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Informationen zum Autor Micah Hecht; Illustrated by Manuel Gutierrez Klappentext "Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Michael Phelps began swimming at age seven at the urging of his mom. As a young boy, Michael was brimming with energy-more energy than most other kids his age-and Mrs. Phelps thought this sport could help keep him calm and focused. As Michael grew older, his skills improved, and he transformed into one of the greatest swimmers in the world, winning twenty-eight Olympic medals"-- Leseprobe Who Is Michael Phelps? On August 15, 2008, the world’s eyes were on one man in a swimming pool in Beijing, China. Every day of the 2008 Summer Olympics had been filled with excitement. But today, an American swimmer from Maryland was taking a step to become one of the greatest athletes in history. Michael Phelps, who was twenty-three years old, stood behind lane five of the swimming pool. Reporters and athletes called the building the “Water Cube” because its walls and ceiling were made of glass panels that looked like bubbles. The view of the ceiling made you feel like you were underwater! So far that week, Michael had swum six other Olympic final races. He had finished each of those races faster than the other swimmers, taking home six gold medals. If he could win seven gold medals, he would tie former professional swimmer Mark Spitz as the athlete to win the most gold medals in one Olympics. If he could win eight gold medals, he would do something no one had ever done before! Michael stepped onto the starting block. He bent at the hips, raised his arms back behind him, and let them fall down. His arms crossed his chest with a great slapping sound. That was his signature move. It was how Michael warmed up his muscles and let the competition know who they were up against. The arm-clap sound rang out once, twice, three times throughout the Water Cube. “Take your marks.” Michael took a step forward with his left foot and gripped his hands on the edge of the starting block. Beep! The starting sound rang out. The swimmers dove into the pool. Michael could hear water whooshing by his ears. His arms were tight against his head in a streamlined dive position. He dolphin kicked to the surface. Then he started to swim the butterfly stroke. Both arms came up and over the water together, then dove back in to pull him forward. A swimmer from Serbia was in the lane next to Michael. Before the race, the swimmer had told reporters that he wanted to beat Michael. “It would be nice if historians talk about Michael Phelps winning seven gold medals and losing the eighth to some guy. I’d like to be that guy,” the other swimmer had said. Hearing this before the race made Michael want to win even more. The race was the 100-meter butterfly. At the halfway mark, Michael saw his competitor was well ahead of him. Michael picked up speed through the second half. In the final two meters, he could see the other swimmer gliding into the wall. The other swimmer’s arms extended just inches from the end of the pool. In that split second, Michael had a decision to make: He could glide into the wall and finish second. Or he could take an extra half stroke and see if it could get him to the finish faster. Even the youngest swimmers can tell you that half strokes into the finish are usually too slow. But this was a special case. To keep his dream alive, Michael brought his arms over his head one last time and touched the wall. He turned and looked at the scoreboard. Surely, he had lost the race. 1. Michael Phelps USA: 50.58 2. Milorad Cavic SRB: 50.59 He had won his seventh Olympic gold of the 2008 Summer Olympics by the smallest possible margin! He was now on his way to becoming the greatest Olympic athlete of all time! Chapter 1 A Boy Full of Energy Michael Fred Phelps II was born ...
