"Still speechless" - Michael Phelps reacts to sports business analyst reflecting on swimming legend's Olympic debut in Sydney

Michael Phelps gave his first shot at the Olympic Games at the age of 15 in 2000. He was the youngest US Olympic swimmer since Ralph Flanagan (aged 13) in the 1932 Olympics.

In the Olympic Trials, Phelps qualified for the 200-meter butterfly behind the 1996 Olympics silver medalist Tom Malchow. However, he could not win his maiden Olympic medal that year. He recorded a time frame of 1:56:50s which placed him fifth, behind first-placed Malchow (1:55:35).

Although Michael Phelps’s first experience in Sydney did not earn him medals but gave him a boost for the rest of the Olympic events that he competed in.

After the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the world saw Phelps’ rise as he won eight medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single event with gymnast Alexander Dityatin.

Recently, sports business analyst Darren Rovell celebrated Michael Phelps’s 23rd anniversary since his Olympics debut in Sydney. Rovell wrote in his Instagram story:

“Gave m_phelps a ticket to his Olympic debut last night. September 18, 2000 in Sydney, 23 years to the day."

Resharing it on his Instagram stories, the 28-time Olympic medalist, who was overwhelmed by memories, wrote:

“Still Speechless.”

Michael Phelps's Instagram story (Image via Instagram)

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Michael Phelps utilized his defeat to become the greatest swimmer of all time

Phelps at the Athens Olympics 2004

In one of his interviews this year, Michael Phelps shared an interesting anecdote that happened to him at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

In a conversation with Dr. Bhrett McCabe, Phelps revealed what he received after he was placed fifth in the event.

“2000. I'm 15 years old. I'm going to the Olympics. My first international trip. Yeah, I got fifth and probably within 3/10th of a second from winning a medal. They gave me a piece of paper hat said 'Congatulations,' and that's not really what I wanted." (via Dr. McCabe's Instagram)

The 38-year-old said he used the incident as motivation to succeed in his future races. His coach Bob Bowman performed another gesture to encourage him to aim for the best.

"That actually motivated me, because my coach, the very next day, I got back into training. He put on a piece of paper — 'WR: World Record. Break a world record in six months'. Guess what happened in six months? I broke that world record," he added.

Phelps broke the world record in the 200m butterfly at the World Championship Trials in 2001. He beat Tom Malchow's 1:55.18 mark with a time of 1:54.92. Moreover, at the finals, he broke his own record by swimming in 1:53.93 and ended the championship with just one gold medal.