BEIJING (AFP) — Michael Phelps, a restless kid who found an outlet for his energy in the water, emerged from the Water Cube pool this week as the greatest Olympian of all time.
The 23-year-old American, who won his unprecedented eight gold medals with seven world records and a personal-best performance that gave him victory by a fingertip, achieved a dream that first began even before he became the youngest man to break a swimming world record at the age of 15.
"The reason why I was so emotional is that I have dreamed of a lot of things and written things down," Phelps said. "This was the biggest thing I have ever written down. Thinking of all the things I have done to get here, everything I have gone through."
Prior to the Games, Phelps rarely discussed Mark Spitz's seven gold at one Games record as his Olympic goal, allowing the media and sponsor Speedo's offer of a one million-dollar bonus to whip up excitement over the possibility.
It turns out that Phelps's goals were even greater - not only to win all eight of his Olympic events, five individual and three relays, but to do all with personal best times.
He thought he had blown his chance late last year when he broke his wrist, but with the determination that coach Bob Bowman first detected when Phelps was 11, the swimmer doggedly worked through the injury to triumph.
While Bowman realized that Phelps's energy and will were valuable competitive assets, not everyone saw such potential in the youngster.
"My mom and I still joke about the fact I had a middle school teacher who said I would never be successful," said Phelps, who after his parents' divorce was brought up by his mother, Debbie, with his two older, swimming sisters, Hilary and Whitney.
All three were in Beijing to share in Phelps's triumph.
"I saw my mom for a minute and we hugged, she started crying, I started crying, my sister started crying," Phelps said.
Bowman knew early that Phelps could be a world-beater, but even he was surprised by how fast Phelps made his name at the top level, nabbing his first world record in 2001 in the 200m butterfly - a year after he finished fifth in the event at the Sydney Olympics.
Bowman steered Phelps to an impressive six golds and two bronze at the Athens Olympics when the swimmer was still just 19 years old.
And while Bowman has long said that Phelps's single-minded determination is as much his strength as his ideal swimmer's physique, even he was impressed by the maturity Phelps has shown amid the furore engulfing him in Beijing.
"What impresses me the most is his comments in the press conference and how he expresses himself," Bowman told AFP.
"I have seen him swim some good meets and some fast times, but I think he has a better grasp of what this means to the world - not just the swimming world - and I think that is a great thing to see.
"He is a man now and has been through a lot of things. He has a real clear picture of who he is, why he is here and what he is doing."
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