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Article: Michael Phelps: they call him the Baltimore bullet, and he's aiming for Athens--not to mention the record books.(Olympics 2004)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Interview
- Article date:
- August 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Brant Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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There are eerie similarities between Michael Phelps, the 19-year-old American Olympic swimming hopeful, and Mark Spitz, the winningest swimmer in any single Olympic games. They are the last two swimmers to capture the imagination of the sporting public, they both won the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete, and after the Athens games, both will have participated in Olympics overshadowed by terrorism and conflict in the Middle East.
There is, however, one important difference between the two: Spitz emerged from his Olympics as a household name, while Phelps will likely enter his as one. The son of a Maryland state trooper father and a ...