Michael Phelps

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There are many heroes on the planet earth. My hero is a world renowned gold medalist. Michael Phelps is my hero. He is not only inspiring for swimmers around the world, but he is an inspiration for all athletes. He has a willingness to race. He also possesses the courage and strength to be able to win in front of thousands of people. He also has he perseverance to come back to the sport.

Michael Phelps was born on June 30 1985, in Baltimore Maryland. He was the youngest of three, and began swimming with his older sisters. After watching the 1996 Olympics, Phelps had a dream of one day where he would be a world champion. He began that dream with lifelong trainer Stan Bowman, and started to swim at Loyal High school pool. He put many hard and long days into the pool. His workouts ranged any where from 2 to 5 hours a day. He had the dedication of a great hero and athlete.

At the age of 15 Phelps was the youngest male athlete to compete in an Olympic Games. Even though he didn't win anything that year, he would soon be a force to reckon with in international swimming. Later, still at 15, Phelps set a world record in the 200m fly. In the world championships Phelps broke his own world record in the 200m fly and set a new record in he 100 fly.

Phelps became a superstar, winning 22 medals for the next 3 Olympic Games. He set a record for the most medals won. He has gone down in history as one of the best athletes alive. He is now on a comeback to swimming. He is set to race in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. He took a step back, but is making one of the greatest comeback stories. This inspiration to keep pushing forward really makes him not only an amazing person, but it really makes heroic in my mind.

There may never be another Phelps in this generation. He will inspire athletes to reach new levels. I won't be surprised if people break his records, because records are meant to be broken.He will go down in history as not only my hero, but one of the greatest heroes ever.