“Over/under 2 years?” – Michael Phelps asks fans how long the men’s 200m freestyle record would stand

The 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is a very active personality on Instagram. He is often seen sharing posts and stories with his 3.4 million followers.

Phelps recently shared a post on his Instagram story from the swimmingstats account. He asked his fans how long will the all-time 200-meter freestyle world record will stand. He added a poll that asked:

"Over/under 2 years?"

Screengrab via Michael Phelps Instagram/@m_phelps00

Phelps also tagged record holders Paul Biedermann and David Popovici, who are just above and below Phelps, respectively, on the list. Fans gave mixed reactions as the poll had 50 percent each on both the options (under and over).

The all-time men's 200-meter freestyle record is currently held by Paul Biedermann with a time of 1.42.00. He set this record in 2009 at the World Championships, and it was previously held by Michael Phelps, with a time of 1.42.96.

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Michael Phelps's 200-meter freestyle record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

In the 2008 Beijing games, the 'Baltimore Bullet' was on a gold medal-winning spree. However, he did not just win medals at the Olympic event but also created several records. One of them was the men's 200-meter freestyle record.

In order to win his third consecutive gold, the ninth of his career, and 11th overall medal at the Olympics, Michael Phelps blasted a new world record of 1:42.96.

Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

This is still an Olympic record. However, at the overall international level, the record was broken by Paul Biedermann to set a faster time at the 2009 World Championships.

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How many records are left with Phelps now?

Michael Phelps won several medals during his swimming career and set numerous world records.

Phelps currently holds the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter butterfly, and 400-meter individual medley American records with timings of 1:42.96, 1:51.51, and 4:03.84.

The sporting legend maintained his 400-meter Individual Medley world record with a timing of 4:03.84.

Phelps at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Phelps' record will ultimately be surpassed as each generation gains a little bit in terms of height, strength, and athleticism. All sports landmarks are transient, with new competitors always fighting for the top slots.

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Swimmers who surpassed Phelps' records

Breaking Phelps' record is frequently cited as a way to make a big splash, and this is true no matter where it happens. One of Phelps' record-breakers was Carson Foster, a young boy of just 10 years old.

The 400-meter Individual Medley timing of Michael Phelps' former SCY National Age Group record was just broken by 16-year-old Maximus Williamson. He did so at the 2022 Winter Junior Championships - West competition last weekend with a time of 3:39.83.

Yezan Alsader of the WAVES Bloomington-Normal YMCA broke Nicholas Caldwell's 11-12 NAG mark for the 400-meter Individual Medley in 2013.

At the World Championships in July 2019, Kristof Milak of Hungary won the 200-meter butterfly in 1:50.73. He outpaced Phelps by 0.78 seconds.

Popovici at the 2022 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships

Since Phelps, 17-year-old Romanian swimmer David Popovici is the youngest man to achieve an individual world record.