Michael Phelps: Decoding his Olympics stats and records
What's the story
Legendary swimmer Michael Phelps, who represented USA, is the most successful Olympian of all time. He is the only athlete in Olympics history to have accounted for over 20 medals (summer or winter). Though the 2016 Games was Phelps's last campaign in Summer Olympics, he continues to lead the medal tally by miles. Let's decode his records ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Tally
28 medals for Phelps
As mentioned, Phelps owns the most medals in the history of Summer Olympics. He has 28 medals at the mega event, out of which 23 are gold. The tally also includes three silver and a couple of bronze medals. Notably, Phelps represented USA in a total of five Summer Olympic editions (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016).
Campaigns
Most medals in a single edition
Phelps's tally of eight medals apiece in the 2004 and 2008 Games is the joint-most for an athlete in an edition. Former Soviet Union's gymnast Alexander Dityatin is the only other athlete with eight Olympic medals in this regard (1980). All of Phelps's eight medals in 2008 were gold. No other athlete owns as many or more first-place finishes in a single campaign.
Debut
Historic Olympic debut for Phelps
Participating in the Olympics is a moment of pride and honor for any athlete. Phelps underwent similar emotions when he qualified for his first-ever Olympics, in Sydney 2000. At the teenage age of 15, he became the youngest US male to qualify for Olympic swimming, since 1932. While he failed to win a single medal, it served as an inspiration to come back stronger.
Record
Topped the chart in four campaigns
As mentioned, Phelps featured in five Summer Olympic Games and on four occasions, he walked back as the most successful medalist of that edition. While he tallied eight medals apiece in 2004 and 2008, the swimmer recorded six medals each in 2012 and 2016. No other player has been the most successful athlete of the Games for four Olympic editions.