The lesser-known quality of ‘relentless’ Michael Phelps praised by his 2008 Olympic teammate: ‘Life is about balance’

Watching Michael Phelps swim up close was a lesson for everyone. However, showcasing the blend of dedication and pure artistry in chlorinated pools is no easy feat. This requires a rock-solid mindset. Participating in five Olympic editions and winning 23 gold medals clearly demonstrates his support for these lines. But the price of these features is not less. This can have harmful consequences both mentally and physically. For the Flying Fish, those chances remained high.

Before competing in his last Olympics in 2016, Phelps had previously shared that he had faced such pain. However, he tried not to fall prey to such problems. That’s why he experimented in several ways. As a teammate at the Beijing Olympics, Cullen Jones noticed these routines that kept the swimmer attached to the goal without expending more of his inner soul. It’s about turning off or on.

In a recent YouTube podcast with Nick Carrier, Cullen called his former teammate a ‘relentlessly’ in the swimming pool. But the Olympic relay champion informed the host that Phelps had an idea of ​​when to switch off. “When we weren’t swimming, we were completely disengaged” said the forty-year-old. Additionally, he explained the need for this process by mentioning: “Life is about balance.” To unravel the literal meaning of these four words, Cullen used the famous quote from the film: Fight club: “‘You don’t talk about Fight Club,’ you don’t swim.”

On the contrary, the time away from the pools opened several doors for Michael Phelps. The same goes for Ryan Lochte, Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky. They immerse themselves or themselves in all types of commitments outside of sport. This avatar of these swimming champions makes Cullen Jones feel like the “normal people”. But in swimming pools, swimmers are different.

According to the Olympian, swimmers “put their doctorate, they are like fluids”, when they are or were in the swimming pools. For example, from time to time, Michael Phelps could prove unstoppable in the pools, thus taking an extra load on his shoulders. But it was a kind of ignition mode for him. Ultimately, the mental break during this process helped him continue for nearly two decades in professional swimming. Cullen praised this part of his fellow member of the historic Beijing Olympics relay team.

“He (Phelps) had a lot of balance in his life and even when he didn’t have complete balance, he created balance,” the freestyle specialist exposed in this regard. But in some cases, the Baltimore Bullet has had to break from its stop-and-go routine over the course of its career and the result hasn’t been good.

Michael Phelps accepts the negative aspects of lack of balance

The Beijing Olympics were a pivotal moment in Michael Phelps’ swimming career. He won 8 gold medals during this edition of the Olympic Games. Five of these were won as individual titles, while teaming with Cullen Jones he won the 4x100m freestyle relay event, setting the world record in the process. However, such a driven performance always requires extraordinary effort and it took Phelps six years of honing to reach this level. And the process has never been easy.

In an interview, the 39-year-old revealed: “Going six years in a row without missing a single day was because I wanted to be the best.” He finally became the best. However, the cost of corona was putting mental health at risk. And this began to pursue him when he began to win hardware at the Olympics for the first time, that is, after the Athens Games. “I can go back to 2004 and say that’s when I first experienced it. It was the first time I suffered from depression coming back from the 2004 Olympics. I suffered quite a bit from post-Olympic depression. he conceded. Additionally, it caused him to contemplate suicide. Nonetheless, Phelps benefited greatly in his later years from a comprehensive pharmaceutical regimen. This is where you have to find a balance. Isn’t it?