An ode to the Aquaman Michael Phelps – an all time great

He had won everything there was to win in his sport, and he had won more than any man had ever done in the long history of professional swimming. When he announced his retirement after competing in the Games in London he had amassed an incredible 20 Olympic Medals – an astonishing 17 of them Gold.

There really was nothing left for him to prove. He had been there, and done that… and then some. Even if he hadn’t come anywhere near a swimming pool in Rio, his status as the greatest swimmer of all time would not have been disputed by a single soul.

Then, depression, that soul sucking ailment that so often slips through ignored and unnoticed- came a-calling.

Separated from the regimented life of eight-hour-a-day training (and that ludicrous diet of 10,000-calories-a-day mega-meals), he had lost his way, and went careening along downward spiral that Phelps himself admits could well have culminated with the worst possible ending.

As he said "I still remember the days, not wanting to see anybody, not wanting to talk to anybody, really not wanting to live. I was on an express elevator to the bottom floor, wherever that might be".

He had let himself go – ballooning to 104 kilos from the steady 84 kilograms he had maintained for nearly a decade. And with his growing depression, alcohol had started looking like the only solution.

A drunk-driving arrest in late 2014 (where he tested almost double the legal alcohol limit) turned out to be a blessing in disguise – he entered into rehab, and emerged a man on a mission.

To get back to where he truly belonged, to the one place he could be himself, to the one place that had always comforted him – the pool.

Two years after that life changing DUI, he was back to the stage he had ruled with such utter dominance for more than a decade. The Olympics welcomed the return of its King.

And what a return it has been. History has often taught us that athletes who retire at their peak have made a wise decision – such returns almost always result in an arduous, painful de-construction of the athlete’s aura. Well, Phelps appears to have been hell bent on teaching history a lesson or two about his awesomeness.

He started off by anchoring the 4x200 freestyle relay, where he had a comfortable last leg after the exploits of his three compatriots before him. He followed this by racing to Gold in his pet event, the 200m butterfly.

Sure, he had swum faster than that, and Masato Sakai had run him very close at the end – but this was so much more than just speed, and timings. This was about exorcising his personal demons. Four years ago, a young Chad le Clos had pipped the King to the line when Phelps) had made a rare mistake at the end. This time he showed the awed world that he still very much had it.

His next event was the 4x100m freestyle relay, which team USA bossed with typical panache. Then it was the turn of the 200 Individual Medley. He had been fairly non-descript in the heats, and the semis.

With Kosuke Hagino having swum the race of his life in the 400m Medley, and Phelps’ close friend - and closest rival for years - Ryan Lochte, in the fray, many didn’t really give him much of a thought. After the butterfly, the backstroke and the breaststroke, he was stuck in the middle of a large pack that seemed to moving at the same speed.

And then, he decided to unleash his full power. With that 6’7” wingspan of his ploughing through the water like Poseidon on a rampage, he cut through the field – swimming a race of his own, and finished nearly two seconds – a veritable lifetime – ahead of Hagino in second. Unlike the 200m, he hadn’t even given anyone the faintest whiff of an upset.

That made it 4 Golds for the Games, 21 for the career. The victory also enabled him to equal a 2000-year old record – 12 individual Olympic gold medals, last won by Leonidas of Rhodes (who seemed to have been quite the runner)

And soon enough, he broke that record. 22 Olympic Golds. 13 individual Golds.

He was pipped to the Gold in his last individual event, the 100 metre butterfly finals by Joseph Schooling, who is a huge fan of Phelps, with the American getting Silver in what was an unprecedented three-way tie for second place.

However, he showed great maturity and growth by celebrating Schooling’s accomplishments and enjoying his Silver medal with his compatriots. He said, “I’m not happy, obviously, nobody likes to lose. But I’m proud of Joe.”

While on the victory lap, Schooling turned to Phelps, saying, “Dude this is crazy, out of this world, I don’t know how to feel right now.” All the American did was smile and say, “I know.”

Earlier in Brazil, he had comforted teammates Ryan Held and Caeleb Dressel after winning the 4*100 metre freestyle event, helping them understand their accomplishment and celebrate.

He then finished his Olympic career, as per his own statement, with the Gold in the 4*100 metre medley relay. To recap, that makes it an all-time high haul of 28 Olympic medals including a record 23 Gold.

What has been incredible to see is his evolution from a man who dominated the sport to a man who has enjoyed competing with his peers while revelling in his status as an all-time legend, an almost mentor-ish progression.

Not even history can compete with the greatest swimmer that has ever swum the blue waters of this planet. To anyone who’s ever questioned the concept of a sporting God, I present to you – Michael Fred Phelps.

Who better than possibly Michael Phelps, the greatest athlete ever, to take inspiration from and take up swimming seriously? If you are one of them, visit the#RiseAtRio themed Flipkart store and start your journey today!