US Olympic Swimmers 2012: Swimmer Michael Phelps Admits He Got Fat
Michael Phelps who will swim seven events at the London Olympics this month, gained 25 pounds because he wasn't working out.
The Olympic swimmer admits he got fat after winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Phelps is on the cover of Details magazine for the August 2012 issue. In the interview for the cover story, the record-breaking swimmer explains how he got out of shape.
"At that point, I just didn't have anything," he explained. "It was weird going from the highest of the high, the biggest point of your life-winning eight gold medals-and then saying, 'All right, where do I go from here?' I wasn't motivated. I did nothing, literally nothing, for a long time. I gained 25 pounds. A friend of mine and I were playing football on the beach in Miami, and somebody got a picture of us and put it all over the place. And he's like, 'Bro, you gotta start working out, man. You are fat.' "
Phelps has since put himself back into great shape. The World Swimming Federation lists him today at 6'4" and 195 pounds, according to the article.
"It was a learning experience," he added. "I'm the kind of person who has to go through the learning experiences myself. Somebody could tell me, "If you eat this much you'll be fat," and I'd be like, "Yeah, okay, let me try it."
In the Details interview, he also talked about his guilty food pleasures. "I don't count calories. Whether it's Sour Patch Kids or Reese's or a bag of chips, if I feel like eating it, I'm going to eat it."
First-time U.S. Olympian Tyler Clary made remarks about the work ethic of the 14-time gold-medal-winner Phelps.
"Basically, he was a swimmer that didn't want to be there," Clary told The Press-Enterprise. "They can talk about all of these goals and plans and preparation they have. I saw it. I know. It's different. And I saw somebody that has basically been asking to get beat for the longest time."
Michael Phelps talked to Clary, his Olympic teammate, after he questioned his work ethic and isn't worried about what anyone says: "For me right now the only thing I'm worried about is myself and preparing myself to go out and represent my country and step up and wear the stars and stripes and try to swim as fast as I can," Phelps said Thursday at media day for the U.S. Olympic swimming team. "There's nothing else that needs to be said about it."
Clary, 23, made the 2012 Olympics in the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke after losing out to Phelps and Ryan Lochte in the 400 individual medley.
