Michael Phelps

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"I found something I love... And never gave up"(Poirier-Leroy). This quote is one of the many empowering quotes by Michael Phelps discussing his love of the water. That motivational quote is referring to Michael's beloved sport called swimming. One of the most common discussion people say at the pool is, " Go in the pool and pull a Michael Phelps." to any bystander it must be confusing to why Phelps is thought of as highly as a god to swimmers. After learning about his life, he is a real super hero. On one special day in Baltimore, Maryland, a mother of two girls had a son named Michael Phelps. Phelps was born on June 30, 1985.His family is full of swimmers, but no one could have ever imagined what fish this boy would turn out to be. He began swimming club when he turned seven years old, around the age most kids do. By age eleven, Phelps was envisioned by Bob Bowman as a potential Olympian, three short years after he started swimming! Phelps had his first appearance in the Olympic games in 2000, located in Sydney, Australia. By the time Phelps was fifteen years old, he had been swimming for eight years(Newsmaker). Since then he has been in the Olympics multiple times, and has won more awards than any other celebrity. A influential person is an individual who can make an impact on another person's life. One example of this could be as simple as picking up something for another person to help them. A resilient person is a strong individual who knows what they want and will do anything to get it. Resilient people don't let anything keep there heads up and won't let any issue push them down for long. An example could be a swimmer pushing themselves to break their own personal record. A caring individual is someone who will help others out of the goodness of their heart and expecting nothing in return. An example could be helping someone up with fell down. Michael Phelps is a very influential, caring, and resilient person which is why he is obvious candidate for a hero.

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Michael Phelps is very resilient individual who worked his way through all the bumps in his road and kept pushing. Even our superheros have some mistake they made along the road, it is there ability to get back up that we should judge them on,"In September of 2014, Phelps was arrested for drunken driving after being pulled over by police for driving recklessly at high speed in Baltimore. As a result of the incident, Phelps was suspended from USA Swimming for six months, barring him from competing in the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia"(Newsmakers). After Michael's minuscule mistake that many fully grown adults do, he did everything he could to get back up. It is very difficult to admit a mistake, but through Phelps's strength and determination he got back on his feet in no time. Michael Phelps is resilient individual that when he gets knocked down, he gets back up.

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Some people say Phelps is such a shark in the water because he is double jointed,or some other meaningless excuse. But in reality, Phelps earned his way to greatness through hard work. "Long before Michael Phelps became the most successful swimmer the world has ever seen, even surpassing Mark Spitz, he was just a scrawny kid from Baltimore who enjoyed swimming. The only difference between Phelps and anyone else his age: He was beastly at it. Phelps was breaking world records by the time he was 10, and he hasn't stopped since. At age 15, he qualified for and competed in the Summer Olympics in Sydney. He did not win a medal, but he did earn a 5th place finish in the 200m butterfly" (Michael Phelps- Swimming). Michael might be the world's greatest swimmer now, but everybody has to start out somewhere. It took Phelps years to earn his way to the top. It takes the ability to push through the pain and perspire through the desire to win.To overcome this pain and struggle Phelps had to be resilient. He is so resilient Phelps does the hardest event known to swimmers. The 200 fly, that is 8 lengths of fly. The event is like a horror story to every swimmer. This event feels like a sharp knife is stabbing the swimmer's shoulder with every pull, and the pain does not go away after the event. It takes a real trooper to keep doing the fly, especially if they do not win the first time through. Michael is a really determined worker and is insanely resilient.

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Phelps is a caring individual inside and outside the pool. He is aware of a colossal amount of issues that few people even think about. Michael Phelps has a whole foundation dedicated to helping kids learn to swim. Drowning is humongous issue among children."I think water safety is right up there with oxygen," Lee Pitts, Aquatic Director at the Broward County Boys & Girls Club of America, told NBC Miami. "They need to know about water safety. It should be just as important as reading, writing and arithmetic"(Huffington Post). Water safety is a daily topic to discuss among lifeguards, drowning is the number one cause of unintentional deaths world wide. Children are usually the individuals who drown. According to a study done by CDC; 4,000 people die from drowning a year. Drowning is the fifth leading cause of death in infants. If those people do not die from drowning, there are an infinite amount of other injuries as well that go with drowning if the individual is saved. And drowning is not the only cause of injury on the pool deck. People can very easily injure themselves by misusing pool equipment if they are not taught how to use it properly. Some examples could include running on a diving board and slipping hitting their heads on the board. Or falling off the side on the diving board and getting pierced by the nails holding the diving board in place. Phelps's foundation is working to teach water safety and prevent these injuries from occurring in the first place. Michael not only started an organization to save children, he also donated to it."... the Michael Phelps Foundation aims to inspire children to lead healthy and active lives through the sport of swimming and to promote critical water safety skills. Phelps established the Foundation with the $1 million bonus he received from Speedo after winning eight gold medals in Beijing"(Huffington Post). Phelps donated $1 million dollars to teaching water safety. It may not seem like a large sum of money, but every single dollar he gave represents one less drowning child, and one less mourning family. Phelps is such a caring individual, his program donated to a number of organizations. The Boys and Girls Club is one of the many organizations to receive a large donation." One such program that benefited from the Michael Phelps Foundation is the Boys and Girls Club in Prosser, Wash. Based in the state with the second highest drowning rate for youth, the club won an $18,000 grant last year and $12,000 this year, according to the news outlet" (HuffingtonPost). This is one of the little things that people should donate more time and money into, but do not. Instead of getting the newest iPhone, why not save a child or two's life. He cares about child safety about the same amount as most parents. The next time you see a kid get pulled out of the water and saved by a lifeguard, think of how Phelps is attempting to prevent it in the first place. Every dollar represents one less child's gravestone and one less grieving family.

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People who influence our lives usually tend to have a large part in our life. Sometimes influences can be not as personal. Most of the time influences are celebrities if they are less personal. Celebrities rarely have a positive influence. Most celebrities influence bad things that draw attention to themselves, few actually try to influence you to be the best you can be. Michael Phelps is one of the few celebrities who doesn't try to hold people back, his quotes inspire people to spread their wings and fly."If you say 'can't' you're restricting what you can do or ever will do"(Poirier-Leroy). This quote can make the difference between winning a race by a longshot or losing by a mile. Michael Phelps teaches us to rise to greatness through whatever means possible. Few people realize that the only person stopping them from achieving greatness is themselves, Phelps learned this and used his knowledge to become the best swimming Olympian ever. Phelps has more Olympic medals than anyone in the world. Phelps has earned the title, "the most decorated Olympian of all time"(USA Swimming) for all of his achievements, his olympic medals include: in 2012 he earned the gold medal for the 100m fly; gold for the 200m IM; Gold for the 800m free relay; Gold for the 400m free relay; Silver for the 200m fly; Silver for the 400m Free relay; 4th in the 400m IM in 2008 he received Gold for the 100m fly and the 200m fly, which he set a world record in; gold in the 200m IM which he also set a world record in, and the 400m IM which he set a world record. The rest of 2008 he earned a world record in, the 200m free, the 400m free relay, the 800m free relay, the 400m MR ...In 2004 he claimed Gold in the 100m fly, 200m fly, 200m IM, 400m IM, 400m MR, 800m free relay; Bronze in the 200m free & 400m free relay ... In 2000 he claimed: 5th, 200m fly (USA Swimming). Phelps certainly did earn his title as "the most decorated Olympian of all time" considering he won 22 medals in the Olympics, 18 are gold. Most people feel like there lives are complete if they go to the Olympics and win one gold medal, but Phelps has to go and break world records and force us to work harder to be like him. If there is anything to learn from Michael Phelps it is to spread your wings and fly and give it your all. No one holds you back but yourself.

Phelps is so caring, resilient, and influential there is no question why he is my hero. I look up to Phelps because he influences me to be the best at everything I do and he has me look for new challenges to face. Michael is one of the most resilient people I have ever heard of, he has gone through so many obstacles including injuries and personal issues that he has the perseverance to continue swimming, I find stunning. He also has a large amount of kindness in him considering he donated 1 million dollars to helps kids get a healthy lifestyle as well as preventing drowning deaths. Phelps has saved me from bawling my eyes out before every swim meet and makes me feel like I have to be the best me I can. One of the many ways Phelps inspires me is with his quotes. I would have never gotten the courage to do the 100 fly or the 500 free(20 laps) if it wasn't for Phelps. I would repeat his quote, "I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time"(Poirier-Leroy). Every time I got up on the block for my event. He made me push myself in every way possible. I metaled at an invite when my goggles and cap came off when I dove in when competing in the 500 thanks to his powerful quotes. I broke seven minutes on my 500 due to these inspirational quotes. If there is anything I have learned from Phelps, it's to spread your wings and fly.

Works Consulted

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 May 2014. Web. 18

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"Michael Phelps." Newsmakers. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Biography in Context. Web. 30 Apr.

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"Michael Phelps - Swimming." - Great Olympic Heroes, Stories and Inspirational Sportsmen and Women.

Olympics 30, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015. Phelps, Michael. "Michael Phelps ." USA Swimming. USA Swimming, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.

Poirier-Leroy, Olivier. "8 Michael Phelps Swimming Quotes to Get You Fired Up." SwimSwam. N.p., 02 May 2015.

Web. 04 May 2015.

Prois, Jessica. "Michael Phelps: Charity Is Next Chapter." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n. d. Web. 08

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