Michael Phelps and me
How many of us know what sort of person we would become if we were in the position of Michael Phelps - or Tiger Woods for that matter - with people screaming your name everywhere you go?
Would you stay grounded? Would you even be able to stay focused on your job? Most of us can only imagine what it would be like to be that well known and have our every move examined by the media and the public.
Phelps and I had our first chat in 2000. I was in Seattle for the US nationals to take on the American Tom Malchow, the number one in the world on my event the 200 butterfly.
It was here after winning the race I met a baby-faced Phelps. He was in the warm-down pool and asked me what time I'd done. I thought he had just watched the race but it turned out the 14-year-old with the spotty face and a mouth full of braces had just come within a second of me and Malchow - both aged 23 and in our prime!
Parry (right) took 200m butterfly bronze behind Takashi Yamamoto of Japan and Phelps in Athens in 2004
He said right there and then he wanted to win the Olympics, which I thought was a little cocky for a lad of his age.
I knew he had phenomenal talent but doubted he could rival the achievements of the Australian superstar Ian Thorpe. Yet at barely 15, he beat me at the Sydney Olympics and by 16 he was world record holder on the event. Since then he has kept on re-writing the record books.
The swimming world was shocked in 2004 when - 10 weeks after winning an unbelievable six gold medals at the Athens Olympics - a 19-year-old Michael was caught drink driving.
At the time I thought it was hugely refreshing. Of course we don't want to encourage anyone to follow that example but it showed his human side; he wasn't just an aquatic android!
Before his brush with the law I doubted if Phelps even had a social life at all. I doubted if he had friends, to be honest and a girlfriend must have been out of the question!
How would a guy who trained seven days a week and was famed for not taking a day off in years have time for anything but eating, training and sleeping?
When Phelps and I raced in the 200 butterfly at the Athens Olympics, the event was just one of eight he swam that week but to me it was my world.
Coming down the last length we were level with 40 metres to go. With tingles down my spine and goosebumps all over my body I thought I was going to win. But the master just turned it on with 25 metres to go and I watched the Olympic flag on his cap move ahead. It meant bronze for me but gold number three for him.
As I was milking the media attention for all it was worth, Phelps was ushered off to get ready for his next event, the 4x200m relay.
His physiology is brilliant and his frame perfect for a swimmer but it is his unique ability to be able to focus on the immediate task that sets him apart.
My emotions took days to bring back under control after winning that a bronze: this guy won his second gold of the day 30 minutes later!
Although I had experienced what it was like to be Phelps' competitor in 2004, it wasn't until four years later that I realised what it was like to be him.
I was with BBC Radio 5 live in Beijing covering the swimming and as the story was developing we decided to take the Phelpsomitor (a cardboard cut out of Phelps!) down to Tiananmen Square to find out what the Chinese people thought made him so good.
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As I was doing my first piece to camera lots of Chinese people started to point in my direction. The big ears and 6ft 4in frame was enough to convince the crowd that I was in fact Phelps.
Unfortunately the BBC cameras caught the moment I was mistaken for him and the piece ended up being broadcast around the world.
The hysteria the crowd showed towards me was simply scary. They pulled at my clothes, wanted kisses, all tried to grab my hands and incessantly shouted "Phelps Phelps".
I got a very rare insight into what it must be like to be him. I'd say he handles it all extremely well! 15 minutes in his shoes was enough for a lifetime.
I regularly interview Phelps for the BBC and love his composure and honesty.
He always says what's on his mind and over the years has become more laid back.
Only he and his coach know what they are setting out to achieve from one year to the next. He always talks about his 'goals' but never lets us know what they are.
With 14 Olympic gold medals in the bag he says he wants to mix it up a bit now for London. Will he manage to take his total to 20 in events he has never competed in at that level before?
For this superstar, I think I'd probably have to say yes.
Phelps is in action at this weekend's
I'm Steve Parry. I won an Olympic bronze medal in Athens and I'll be aiming to give you an insight into the world of swimming as well as all the other Olympic sports.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~37~RS~)
Comments
Very enjoyable piece, thanks. You've given great insight, which is not always the case with the BBC Sport blogs.
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Nice to see a blog written by the sportsman. Apart from one or two footballers there is lot of rubbish written in blogs, this was informative, insightful and frankly fascinating. For all his hard work and dedication he will however never reach the heights of stardom and reward that Beckham gets which just goes to show how unjust the world is.
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collie21, there are plenty of footballers that reach stardom without much dedication or hard work, but to throw that accusation at Beckham is a little unfair. By all accounts he is as dedicated as they come and he competes at the top level of a major global sport.
Phelps is the greatest swimmer to ever live, but swimming will never have the same presence as football. If Phelps wanted the Beckham level of stardom, and I suspect he doesn't, he chose the wrong sport.
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Good piece. As much as anything else it brings home how tough it must be for Phelps to swim multiple events, constantly taking on others who are focused on just one.
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Great Blog Steve, as mentioned above, fantastic to get a good blog from a top-level sportsman, no disrespect to other contributors of course, but the extra insight is always fantastic.
What do you reckon... 100/200 Free double at London 2012? Surely all the big guys dominating the 100 now won't be able to compete with Phelps when the suits aren't holding up their massive frames anymore?! Has he got a shot if he goes back to competing in backstroke as per pre Athens? The options are almost limitless.
Does anybody else not think if he'd dedicated himself to 400free he could of set an absolutely unbeatable record in that? Looking at his 400I.M and the back end of his 200 free I can't help but thinking we all missed out on something special there when he decided to focus on shorter distances??
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Nothing about the bong incident then...?
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Fascinating insight Steve. Really interesting stuff.
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Good blog Steve. I remember the cut out feature.....highly amusing!! The scary thing is that if Phelps only wins 5 golds at London 2012, he'll be disappointed!
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Great blog Steve. I love it when you interview the swimmers as you used to be one yourself. And yeah i agree with Kpeanuts42. I think Phelps could be really good at 400 free if he put his mind to It. He shows the stamina in his 400IM and stroke in the 200 free. He hates anything more than 200s though. He isn't doing the 400IM in London.
I'm not sure about the 100 free. He was only third in Macnhester this week and that wasn't even worldwide. I'm not sure he has the speed on free to do 100s...
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