{"id":432677,"date":"2023-09-30T03:30:55","date_gmt":"2023-09-30T10:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=432677"},"modified":"2024-05-01T06:19:34","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T13:19:34","slug":"ranking-the-20-greatest-swims-of-michael-phelps-career-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ranking-the-20-greatest-swims-of-michael-phelps-career-videos\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking the 20-Greatest Swims of Michael Phelps’ Career (Videos)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anytime an Olympic Games nears, discussion of Michael Phelps and his legendary status is part of the equation. He is, after all, the barometer for Olympic excellence. So, Swimming World is running this piece from the archive that identifies the greatest performances from Phelps’ career. Phelps’ longtime coach, Bob Bowman, helped in the selection of these efforts, which made perfect sense since he guided Phelps from his pre-teen years through retirement.<\/em><\/p>\n

Twenty-four years. It\u2019s hard to believe that much time has passed since a 15-year-old Michael Phelps<\/strong> introduced himself to the world in 2000, first at the United States Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, and then at the Olympic Games in Sydney. His outings in the 200-meter butterfly lifted the lid on a spectacular career, one unmatched in Olympic lore and one that ranks among the finest in all sports.<\/p>\n

In Australia, Phelps was one of six teenagers on the Team USA<\/a> men\u2019s roster and that group, which we have dubbed The Sydney Six<\/a>, defined an era in American swimming. Phelps turned out to be the headliner of that entourage. The final totals over five Olympiads are staggering: 28 medals, including 23 of the golden variety. In Beijing, he posted the Great Eight, otherwise known as eight gold medals in as many events, with seven world records adding flair.<\/p>\n

It has long been commonplace in the sports world to rank athletes and achievements. The process makes for good debate \u2013 in the stands, at the bar or, practically anywhere, as long as a raised voice is acceptable. Hey, these things can get heated and intense, and no one involved in such arguments wants to back down.<\/p>\n

So, in conjunction with Phelps\u2019 breakout campaign and the upcoming Olympics in Paris, Swimming World is offering up the 20 most-defining moments of his career. But we didn\u2019t make the decisions of which event ranked No. 1 and which closed out the list at No. 20. Instead, we sought out the assistance of the person who knows Phelps\u2019 athletic career better than anyone.<\/p>\n

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Photo Courtesy: Baltimore Sun<\/p><\/div>\n

Phelps wasn\u2019t yet a teen when coach Bob Bowman<\/strong> started working with him at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club<\/strong>. However, he quickly identified a special gift in his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 and foresaw success on the biggest stage. He also has a unique gift for easily recalling a multitude of moments in Phelps\u2019 career, and this grasp of history was especially helpful as Bowman ranked the GOAT\u2019s best performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s strange,\u201d said Bowman, who ran his choices by Phelps. \u201cI see Michael every day as a man with three kids, a wife and a house. To think back to 2000, it\u2019s crazy. There was no social media and I think he had given one interview before Indianapolis (site of the Olympic Trials) to Paul McMullen (of the Baltimore Sun). We toiled in obscurity and it was wonderful. It was a joyful time. It was just a pure love of what we were doing.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bowman was supremely generous with his time for this endeavor, which wasn\u2019t simply a ranking of Phelps\u2019 best efforts from a performance standpoint. Rather, we discussed with Bowman, now the head coach at the University of Texas, races that were both epic in their performance and meaning, and how those two ingredients constitute a moment.<\/p>\n

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Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

Here, then, are the top-20 moments of Phelps\u2019 career, as selected by Bowman, with a nod from the man who produced them. Each moment includes a review of what transpired, with Bowman weighing in on several of the selections with additional commentary and analysis.<\/p>\n

Counting down from 20\u2026<\/p>\n

20. 2015 Summer Nationals \u2013 200 Breaststroke (2:11.30)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> Wait, what? Why is there a breaststroke listed here? Well, in what turned out to be his final appearance at Nationals, Phelps delivered a personal-best time in the 200 breaststroke. The swim followed two superb efforts in the butterfly events and arrived on the last day of the competition.<\/p>\n

Bob Bowman\u2019s Assessment:<\/strong> \u201cIt was his last Nationals and he hadn\u2019t had a chance to race the event much. I felt it showed a lot about a guy who was still trying to get better. He was still working to improve himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

19. 2008 Olympic Games \u2013 100 Freestyle (47.51)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> Phelps handled the leadoff leg of the United States\u2019 triumphant 400 freestyle leg in an American-record time, which also would have won the bronze medal that year in the individual 100 free. The effort, though, goes largely overlooked due to Jason Lezak\u2019s<\/strong> spectacular anchor leg in which he ran down France\u2019s Alain Bernard<\/strong>. But without Phelps\u2019 big start, Lezak would have faced a larger, and insurmountable, deficit.<\/p>\n

18. 2008 Olympic Games \u2013 200 Butterfly (1:52.03)<\/h2>\n
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Photo Courtesy: Swimming World Magazine<\/p><\/div>\n

Note:<\/strong> When Phelps hit the wall in world-record time, his reaction did not match the achievement. He tossed his goggles onto the deck and wore a disgusted look. It was soon revealed that, on the dive, Phelps\u2019 goggles filled with water, forcing him to navigate the race with limited vision. Obviously, Phelps deftly handled the situation and the scenario played into Bowman\u2019s strategy of challenging Phelps with unforeseen circumstances that would require his charge to adapt to the moment.<\/p>\n

17. 2012 Olympic Games \u2013 200 Individual Medley (1:54.27)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> There is no mystery that Phelps was not at his best in London. Unlike Beijing, he was not fully dedicated to his training on the road to his fourth Games. However, Phelps at a percentage of his typical self is better than most, and he showed it en route to a third straight title in the event. Phelps was expected to be pushed by countryman Ryan Lochte<\/strong>, who was the reigning world champion and world-record holder. But Lochte had the final of the 200 backstroke earlier in the evening, and in which he earned bronze, and Phelps knew if he could press the pace from the outset, it could take an additional toll on an already tired Lochte.<\/p>\n

By three-peating, Phelps joined Australian Dawn Fraser<\/strong> (100 freestyle; 1956-64) and Hungarian Krisztina Egerszegi<\/strong> (200 Backstroke (1988-96) as the only swimmers to win the same event at three consecutive Olympiads.<\/p>\n

Bob Bowman\u2019s Assessment:<\/strong> \u201cHe put everything he had into that one. He wanted that three-peat bad. We talked about going out hard and putting pressure on everyone, and he took advantage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

16. 2007 World Championships \u2013 200 Butterfly (1:52.09)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> As part of Phelps\u2019 dominant showing at the World Champs in Melbourne, he obliterated the world record in the event that launched his career. Not only did Phelps capture the gold medal by more than three seconds, he shaved 1.62 seconds off his previous global standard. The performance simply confirmed just how far ahead of the field Phelps was in his signature discipline.<\/p>\n

15. 2002 Summer Nationals \u2013 400 Individual Medley (4:11.09)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> Rare are the instances where a world record is required for victory, but that was exactly the case when Phelps clashed with Erik<\/strong> Vendt<\/strong> in a race that is one of Bowman\u2019s favorites. In their showdown at the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Phelps and Vendt each went under Tom Dolan\u2019s<\/strong> existing world record, with Phelps prevailing in 4:11.09, to the 4:11.27 of Vendt.<\/p>\n

14. 2001 World Championships \u2013 200 Butterfly (1:54.58)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> By the time Phelps arrived in Fukuoka, Japan, he was already the world-record holder. But this opportunity at the World Championships proved to be a changing-of-the-guard swim. Lowering his world record to 1:54.58, Phelps topped Olympic champion Tom Malchow<\/strong>, who took the silver medal in 1:55.28. Malchow managed to beat Phelps at the next year\u2019s Pan Pacific Championships, but the evidence was clear at Worlds: The event was now in the grasp of a teenage phenom.<\/p>\n

13. 2007 World Championships \u2013 200 Individual Medley (1:54.98)<\/h2>\n
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Photo Courtesy: Robert Stanton\/USA Today Sports Images<\/p><\/div>\n

Note:<\/strong> Before Phelps went to Beijing and went 8-for-8, he set the table for the Olympiad by dominating at the World Champs in Melbourne. Part of that showing was a world record in the 200 medley, and the first sub-1:55 clocking in history. By entering into the 1:54 realm, Phelps added to his status as the first man to go under 1:58, 1:57, 1:56 and 1:55.<\/p>\n

12. 2004 Olympic Games \u2013 200 Freestyle (1:45.32)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> As Phelps prepared for the Athens Games, he made the decision to take on the task of facing Ian Thorpe<\/strong> and Pieter van den Hoogenband<\/strong> in the 200 freestyle. The event was deemed the Race of the Century, with Phelps the up-and-comer, van den Hoogenband as the reigning Olympic champ and Thorpe as the world-record holder.<\/p>\n

While Thorpe captured the gold convincingly, Phelps produced an American record and proved his worth in an event that was still in development. His presence in the race was also proof of his desire to race against the best \u2013 even on their turf. By the next year, Phelps was the world champ and on his way to eventually owning the event.<\/p>\n

Bob Bowman\u2019s Assessment:<\/strong> \u201cThat might have been his best swim in Athens. He wanted to be in that race and he wanted that challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

11. 2007 World Championships \u2013 200 Freestyle (1:43.86)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> In the Land Down Under, Ian Thorpe is revered, so it was almost appropriate that Phelps took the Thorpedo\u2019s record in the 200 freestyle in Melbourne. While Phelps and Bowman believed the record was breakable, there wasn\u2019t a great deal of discussion that it could happen. But when Phelps entered the water, it was clear Thorpe\u2019s standard was in danger. Ultimately, the record went down, and the outcome also convinced Pieter van den Hoogenband, who touched for silver, to swear off the event.<\/p>\n

Bob Bowman\u2019s Assessment:<\/strong> \u201cWe thought it was (within reach). Ian had been an inspiration to us. I remember I had Michael watch the 400 freestyle at the 1998 World Championships and the way (Ian) finished. It was a model. The record in the 200 freestyle meant something and was held in high regard. Michael had this thing where he would come up to me and say he didn\u2019t feel good in warmup and then he\u2019d go out and do something great. Before that race, he told me he felt so good in warmup. I knew it was going to be something special.\u201d<\/p>\n

10. 2007 Summer Nationals \u2013 100 Backstroke (53.01)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> Phelps captured the national title with this performance, but the effort meant a lot more. The time was a mere .03 off Aaron<\/strong> Peirsol\u2019s<\/strong> world record in the event, and provided further proof that \u2013 if the schedule allowed \u2013 could have been as good as anyone in the backstroke events. Remember, at the 2004 Olympic Trials, Phelps earned a berth to Athens in the 200 backstroke, but gave up the spot to Bryce Hunt.<\/p>\n

9. 2000 Olympic Trials \u2013 200 Butterfly (1:57.48)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> Behind a stunning surge down the last 50 meters, the 15-year-old Phelps finished second to Tom Malchow to claim a bid to the Sydney Olympics. The outing made Phelps the youngest male swimming Olympian from the United States in 68 years and served as the launching point of his spectacular career. A month later, Phelps was fifth in the final of the 200 fly in Sydney.<\/p>\n

Bob Bowman\u2019s Assessment:<\/strong> \u201cI guess Indianapolis would have to be on there. It kind of started everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

8. 2007 World Championships \u2013 400 Individual Medley (4:06.22)<\/h2>\n

Note:<\/strong> Unlike the Olympic Games, in which the 400 medley is an opening-day event, the decathlon of the sport is contested on the last day of the World Championships. The fact that Phelps had already logged double-digit races in Melbourne before the 400 I.M. did not prevent him from destroying the world record, as he lowered it by more than two seconds from 4:08.26.<\/p>\n

Because the United States was disqualified in the prelims of the 400 medley relay at the World Champs, the event marked Phelps\u2019 seventh and last gold medal of the meet. It also set the stage for the next year\u2019s Olympic Games and Phelps\u2019 chase to match \u2013 and eclipse \u2013 Mark Spitz\u2019s<\/strong> record of seven gold medals in a single Olympiad.<\/p>\n

Bob Bowman\u2019s Assessment:<\/strong> \u201cIt showed he was in tremendous condition and it set us up for 2008. I didn\u2019t believe eight golds were possible until after Melbourne because too many things had to happen. But after Melbourne, it seemed doable.\u201d<\/p>\n