Fourth-Place Medal, a Yahoo! Sports blog covering the Summer Olympics in Beijing

Fourth-Place Medal

Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:32 pm EDT

The mystery of Michael Phelps' iPod playlist

By Chris Chase

In the long, storied history of Fourth-Place Medal's Investigative Unit (founded: Monday), one question has been asked by our readers more than any other. Today, on our five-day anniversary, we will attempt to tackle the biggest Olympic mystery of the Beijing Games: what is Michael Phelps listening to on his iPod?

In nearly every camera shot of Michael Phelps on dry land, he can be seen with iPod headphones dangling from his ears. The earbuds are a ubiquitous presence in the ready room and on the starting block; they're just as much a part of Phelps' 'uniform' as goggles and a swim cap. About two minutes prior to the start of a race, Phelps sheds the iPod along with his warm-ups. So, what is he listening to?

Podcasts of NPR's This American Life and Dylan live at The Supper Club. No wait, that's my iPod. Phelps listens to hip-hop music on his. He says it helps motivate him before a race.

While his pre-race tracklist varies, Phelps has said that "I'm Me" by Lil' Wayne has been on his playlist in Beijing. The track, off Weezy's EP "The Leak" features the line:

Yes I am the best/and no I ain't positive I'm definite/I know the game like I'm reffing it
That's about the only lyric that's printable on a family blog.

Other artists that populate Phelps' iPod include: Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, Eminem and Outkast. (What, no 'Pac?) Occasionally, he'll throw some techno into the mix, but usually keeps things rap-centric. Phelps doesn't speak much about the specific songs he's listening to, but he did tell NBC in 2004 that Eminem's "'Til I Collapse" was on his most-played list at Athens. In 2005, he created a playlist for the website Rhapsody that included the songs "Roses" by Outkast, "Burn" by Usher, "Overnight Celebrity" by Twista and  "Smile" by G-Unit.

Mystery: solved.

The Investigative Unit takes weekends off to watch that 'Saved by the Bell' where they go to the murder mystery theater and Lisa is on it. But we'll be back Monday, so if you see a mystery that needs solving, leave a note in the comments section and we'll get to it soon.

Photo via Getty Images

Related: Olympic Mystery Solved

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2338 Comments

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  1. codybelle2002
    1. Posted by codybelle2002 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:32 pm EDT

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    So is the playlist what makes him greatness?
  2. Bailey Z
    2. Posted by Bailey Z Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:00 pm EDT

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    Talk about the honey bottle in gymnastics!
  3. Mickey D.
    3. Posted by Mickey D. Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:14 pm EDT

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    A hundred other people already answered that in the comments after the thousands of people asked it.
    Solve something a commenter hasn't already solved next time.
  4. Justin N
    4. Posted by Justin N Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    Seriously. What is up with the honey bottle in the men's All-Around gymnastics event. All these mysteries have been answered by the commentators if people actually listen into their squab-talk.
  5. Carolyn C
    5. Posted by Carolyn C Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:18 pm EDT

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    I love your blog - just found it - am emailing it to all my fellow olympaholic family & friends. thanks so much for the fun and fantastic writing and coverage ....(and btw - tal & dylan - that's my list too!)
  6. duchess
    6. Posted by duchess Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:05 pm EDT

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    He's our biggest hope for the gold
    The others like Lezak, Piersol and Lochte were great as well but Phelps has been the only consistent American in the water during the finals right when a race really matters
    He should be cloned so America can guarantee a consistent gold every four years (of course I'm kidding, but it's not really a bad idea don't you think?)
    Thanks C.Chase for answering the Ipod playlist mystery. Good to know.
  7. bandogypsys
    7. Posted by bandogypsys Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:02 pm EDT

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    Till I Collapse is a tough song. It's unfair that he gets to listen to a song that amps you up that hard right before swimming, might as well let him do roids
  8. Carolyn C
    8. Posted by Carolyn C Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:18 pm EDT

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    cloning is not a bad idea- I'm sure the Chinese are already working on - where do you think they get their never ending line up of match stick 9 yr old gynastics phenoms. LOL
  9. Msdivak
    9. Posted by Msdivak Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:29 pm EDT

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    Well thanks for solving that mystery but what I really want to know is why do some of the swimmers swish and spit, swallow, and/or splash some of the pool water on their suits right before the race. Seems kind of gross but maybe it’s for some strange purpose. Also, why do the male divers wear such teeny tiny swim suits. I definitely noticed some cheek spillage whenever they were doing dives that started with their backs to the crowd.
  10. musicgeek
    10. Posted by musicgeek Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:01 pm EDT

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    They are actually wrong about the album that "I'm Me" is on. It is not on "The Carter III" it is on "The Leak"!
  11. musicgeek
    11. Posted by musicgeek Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:01 pm EDT

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    They are actually wrong about the album that "I'm Me" is on. It is not on "The Carter III" it is on "The Leak"!
  12. michelle
    12. Posted by michelle Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:47 pm EDT

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    I also want to know why:
    they swish and spit the water into the pool?
    does michael phelps have a girl friend?
  13. Karyn R
    13. Posted by Karyn R Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:47 pm EDT

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    Here's the biggest mystery as far as I'm concerned: where is Michael Phelps' father?
    I know his mom is a single mom and raised him and his sisters alone. But where IS the father? Is he alive? Is he in Michael's life at all? Does he care that his son is the best swimmer of all time? This really perplexes me.....
  14. Tim L
    14. Posted by Tim L Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:51 pm EDT

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    New Mystery: With Nastia Liukin winning the gold last night, and her father, Valeri Liukin, being a 1988 Gold Medalist, I wonder how many Olympic Medalists had parents/grandparents/great-grandparents that were medalists?
  15. va
    15. Posted by va Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:31 pm EDT

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    PLS answer this:
    Why do those swimmers keep drinking water from that pool everyone has been. How is it supposed to help them.
    Also imo, those Chinese gynmasts are definitely underage. Their govt has the means to forge and cover up, who's gonna challenge the govt- their state controlled media??? Besides the Chinese pple who know the truth have no choice but to keep shut unless they are looking for their graves, also there's the fame that comes with success too.
    The IOC can check birth certificates and passports for all they want, how are they gonna figure out if its forged or not, its not like steroids that can be detected by testing.
    Already they are saying chinese pple look younger due to genetics, thats nonsense
  16. Mike S
    16. Posted by Mike S Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:36 pm EDT

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    While I am at it, this is becoming really redicules - Do we need THAT many swim races? 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, ..., 4x100, 4x200, ...IS THERE AN END? Just because you are good at a sport you shouldn't invent 50 chances to get a gold metal, seriously. Latest news is that:
    1. The Brazilians have insisted on expanding soccer in to 11-player, 9-player, 7-player, 5-player matches;
    2. The Thais have been pushing for adding Transexual to Men and Women divisions;
    3. The Chinese wants separation of Ping Pong events into paddle holding techniques: forehand, side-way, left-handers, right-handers;
    4. The Brits have proposed equestrian be organized to Black Horses, White Horse, Striped Horses;
    5. The Kenians are shooting for more distance races: 10,000, 11,000, 12,000, 13,000, 14,000 - wait, there is a need for 12,500 because it exercise one muscle group in the lower leg slightly differently;
    More to come.
  17. va
    17. Posted by va Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:31 pm EDT

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    if only football was an olympic sport, that would liven things up, i'm tired of seeing all those volleyball girls
  18. spectrumturbo
    18. Posted by spectrumturbo Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:35 pm EDT

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    Here's my mystery question:
    Why do swimmers wear two swim caps? Why isn't one enough?
  19. JefferyD
    19. Posted by JefferyD Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:42 pm EDT

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    Here's my mystery question, again:
    WHERE'S MARK SPITZ?
    His absence screams as loud as the Chinese gymnasts' age controversy. Come on NBC. You got Bela Karoyli for the gymnastics, why can't you get MARK SPITZ for swimming? You mention him every time Micheal Phelps enters the swimming venue.
  20. Amy
    20. Posted by Amy Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:51 pm EDT

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    I think the honey is used for extra grip-it's sticky it will stick to everything.
  21. janny
    21. Posted by janny Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:28 pm EDT

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    NBC did an extensive interview with Mark Spitz in Los Angeles. He talked about his metals and how he wished Michael Phelps would break all the records. He came off as being very polite and excited for Michael and did not talk much about his extraordinary run of metals and the records but he was enthuriastic, I mean, what is the guy supposed to do, be mad?
    No, he was a gentleman.
  22. Elizabeth C
    22. Posted by Elizabeth C Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:51 pm EDT

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    Karyn, he and his father currently don't speak. his father still lives outside baltimore, but there is some kind of bad blood between them because he says his dad has, at times, failed to attend his meets and/or congratulate him early in his career when he broke world records. it is especially unusual because as far as i know, one of the sisters, who attends the meets, lives with the father.
  23. Elizabeth C
    23. Posted by Elizabeth C Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:51 pm EDT

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    Did anyone see the end of the today show this morning? matt lauer commented on how great it was that the basketball players showed up to watch phelps, and several photos accompanied his comments. after the photos appeared, meredith viera called attention to the pictures being "interesting" but she wouldn't explain why. i rewound to look at them, but i couldn't figure out what she thought was unusual or interesting about the shots of the basketball players in the stands. any theories?
  24. Just me
    24. Posted by Just me Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:27 pm EDT

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    Mystery: Bob Costas, hairpiece or dyed?
    Mystery: Bob Costas, always that size or shrinking due to age?
    Mystery: Bob Costas, stays in studio b/c afraid of bigger, taller Chinese or particulate matter?
    Mystery: Bob Costas, brother to Rowdy Gaines? (try the Costas hairpiece on Rowdy to see for sure)
  25. Spiderbandit88 - Read the Blogs, Not the Comments
    25. Posted by Spiderbandit88 - Read the Blogs, Not the Comments Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:08 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    "What is Nastia listening to on her iPod before she started her gold-medal performance.
    Michael's playlist is gay."
    ^Agreed.

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