Swimmer Michael Phelps has set the record for winning the most medals, 22, of any Olympic athlete in history.
This isn’t how his life started out. Teachers told his mom that ‘Your son will never be able to focus on anything.’”Kids bullied him, and when he whacked one on the school bus, he was suspended from the bus for several days.” He began swimming at the age of 7, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy. At first, like many beginners, he was afraid to put his head under the water.
He was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and put on Ritalin at age 9. But after 2 years and a lot of hard work and swimming, Michael was able to stop the medication. By age 10, he held a national record for his age group, and Phelps began to train under coach Bob Bowman.
More age group records followed, and Phelps’s rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15 and becoming the youngest male to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years.
While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly.
Physical exercise and an appropriate diet, along with the correct mental tools led him to where he is now.
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