All roads lead to Paris, France for the 2024 Olympic Games. Here, the world’s greatest athletes will compete on a global stage, hoping that years of hard work and preparation will earn them the coveted podium finish.
Of course, no one can speak about the Games without mentioning Michael Phelps – the most decorated Olympian of all time. His impressive career comeback at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 put his name in the history books for years to come.
But what is life like out the pool for Phelps since his retirement in the same year? We take a look at his impressive career and what he has been up to.
Why Michael Phelps is a sports icon
Phelps, 38, has been credited for doing what Michael Jordan did for basketball and Tiger Woods did for golf: popularising a sport for millions across the world. At 15 years old, he was chosen to be part of the US Olympic team – the youngest male swimmer to achieve the inclusion in 68 years, per Olympics.com.
That was the first of many records he would smash – to date, he remains the most decorated Olympian of all time. Phelps has an incredible 28 Olympic medals, 23 of those being gold. With his physique, speed, power in the pool and a record five Olympics, the “Baltimore Bullet” has cemented his status as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
He’s a mental health advocate
Phelps has long spoken about his struggles with depression and ADHD, once telling USA Today that, after his swimming career, his work in the mental health space was of a “calling” than swimming ever was. He was determined to reach out to people not as Michael Phelps the swimmer, but as Michael Phelps the “human who is struggling,” he told the publication. He also admitted that depression is “something I continue to go through daily, and it won’t go away”.
Through the Michael Phelps Foundation, he has also focused on youth mental health, with wellness programmes being offered to youngsters from around the world.
Who are Michael Phelps’ wife and kids?
Phelps became a dad for a fourth time in January this year when his wife Nicole Johnson give birth to their son Nico. They have three other boys: Boomer, Becket and Maverick.
According to ABC News, Phelps met Johnson at the 2007 Espy Awards where she was working as an intern. In 2015, they confirmed their engagement and got married in a secret ceremony in Arizona.
He’s enjoying living a normal life
Post retirement, after the Rio Games in 2016, Phelps told the Today show that he would not return to the pool competitively. In an interview with USA Today, he added that he was “done” with swimming and was moving on to the next chapter of his life. He explained that he had other things to offer the world and that “I’m not just a swimmer, that is not my only [identity] any more.”
In an article in People magazine, Phelps said that after life as a professional swimmer, he has tried to instil family traditions like eating dinner at 5pm every day. “As a kid, I always wanted to have dinner as a family, but with my parents separated that didn’t happen,” he revealed. He said the routine has helped him manage his depression, too.
Sports career and sponsorship millions
Phelps has an estimated net worth of US$100 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, from his career and sponsorship deals with the likes of Under Armour, Omega and Beats by Dre over the years, per CNBC.
He is also an equity investor in mental health start-up TalkSpace. Last year, he launched a mental health awareness month campaign called Celebrate Every Step with the organisation.