Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time thanks to his prowess in the pool, but did you know that the swimmer was once afraid to even go into the water? The dad of four sat down with The Today Show's Craig Melvin to discuss his project with the Baltimore Ravens, and ended up making a surprising confession.
Sitting poolside, Phelps revealed, "When I first got into the water to swim, Miss Cathy was my teacher, and I didn't want to put my face under."
"Michael Phelps was afraid of the water," the stunned host reacted.
"Yes, me, Michael Phelps, afraid to put my face into the water. But naturally, you overcome those fears based off your confidence and your comfort level in the pool."
@todayshow
Even Olympian Michael Phelps was scared of the water at first! "But naturally, you overcome those fears based off your confidence and comfort level in the pool," he further explained. Phelps put on his coaching hat for the day to give swimming lessons to players of the Baltimore Ravens - link in bio for more details. #TODAYShow
♬ original sound - TODAY Show - TODAY Show
Phelps recently joined up with the Ravens when the NFL team implored him to come give them some swimming lessons. The players confessed in a video plea to the 28-Olympic-medal-holder that one in three Ravens didn't know how to swim, and asked him to help them fix that.
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The Ravens' Kyle Hamilton and Ronnie Stanley (the players behind the viral video plea) hope that learning to swim will inspire confidence both on the field and with their fans. After all, if an NFL player can tackle an important life skill like swimming as an adult, what excuses are the rest of us making in our own lives?
And if Michael Phelps can overcome his fear of putting his face in the water to become the GOAT of swimmers, maybe we can tackle a challenge in our own lives that's holding us back.
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