No Limits (27 page)

A loving son and brother: Michael shares a quiet moment backstage in Beijing with his mom, Debbie, and sisters Whitney (left) and Hilary.

After the 2008 Games and years of dedication and sacrifice, it was time for a little fun: Michael unwinding at Disney's Epcot Center on a Segway scooter.

There was no time during the 2008 Games to tour the Forbidden City or other Beijing landmarks. That came the year before with the likes of Katie Hoff, another Baltimore swim star.

A familiar scene for Michael in the weeks after the 2008 Games, being asked by appreciative fans for an autograph or a photo, here outside the
Today
show set in New York.

In the aftermath of the eight Olympic medals that he won at the Athens Games, six gold, Michael savors the thrill of being an honorary captain for his favorite NFL team, the Baltimore Ravens, in a 2004 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

“Phelpstival” is what they called the celebration in Maryland after the 2004 Athens Games, officials naming the street next to Towson High School “Michael Phelps Way.”

One of Michael's ultimate goals is getting more young people into swimming, as he does here with these kids in New York after the 2008 Games.

Michael Phelps is an American swimmer. He holds the record for winning the most gold medals (eight) in a single Olympics (2008). He has won sixteen Olympic medals, fourteen gold and two bronze. He holds seven world records and has more than twenty World Championship medals.

After returning home from Beijing in 2008, Michael used the well-publicized $1 million Speedo bonus he received to start the Michael Phelps Foundation, through which he hopes to encourage children to lead healthy, active lives and to continue to grow the sport of swimming. He now resides in Baltimore, Maryland, with his dog, Herman.

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Alan Abrahamson is an award-winning sportswriter and a recognized authority on the Olympics. In 2006, he left the
Los Angeles Times,
where he had been a staff writer for seventeen years, to write for the NBC suite of online properties, which now includes NBCOlympics.com, NBCSports.com, and UniversalSports.com. Since 2003, Alan has also served as a sports and Olympic analyst for the NBC television networks. Among other honors, Alan won the 2002 National Headliner Award for sports writing and was named the Los Angeles Press Club's 2004 sports journalist of the year. Alan, his wife, Laura, and their three children live in Southern California.