lars Frölander (SWE) 2002: Geoff Huegill (AUS) 2004: Ian Crocker (USA) 2006: Kaio de Almeida (BRA) 2008: Peter Mankoč (SLO) 2010: Yevgeny Korotyshkin (RUS) v t e World Short Course Champions in Men's 4×100 m Medley Relay 1993: United States (Schwenk, Wunderlich, Henderson, Olsen) 1995: New Zealand (Winter, Kent, Callaghan, Bray) 1997: Australia (Radley, Rogers, Huegill, Klim) 1999: Australia (Welsh, Rogers, Klim, Fydler) 2000: United States (Krayzelburg, Marrs, Walker, Tucker) 2002: United States (Peirsol, Denniston, Marshall, Lezak) 2004: United States (Peirsol, Hansen, Crocker, Lezak) 2006: Australia (Welsh, Rickard, Pine, Callus) 2008: Russia (Donets, Geybel, Korotyshkin, Sukhorukov) 2010: United States (Thoman, Alexandrov, Lochte, Weber-Gale) v t e Pan Pacific Champions in Men's 100 m Butterfly 1985: Pablo Morales (USA) 1987: Pablo Morales (USA) 1989: Anthony Nesty (SUR) 1991: Matt Biondi (USA) 1993: Mark Henderson (USA) 1995: Scott Miller (AUS) 1997: Neil Walker (USA) 1999: Michael Klim (AUS) 2002: Ian Crocker (USA) 2006: Ian Crocker (USA) 2010: Michael Phelps (USA) v t e Pan Pacific Champions in Men's 4×100 m Medley Relay 1985: USA (Carey, Moffet, Morales, Biondi) 1987: USA (Veatch, Schroeder, Morales, Biondi) 1989: USA (Rouse, Korhammer, Morales, Biondi) 1991: USA (Rouse, Barrowman, Henderson, Biondi) 1993: USA (Rouse, Van Neerden, Henderson, Olsen) 1995: USA (Rouse, Wunderlich, Henderson, Hall) 1997: USA (Krayzelburg, Grote, Dusing, Walker) 1999: USA (Krayzelburg, Grote, Wales, Walker) 2002: USA (Peirsol, Hansen, Phelps, Lezak) 2006: USA (Peirsol, Hansen, Crocker, Lezak) 2010: USA (Peirsol, Gangloff, Phelps, Adrian)

Christine Marshall

Personal information
Full name	Christine Irene Marshall
Nationality	United States
Born	(1986-08-11) August 11, 1986 (age 25) Newport News, Virginia, United States
Height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[1]
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Freestyle
Club	Auburn Aquatics Swim Program
College team	Texas A&M University
Medal record Women's swimming Competitor for  United States Olympic Games Bronze 2008 Beijing 4×200 m freestyle

Christine Marshall (born August 11, 1986 in Newport News, Virginia) is an Olympic swimmer from the United States. She attends college at Texas A&M University,^[2] and swam for the Aggies from 2005-2009.

She was a member of the USA Olympic team at the 2008 Games, where she was part of the USA's bronze medal winning 4×200 meter freestyle relay that set an American record.

References[link]

External links[link]

• USA Swimming athlete bio: Christine Marshall
• An Olympian’s fury: Christine Marshall

v t e 2008 USA Olympic Swimming Team Men's Team Nathan Adrian Ricky Berens Ian Crocker Mark Gangloff Matt Grevers Brendan Hansen Larsen Jensen Cullen Jones Klete Keller Jason Lezak Ryan Lochte Aaron Peirsol Michael Phelps Eric Shanteau Scott Spann Gil Stovall Peter Vanderkaay Erik Vendt David Walters Mark Warkentin Garrett Weber-Gale Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner Women's Team Amanda Beard Elizabeth Beisel Elaine Breeden Caroline Burckle Natalie Coughlin (Jessica Hardy) Kathleen Hersey Margaret Hoelzer Katie Hoff Megan Jendrick Kara Lynn Joyce Christine Magnuson Christine Marshall Lacey Nymeyer Allison Schmitt Emily Silver Julia Smit Rebecca Soni Chloe Sutton Dara Torres Kim Vandenberg Kate Ziegler Coaches Jack Bauerle (Women's Head Coach) Ray Benecki Bob Bowman Frank Busch Sean Hutchison Teri McKeever Eddie Reese (Men's Head Coach) Mark Schubert (National Team Head Coach) Gregg Troy Jon Urbanchek Paul Yetter

This biographical article related to a United States swimmer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Matt Grevers

Matt Grevers in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Grevers
Nickname(s)	Dutch, The Gentle Giant, Nu
Nationality	United States
Born	(1985-03-26) March 26, 1985 (age 27) Lake Forest, Illinois, USA
Height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Weight	229 pounds (104 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Freestyle, Backstroke
Club	Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics
College team	Northwestern University
Medal record Men's swimming Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing 4x100 m freestyle Gold 2008 Beijing 4x100 m medley Silver 2008 Beijing 100 m backstroke World Championships (LC) Gold 2009 Rome 4x100 m freestyle Gold 2009 Rome 4x100 m medley Summer Universiade Gold 2007 Bangkok 4x100 m freestyle Silver 2005 Izmir 100 m backstroke Silver 2005 Izmir 4x100 m medley Bronze 2005 Izmir 4x100 m freestyle

Matt Grevers (born March 26, 1985 in Lake Forest, Illinois) is a professional American swimmer. He is best known for winning the silver medal in the 100 m backstroke at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.^[1]

Personal life[link]

Grevers attended Lake Forest High School and Northwestern University and swam for the Wildcats. He chose to attend Northwestern over Arizona, Texas, and California.

Both of Grevers' parents are from the Netherlands. Grevers considered representing the Netherlands and even spoke about it with Dutch swimming legend Pieter van den Hoogenband. Ultimately, he decided to represent the United States.^[2]

Grevers proposed to Annie Chandler at the Missouri Grand Prix^[3] on Saturday 11 February 2012.

Swimming career[link]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Grevers won two gold medals by swimming in the preliminary heats of the 4x100 m freestyle relay and 4x100 m medley relay (backstroke), as the Americans went on to win the finals in those events and medals are awarded to participants at any step along the way. Grevers also won an individual silver medal in the 100 m backstroke in a time of 53.11, 0.57 seconds behind the winner, world record holder Aaron Peirsol.^[4][5][6]

At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, Grevers was part of men's 4x100 m freestyle relay team who took Gold ahead of Russia and France.^[7] Grevers also earned a gold in the 4x100 m medley relay for his contributions in the heats.^[8][9]

In February 2012, he became engaged to fellow National Teamer Annie Chandler.

References[link]

External links[link]

• USA Swimming athlete bio: Matt Grevers
• Matt Grevers' TeamUSA profile

v t e 2008 USA Olympic Swimming Team Men's Team Nathan Adrian Ricky Berens Ian Crocker Mark Gangloff Matt Grevers Brendan Hansen Larsen Jensen Cullen Jones Klete Keller Jason Lezak Ryan Lochte Aaron Peirsol Michael Phelps Eric Shanteau Scott Spann Gil Stovall Peter Vanderkaay Erik Vendt David Walters Mark Warkentin Garrett Weber-Gale Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner Women's Team Amanda Beard Elizabeth Beisel Elaine Breeden Caroline Burckle Natalie Coughlin (Jessica Hardy) Kathleen Hersey Margaret Hoelzer Katie Hoff Megan Jendrick Kara Lynn Joyce Christine Magnuson Christine Marshall Lacey Nymeyer Allison Schmitt Emily Silver Julia Smit Rebecca Soni Chloe Sutton Dara Torres Kim Vandenberg Kate Ziegler Coaches Jack Bauerle (Women's Head Coach) Ray Benecki Bob Bowman Frank Busch Sean Hutchison Teri McKeever Eddie Reese (Men's Head Coach) Mark Schubert (National Team Head Coach) Gregg Troy Jon Urbanchek Paul Yetter

Michael Phelps

180px Michael Phelps, April 2009
Personal information
Full name	Michael Fred Phelps[1]
Nickname(s)	MP; The Baltimore Bullet[2]; Flying Fish[3]
Nationality	USA
Born	(1985-06-30) June 30, 1985 (age 26)[4] Baltimore, Maryland
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[4]
Weight	185 lbs. 83.9 kg[5]
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Backstroke, butterfly, freestyle, individual medley
Club	North Baltimore Aquatic Club
Medal record Men's swimming Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens 100 m butterfly Gold 2004 Athens 200 m butterfly Gold 2004 Athens 200 m medley Gold 2004 Athens 400 m medley Gold 2004 Athens 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2004 Athens 4×100 m medley Gold 2008 Beijing 100 m butterfly Gold 2008 Beijing 200 m butterfly Gold 2008 Beijing 200 m medley Gold 2008 Beijing 400 m medley Gold 2008 Beijing 200 m freestyle Gold 2008 Beijing 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2008 Beijing 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2008 Beijing 4×100 m medley Bronze 2004 Athens 200 m freestyle Bronze 2004 Athens 4×100 m freestyle World Championships – Long Course Gold 2001 Fukuoka 200 m butterfly Gold 2003 Barcelona 200 m butterfly Gold 2003 Barcelona 200 m medley Gold 2003 Barcelona 400 m medley Gold 2003 Barcelona 4×100 m medley Gold 2005 Montreal 200 m freestyle Gold 2005 Montreal 200 m medley Gold 2005 Montreal 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2005 Montreal 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2005 Montreal 4×100 m medley Gold 2007 Melbourne 200 m freestyle Gold 2007 Melbourne 100 m butterfly Gold 2007 Melbourne 200 m butterfly Gold 2007 Melbourne 200 m medley Gold 2007 Melbourne 400 m medley Gold 2007 Melbourne 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2007 Melbourne 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2009 Rome 100 m butterfly Gold 2009 Rome 200 m butterfly Gold 2009 Rome 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2009 Rome 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2009 Rome 4×100 m medley Gold 2011 Shanghai 100 m butterfly Gold 2011 Shanghai 200 m butterfly Gold 2011 Shanghai 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2011 Shanghai 4×100 m medley Silver 2003 Barcelona 100 m butterfly Silver 2003 Barcelona 4×200 m freestyle Silver 2005 Montreal 100 m butterfly Silver 2009 Rome 200 m freestyle Silver 2011 Shanghai 200 m freestyle Silver 2011 Shanghai 200 m medley Bronze 2011 Shanghai 4×100 m freestyle World Championships – Short Course Gold 2004 Indianapolis 200 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships Gold 2002 Yokohama 200 m medley Gold 2002 Yokohama 400 m medley Gold 2002 Yokohama 4×100 m medley Gold 2006 Victoria 200 m butterfly Gold 2006 Victoria 200 m medley Gold 2006 Victoria 400 m medley Gold 2006 Victoria 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2006 Victoria 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2010 Irvine 100 m butterfly Gold 2010 Irvine 200 m butterfly Gold 2010 Irvine 4x100 m freestyle Gold 2010 Irvine 4x200 m freestyle Gold 2010 Irvine 4x100 m medley Silver 2002 Yokohama 200 m butterfly Silver 2002 Yokohama 4×200 m freestyle Silver 2006 Victoria 200 m backstroke

Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985) is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions. In doing so he has twice equaled the record eight medals of any type at a single Olympics achieved by Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games. His five gold medals in individual events tied the single Games record set by compatriot Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics; his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972. Phelps' Olympic medal total is second only to the 18 Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won over three Olympics, including nine gold. Phelps also holds the all-time record for most gold Olympic medals, at 14.

Phelps's international titles and record breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award six times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eight times. He has won a total of sixty-six medals in major international competition, fifty-four gold, nine silver, and three bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award.

After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. As a participant in the US Anti-Doping Agency's "Project Believe" program, Phelps is regularly tested to ensure that his system is clean of performance-enhancing drugs.

Early life[link]

Phelps was born and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of Towson, Maryland, a northwest suburb of Baltimore City.^[6] Michael was the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue "Debbie" (née Davisson), is a middle school principal.^[7] His father, Michael Fred Phelps, was a football player in high school and almost made the team for the Washington Redskins.^[7] His ancestry includes English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and German.^[8]

Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy.^[9] When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).^[10][11] His parents divorced in 1994 and Michael and his sisters went to live with their mother. By the age of 10, he held a national record for his age group, and Phelps began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman. More age group records followed, and Phelps' rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15 and becoming the youngest male to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years.^[12] While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-m butterfly.^[13]

At the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, on 22 July, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-m butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest man ever to set a swimming world record, breaking the record previously held by Ian Thorpe when he lowered the 400-m freestyle world record at 16 years, 10 months.^[14] At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-m butterfly en route to becoming a world champion for the first time.^[15]

2002 Pan Pacific Championships[link]

Pan Pacific medal record
2002 Yokohama – Men's swimming
Competitor for the  United States
Gold	200 m individual medley	1:59.70
Gold	400 m individual medley	4:12.48
Gold	4 × 100 m medley relay	3:33.48 (WR)
Silver	200 m butterfly	1.55.41
Silver	4×200 m freestyle relay	7:11.81

At Nationals, the selection meet for the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, in Fort Lauderdale, Phelps set an American record in the 200-m individual medley and was just off the world record in the 200-m butterfly.^[16] In the 400-m individual medley, Phelps bettered the world record held by Tom Dolan with a time of 4:11.09, just ahead of Erik Vendt, who finished second with a time of 4:11.27, also below the old world record. In the 200-m freestyle, Phelps was barely beaten by Klete Keller and in the 100 m butterfly, Phelps beat Ian Crocker.^[17]

At the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Yokohama, Phelps won three gold medals and two silvers. In his first event, the 400-m individual medley, Phelps won gold ahead of Erik Vent with a time of 4:12.48. In the 200-m butterfly, Phelps lost to Tom Malchow, finishing behind him 1:55.41 to 1:55.21. Phelps said he lost because he did not take butterfly training seriously after he broke the world record. In the 200-m individual medley, Phelps won with a time of 1:59.70. In the 4×200-m freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Nate Dusing, Klete Keller, and Chad Carvin, won the silver medal with a time 7:11.81 finishing behind Australia. The U.S. 4×100-m medley relay team consisted of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps, and Ian Crocker. In the final for the medley relay, Phelps swam a 51.1 split, at the time the fastest split in history. The final time of 3:33.48 was a world record.^[18]

2003 World Championships[link]

At Nationals, Phelps won the 200-m freestyle, 200-m backstroke, and the 100-m butterfly.^[19] He became the first American swimmer to win three different races in three different strokes at a national championship.^[19] At the 2003 Duel in the Pool, a meet that pits swimming stars from Australia and the United States, Phelps broke the world record in the 400-m individual medley with a time of 4:10.73 and almost broke the world record in the 100-m butterfly, just missing the record by 0.03 seconds.^[20] At a meet in Santa Clara, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-m individual medley with a time of 1:57.94.^[21] Phelps said he broke the 200-m individual medley world record after Don Talbot said Phelps was unproven, using his words as motivation.^[22]

At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won four gold medals, two silver medals, and broke five world records.^[23] Phelps broke his first world record on July 22 in the semi-finals for the 200-m butterfly. Phelps swam a 1:53.93 to break his own world record of 1:54.58 set in 2001 and became the first man to swim under 1:54.00.^[24] In the final of the 200-m butterfly, on July 23, Phelps easily won the gold medal, but did not come close to his world record with a time of 1:54.35.^[25] Less than an hour later, Phelps swam the lead-off leg for the 4×200-m freestyle relay. Phelps put up a solid time of 1:46.60 (an American record) but the Americans could not match the depth of the Australians and ultimately finished second 7:10.26 to 7:08.58.^[26] In the 200-m individual medley, Phelps showed complete dominance. On July 24, in the semifinals of the 200-m IM, Phelps broke his own world record with a time of 1:57.52.^[27] On July 25, in the final of the 200-m IM, Phelps smashed his own record with a time of 1:56.04 to win the gold medal and finished almost 3 seconds ahead of Ian Thorpe.^[28] About an hour before the final of the 200-m IM, Phelps swam in the semifinals of the 100-m butterfly. Phelps again showed dominance, finishing in the top seed with a world record time of 51.47.^[29] However, in the final of the 100-m butterfly, on July 26, Ian Crocker erased Phelps' world record with a time of 50.98, to become the first man under 51 seconds. Phelps swam a 51.10 (also under his former world record), but had to settle for silver.^[30] In the final of the 400-m individual medley, on July 27, Phelps broke his own world record with a time of 4:09.09 to easily claim the gold medal.^[31] About half an hour later, Phelps earned his final gold medal when the United States team won the 4×100-m medley relay.^[32] Phelps did not swim in the finals, but still earned a medal because he swam in the heats.^[33]

2004 Summer Olympics[link]

Trials[link]

At the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Phelps competed in six events, including the 200- and 400-m IM, the 100- and 200-m butterfly, the 200-m freestyle, and the 200-m backstroke.^[34] In his first event, the 400-m individual medley, Phelps easily won with a world record time of 4:08.41.^[35] Two days later, in the 200-m freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:46.27, finishing sixth-tenths of a second ahead of Klete Keller.^[36] Phelps, however, was not pleased with the result and wanted to be in the 1:45s and was uncertain if he would swim the event in Athens.^[37] The following day, Phelps won in the 200-m butterfly with a time of 1:54.31, three seconds ahead of second place finisher Tom Malchow.^[38] After two days off, Phelps was back in the pool and finished second to Aaron Peirsol in the 200-m backstroke.^[39] Less than half an hour later, Phelps won the 200 m individual medley title ahead of Ryan Lochte by 2.70 seconds.^[40][41] The following day, Phelps finished second to Ian Crocker in the 100 m butterfly. Crocker won in a time of 50.76, a world record and 0.39 seconds ahead of Phelps.^[42] When the Trials were over, Phelps became the first person to qualify in six individual events for a U.S. Olympic team.^[43] However, Phelps dropped the 200-m backstroke to focus on the 200-m freestyle because he wanted to race Ian Thorpe.^[43] Even though Phelps didn't compete in the 100-m freestyle at the Trials, he was still selected for the 4×10-m freestyle relay. Gary Hall, Jr. thought this was unfair and said Phelps did not deserve a spot on the relay. Phelps argued his program was too crowded to compete in 100-m freestyle and was at least among the top four swimmers because he had beaten the top-seeded Jason Lezak the last time he had swum against him.^[44]

Olympics[link]

In his first event, the 400-m individual medley, Phelps won with a world record time of 4:08.26 to win his first Olympic gold medal.^[45][46] The following day, in the 4×100-m freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Ian Crocker, Neil Walker, and Jason Lezak, finished in third place with a time of 3:14.62.^[47][48] Crocker's lead-off time of 50.05 was the worst among the field and was blamed on sickness.^[49][50] In the event many were calling The Race of the Century, held the following day, Phelps finished in third place behind Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband in the 200-m freestyle.^[51][52] Although this race ended the chance to match Spitz's record, Phelps had savored the challenge even though it was not his strongest event, saying "How can I be disappointed? I swam in a field with the two fastest freestylers of all time".^[53] In his fourth event, the 200-m butterfly, held the following day, Phelps finished first with a time of 1:54.04, breaking Tom Malchow's Olympic record.^[54][55] About an hour later, in the 4×200-m freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay, and Klete Keller, finished in first place with a time of 7:07.33.^[56] Two days later, in the 200-m individual medley, Phelps finished first with a time of 1:57.14, an Olympic record.^[57] In the 100-m butterfly final, held the following day, Phelps defeated American teammate Ian Crocker (who held the world record in the event at the time) by just 0.04 seconds with a time of 51.25.^[58][59] Traditionally, the Olympian who places highest in an individual event will be automatically given the corresponding leg of the 4×100 m medley relay. This gave Phelps an automatic entry into the medley relay, but he deferred and Crocker swam instead.^[59][60] Phelps' gesture gave Crocker a chance to make amends as well getting his final shot at a gold medal.^[60] The American medley team went on to win the event in world-record time, and, since Phelps had raced in a preliminary heat of the medley relay, he was also awarded a gold medal along with the team members who competed in the final.^[61][62] In winning six gold and two bronze medals, Phelps, still a teenager, had the second-best performance ever at a single Olympics, behind Mark Spitz's seven gold medals in Munich in 1972. Also, he became the second male swimmer ever to win more than two individual titles at a single Games with four, tying Spitz's four from 1972.

2005 World Championships[link]

Victory lap of the 100 m butterfly during the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montréal. Phelps is far right.

At the 2005 World Championship Trials, Phelps decided to drop his specialty events, the 400-m individual medley and the 200-m butterfly, and experiment with the 400-m freestyle and the 100-m freestyle.^[63] Phelps went on to win the 400-m freestyle, the 200-m freestyle, the 100-m butterfly, the 100-m freestyle, and the 200-m individual medley at the Trials.^{[64][65][66][67][68]}

At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won a total of six medals, 5 golds and one silver.^[69] In the 400-m freestyle, Phelps did not make it past the preliminary heats and finished 18th overall with a time of 3:50.53.^[70] Later that day, in the 4×100-m freestyle relay, Phelps won his first gold in the Championships.^[71] Two days later, on July 26, Phelps won his second gold in the 2000m freestyle with a new American record time of 1:45.20, finishing ahead of Grant Hackett.^[72] Two days later, on July 28, Phelps finished 7th in the 100-m freestyle final.^[73] Later that day, Phelps won his third gold in the 200-m individual medley.^[74] On July 29, Phelps, along with Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay and Klete Keller, won the gold in the 4×200-m freestyle relay with a time of 7:06.58. This was the fourth gold medal for Phelps.^[75] On July 30, Phelps swam in his last individual event, the 100-m butterfly. In the final, Phelps could not match the speed of Ian Crocker and had to settle for silver, finishing 51.65 to 50.40.^[76] On July 31, Phelps earned his final gold medal when the United States team won the 4×100-m medley relay.^[77] Phelps did not swim in the finals but still earned a medal because he swam in the heats.^[78]

2006 Pan Pacific Championships[link]

At the 2006 National Championships, Phelps won a total of three events.^[79] In his first event, the 200-m butterfly, Phelps won with a time of 1:54.32.^[80] In his second event, the 100-m butterfly, Phelps just edged out Ian Crocker 51.51 to 51.73.^[81] In his third event, the 200-m individual medley, Phelps won with a time of 1:56.50, just ahead of Ryan Lochte's time of 1:56.78.^[82]

At the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Victoria, Phelps won five gold medals and one silver.^[83] In his first event, the 200-m butterfly, Phelps won in a world record time of 1:53.80, his first world record in two years.^[84] In his second event, the 400-m individual medley, Phelps easily won with a time of 4:10.47, 3.38 seconds ahead of second place finisher Robert Margalis.^[85] In his third event, the 4×200-m freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay, and Klete Keller, won the gold medal with a time of 7:05.28.^[86] In his fourth event, the 200-m backstroke, Phelps won the silver medal, finishing behind Aaron Peirsol 1:56.81 to 1:54.44.^[87] In his fifth event, the 4×100-m freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Neil Walker, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezak, won the gold medal with a world-record time 3:12.46.^[88] In his sixth event, the 200-m individual medley, Phelps won with a world record time of 1:55.84, breaking his record of 1:55.94 set in 2003.^[89]

2007 World Championships[link]

At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won seven gold medals, tying the record, and broke five world records.^[90] Phelps first gold medal came in the 4×100-m freestyle. Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 48.42 and Neil Walker, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak each expanded the lead to win in a Championship record of 3:12.72, just missing the world record of 3:12.46 set the previous year.^[91] Phelps set his first world record in the Championships in the 200-m freestyle, his second race. Phelps won the gold ahead of Pieter van den Hoogenband and broke Ian Thorpe's six-year-old world record with a time of 1:43.86.^[92] For his third race, the 200-m butterfly, Phelps won the gold and bettered his own world record of 1:53.71 with a time of 1:52.09.^[93] For his fourth race, the 200-m individual medley, Phelps set his third world record with a time of 1:54.98, bettering his own world-record time of 1:55.84^[94] For his fifth race, the 4×200-m freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:45.36 as the American team of Ryan Lochte, Klete Keller, and Peter Vanderkaay went on to win the gold medal and beat the previous world record set by Australia in 2001 with a time 7:03.24.^[95] For his sixth race, the 100-m butterfly, Phelps edged out Ian Crocker 50.77 to 50.82 to win his sixth gold medal.^[96] For his seventh event, the 400-m individual medley, Phelps won the gold medal in a world-record time of 4:06.22, more than 3.5 seconds ahead of Ryan Lochte.^[97] The 4×100-m medley relay team would have competed in the final, but received a disqualification for a false start during a changeover in the heats, ending Phelps' chance of eight gold medals.^[98]

2008 Summer Olympics[link]

Trials[link]

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Phelps competed in six individual events. In his first event, the 400-m individual medley, Phelps broke his own world record of 4:06.22 with a time of 4:05.25.^[99] In his second event, the 200-m freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:44.10, ahead of Peter Vanderkaay's time 1:45.85.^[100] In his third event, the 100-m freestyle, Phelps placed second in his heat with a time of 47.92, ensuring him a spot on the relay.^[101] In his fourth event, the 200-m butterfly, Phelps won with a time of 1:52.20.^[102] In his fifth event, the 200-m individual medley, Phelps broke his own world record of 1:54.98 with a time of 1:54.80.^[103] In his sixth and final event, the 100-m butterfly, Phelps won with a time of 50.89.^[104] When asked about his chances of winning eight gold medals in Beijing, Phelps said, "I am going to prepare for that meet just like I do every other meet ... There is only so much I can do in a month and then I am going to prepare myself the best that I can."^[105]

Olympics[link]

Phelps set an Olympic record in the preliminary heats of the men's 400-m individual medley.^[106][107] He followed that up in the final by winning the gold medal, as well as breaking his previous world record by nearly two seconds.^[108][109]

Phelps swam the first leg of the men's 4×100-m freestyle relay in a time of 47.51 seconds (an American record for the 100-m freestyle), and won his second gold medal of the 2008 Olympics, as well as setting his second world record of the Olympics (3:08.24).^[110] Teammate Jason Lezak, after beginning the anchor leg more than half a body length behind Alain Bernard, managed to finish ahead of the second-place French team by eight hundredths of a second. The top five teams in the final finished ahead of the world record of 3:12.23 set the previous day by the American B team in a preliminary heat.^[111]

For his third race, Phelps broke his previous world record in the 200-m freestyle by nearly a second and won his third gold medal. He also set his third world record at the Olympics, 1:42.96, winning by nearly two seconds over silver medalist Park Tae-Hwan.^[112] In this race, Phelps became only the fifth Olympic athlete in modern history to win nine gold medals, joining Mark Spitz, Larisa Latynina, Paavo Nurmi, and Carl Lewis.^[113]

Phelps holds his gold medal on the podium on August 10, 2008. Pictured with Ryan Lochte and László Cseh

The next day, Phelps participated in two finals. In his first event, the 200 m butterfly, Phelps made it four gold medals and world records in four events by swimming the final in 1:52.03, defeating silver medalist László Cseh by almost seven-tenths of a second despite his goggles' having filled up with water and being unable to "see anything for the last 100 meters.^[114] This fourth gold medal was his tenth, and made him the all-time leader for most Olympic gold medals won by an individual in the modern Olympic era.^[115]

Less than one hour after his gold medal victory in the 200-m butterfly, Phelps swam the lead-off leg of the 4×200-m freestyle relay. With Lochte, Ricky Berens, and Peter Vanderkaay, he won his fifth gold and set his fifth world record as the American team finished first with a time of 6:58.56. The Americans were the first team to break the seven-minute mark in the relay, and broke the previous record, set in Melbourne, Australia, by more than four and a half seconds.^[116]

After taking a day off from finals (Phelps did swim in qualifying heats), Phelps won his sixth gold of the Beijing Games on August 15 by winning the 200-m individual medley with a world record time of 1:54.23, finishing ahead of Cseh by over two seconds.^[117]

7th gold medal and controversy[link]

Before the final of the 100-m butterfly, Serbian-American swimmer Milorad Čavić caused a minor stir when he said it would be "good" if Phelps lost. "It'd be good for him if he loses. It would be nice if historians talk about Michael Phelps winning seven gold medals and losing the eight to 'some guy.' I'd like to be that guy", Čavić said.^[118] Phelps responded, "When people say things like that, it fires me up more than anything."^[119] On August 16, Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the Games in the men's 100-m butterfly, setting an Olympic record for the event with a time of 50.58 seconds and edging out his nearest competitor Čavić, by 1/100 of a second.^[120]

Unlike all six of his previous events in the 2008 Games, Phelps did not set a new world record, leaving intact Ian Crocker's world-record time of 50.40 seconds, set in 2005.

Phelps's 0.01-second finish ahead of Čavić prompted the Serbian delegation to file a protest. Subsequent analysis of the video by the FINA panel, which required analyzing frames shot 1/10,000th of a second apart, was used to officially confirm Phelps's victory,^[121] but the images were not immediately released to the press. The initial refusal by official timekeeper Omega to release underwater photos of the finish also raised questions due to Phelps's sponsorship relationship with Omega.^[122] Čavić later wrote in his blog, "People, this is the greatest moment of my life. If you ask me, it should be accepted and we should move on. I've accepted defeat, and there's nothing wrong with losing to the greatest swimmer there has ever been".^[123] However, in August 2009, Omega officials admitted that while Čavić "for sure" touched the wall first, "Phelps did it more forcefully," thus registering the time first.^[124]

Phelps's seventh gold medal of the Games tied Mark Spitz's record for gold medals won in a single Olympic Games, set in the 1972 Olympics. It was also his fifth individual gold medal in Beijing, tying the record for individual gold medals at a single Games originally set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Said Phelps upon setting his seventh-straight Olympic record of the Games in as many events, "Dream as big as you can dream, and anything is possible ... I am sort of in a dream world. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure it is real."

Michael Phelps celebrates with his team-mates after winning his 8th gold medal.

All-time record[link]

On August 17, Phelps won his eighth gold medal in the men's 4×100-m medley relay, breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals won in a single Olympic Games, which had stood since 1972.^[126] Phelps, along with teammates Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol, and Jason Lezak, set a new world record in the event with a time of 3 minutes and 29.34 seconds, 0.7 seconds ahead of second-place Australia and 1.34 seconds faster than the previous record set by the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. When Phelps dived in to swim the 100-m butterfly leg, the third leg of the 400-meter medley, the United States had been trailing Australia and Japan. Phelps completed his split in 50.1 seconds, the fastest butterfly split ever for the event, giving teammate Jason Lezak a more than half-second lead for the final leg, which he would hold onto to clinch the event in world record time.^[127] Said Phelps, upon completing the event that awarded him his eighth gold medal and eighth Olympic record in as many events, "Records are always made to be broken no matter what they are ... Anybody can do anything that they set their mind to."^[128]

2009 World Championships[link]

At the 2009 National Championships, Phelps drastically shortened his program, swimming in only three individual events. In his first event, the 200-m freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:44.23.^[129] In his second event, the 200-m butterfly, Phelps easily won with a time of 1:52.76, 0.88 seconds ahead of the second place finisher.^[130] In his third event, the 100-m butterfly, Phelps won with a world-record time of 50.22.^[131]

Phelps (center) before the start of the 200 m butterfly semifinal during 2009 FINA World Championships.

At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won a total of 6 medals, 5 golds and 1 silver. In his first event, the 4×100-m freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 47.78, well off his 47.51 performance in Beijing, but the American team was able to edge out Russia and France for the gold.^[132] For his second race, the 200-m freestyle, Phelps lost his first race in four years to Germany's Paul Biedermann. Phelps touched second in 1:43.22, but Biedermann smashed Phelps' record of 1:42.96 set in Beijing a year ago with a time of 1:42.00.^[133] Phelps took the silver graciously, but coach Bob Bowman threatened to withdraw Phelps from international competition because Bowman claimed Biedermann had an unfair advantage because he was wearing a full polyurethane swim suit, specifically an Arena X-Glide. Bowman said, "It took me five years to get Michael from 1:46 to 1:42 and this guy has done it in 11 months. That's an amazing training performance. I'd like to know how to do that."^[134] Phelps rebounded from this loss and for his third race, the 200-m butterfly, Phelps won the gold and broke his own world record of 1:52.03 with a time of 1:51.51.^[135] For his fourth race, the 4×200-m freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:44.49 as the team went on to win the gold medal and break the world record set the previous year.^[136] After his loss in the 200-m freestyle, many thought Phelps was vulnerable coming into the final for the 100-m butterfly.^[137] His closest competitor, Milorad Čavić, who wore an Arena X-Glide (the same suit Biedermann beat Phelps with), thought people were making excuses for Phelps because he was wearing an LZR Racer. Čavić even offered to buy Phelps a new suit.^[138] For his fifth race, the 100-m butterfly, Phelps won the gold and became the first man to complete it in under 50 seconds, beating Čavić 49.82 to 49.95.^[139] The victory prompted a fierce celebration from Phelps, who sat on the lane rope and pumped his chest and swimsuit.^[140] For his final event, the 4×100-m medley relay, Phelps won his fifth gold medal. Phelps, along with teammates Aaron Peirsol, Eric Shanteau, and David Walters, set a new world record in the event with a time of 3 minutes and 27.28 seconds.^[141]

2010 Pan Pacific Championships[link]

At the 2010 National Championships, Phelps competed in five individual events. In the 200-m freestyle, Phelps won ahead of Ryan Lochte in a time of 1:45.61.^[142] About an hour later, Phelps returned to the pool to win the 200-m butterfly.^[143] But Phelps was not happy with his performance and called it the "worst" 200-m butterfly of his life. In the 100-m butterfly, Phelps won his 50th national title in 50.65.^[144] After the race, Phelps said he was "fairly pleased" with the result.^[145][146] In the 200-m individual medley, Phelps finished second to Lochte 1:55.94 to 1:54.84.^[147] It was the first time Lochte had beat Phelps in a major national meet.^[148] In the 200-m backstroke, Phelps finished in 4th place in 1:56.98.^[149]