Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American swimmer who holds world records in several events.

Phelps has qualified to compete in eight swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and is attempting to beat Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at one Olympics, and the lifetime record of nine Olympic golds. As of August 12, 2008, Phelps has won three gold medals in Beijing, all in world record time.

Phelps moved to Ann Arbor following the 2004 Olympics when his longtime coach at the North Baltimore Athletic Club, Bob Bowman, became head coach of the University of Michigan swimming team. Phelps served as a volunteer assistant coach, but did not swim for the university's team in NCAA competition because of his loss of amateur status, having accepted endorsement money from his sponsors Speedo, Visa, Omega and PowerBar. Instead, he trained with and competed for Club Wolverine, a USA Swimming club affiliated with the university, between 2004 and 2008. The Baltimore Sun said in August 2008 that Phelps earns $5 million annually in endorsements.

During his time in Ann Arbor, Phelps was noted for his appetite; his smiling face is seen on the walls of Benny's Diner and of Prickly Pear.

More information can be found in the wikipedia entry for Michael Phelps, from which this article is derived.