"This is my 20th year in the sport. I've known swimming and that's it. I don't want to swim past age 30 if I continue after this Olympics, and come back in 2016, I'll be 31. I'm looking forward to being able to see the other side of the fence."

History

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of History as articulated by Michael Phelps. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on History provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About Michael Phelps

Michael Fred Phelps II is an American former competitive swimmer. He won more Olympic medals than any other athlete, a total of 28 medals across four Olympic Games. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Phelps tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games, held by gymnast Alexander Dityatin, by winning six gold and two bronze medals. Four years later, when he won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, he broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.

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More by Michael Phelps

"I won't predict anything historic. But nothing is impossible."

— Michael Phelps
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"It's cool just because I've had this dream of changing the sport of swimming and it's finally happening."

— Michael Phelps
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"I have reached a place in my life where I need to sit down and say, 'Well, what do I do? What's best for me?' I need to look into options for the future."

— Michael Phelps
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"Even in high school, I'd tell my mom I was sick of swimming and wanted to try to play golf. She wasn't too happy. She'd say, 'Think about this.' And I'd always end up getting back in the pool."

— Michael Phelps
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More about History

"For the past 21 years, I've been privileged to be part of an amazing organization called the International Women's Media Foundation."

— Judy Woodruff
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"The upward course of a nation's history is due in the long run to the soundness of heart of its average men and women."

— Queen Elizabeth II
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"The point of that is, if you look at Walgreen's history, they've always been pioneers in the application of technology. They're the only drugstore chain that I know to have their own satellite."

— James Collins
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"The Carter Center has the only existing international taskforce on disease eradication. Which means a total elimination of a disease on the face of the Earth. In the history of the world, there's only been one disease eradicated: smallpox. The second disease, I think, is gonna be guinea worm."

— Jimmy Carter
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