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How Michael Phelps has changed from his first Olympics run to his fifth

 

OMAHA, Neb. – When Michael Phelps made his first Olympic team, the media asked him if he had a girlfriend. And whether he’d kissed her yet.

The kid was 15 at the time. The year was 2000.

“I remember him,” Phelps said Wednesday night, smiling at the memory of his younger self. “I definitely remember him.”

A day shy of his 31st birthday, Phelps kissed his girlfriend in front of 14,000 people. He had just made his fifth Olympic team – most ever for an American male swimmer – and while soaking in the adulation in CenturyLink Center he planted a smooch on Nicole Johnson. He also kissed his sound-asleep, 7-week-old son, Boomer.

So, yeah, a lot has changed for Michael Phelps between his first and last Olympic berths as a 200-meter butterflyer.

Back then he was a veritable child; today he has a child of his own. Back then he was an unknown; today he is the most decorated Olympian in history. Back then he needed coach Bob Bowman at his side for every interview; today Bowman is still there, but no longer has to shepherd Phelps through questions. Back then he was bereft of introspection, as most 15-year-old boys are; today he is a veritable open book, full of insights and hard-earned wisdom. Back then he was a boy who harbored a grudge against his estranged father, Fred; today he has a blossoming relationship with the man.

Here is one more thing that can be said after winning the 200-meter butterfly Wednesday: the man has been an Olympian for more than half his life. And every one of those Olympic competitions have included his pet event, the 200 fly.

The first time he earned his Olympic berth, at IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis, Phelps was second to world-record holder Tom Malchow. Phelps’ time was 1 minute, 57.48 seconds – with a steely closing 50 of 30.02 seconds that propelled him from fourth to second. Jeff Somensatto has probably told a few stories over the years about the kid who blew past him on the final lap to yank away his Olympic berth by .59 seconds.

Less than a year after that trials breakthrough, Phelps became the first male to break the 1:55 barrier. He took Malchow’s world record and, to this day, has never relinquished it.

By 2009, in his athletic prime and aided by now-banned suit technology, Phelps lowered his own record for the seventh and (thus far) final time. The mark is 1:51.51, unassailable in the years since.

Michael Phelps gestures after winning the men's 200-meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. (AP)
Michael Phelps gestures after winning the men's 200-meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. (AP)

Wednesday, Phelps’ time was three seconds faster than his 15-year-old self, but pedestrian by his own adult gold standard: 1:54.84, keeping him sixth in the world in 2016. The younger Phelps would probably have been too disdainful of that time to appreciate the larger context of the moment. The thirty-something Phelps gets it, which is why he was visibly emotional in the minutes after earning yet another Olympic berth.

“Coming back and being able to have the opportunity to finish how I want,” he said. “I'm not happy about the time but being able to make my fifth is something that means a lot to me and that I think, you know, 20 years from now I will be able to look and be happy with making that decision to come back.

“I'm doing this because I wanted to. And thinking about the ups and downs we've gone through in and out of the pool to get to this point and, you know, not feeling an absolute 100 percent but still being able to get the job done.

“I think things are probably going to hit me a lot more emotionally now than what they would have in the past, because I'm enjoying the moment and I'm embracing the moment and taking it one step at a time. Every time I have walked into this building for finals I've gotten chills and just feel that excitement literally as soon as I walk through that door.”

The emotions flowed for Bowman, too, Wednesday night. He’s been to heaven and hell with Phelps – driving him to a record 22 Olympic medals, a record 18 of them gold, but also going through a miserable period leading up to the 2012 Games when he didn’t know whether his conflicted superstar would even show up for practice.

Bowman can be one of the toughest coaches in the sport. But as Phelps has grown and flourished as a person, he has softened his mentor as well.

“I've been out there a lot of times at medal ceremonies ... and this is the first time I cried,” Bowman said. “That's what it means to me.”

For so long, a fifth Phelps Olympics seemed implausible, if not impossible. Now it is going to happen – and quite likely in multiple events. He is an overwhelming favorite to make the team in 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley, as well as a strong relay candidate.

But the first qualifying event for 2016 was also the first (and only) event in 2000. An unparalleled Olympic career will end as it began – with remarkable athletic and personal growth along the way. That Phelps kid has turned out all right in the end.