Swimming in ink: Memorable Sun front pages featuring Michael Phelps at the Olympics
You don’t become the most decorated Olympian of all time without ubiquitous worldwide press coverage — hardware equals headlines — but we can safely say the ink chronicling hometown hero Michael Phelps in the pages of The Baltimore Sun could fill entire swimming pools. A record 22 Olympic medals, including 18 golds, will do that. Search “Michael Phelps” in The Sun’s print archives and you’ll find more than 1,500 articles mentioning him, a total which isn’t comprehensive for the newspaper and doesn’t include any website or mobile content. Ninety-nine front-page (1A) stories* have at least mentioned Phelps, though he’s obviously been the main subject of many of those. Not bad for a 27-year-old, huh?
As Phelps begins life after competitive swimming, we take a look back at The Sun’s coverage of his Olympic medal-winning races in Athens, Beijing and London, highlighting the print covers and stories.
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- 2004 Athens: 400M Individual Medley (Gold)
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- 2004 Athens: 4x100M Freestyle Relay (Bronze)
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- 2004 Athens: 200M Freestyle (Bronze)
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- 2004 Athens: 200M Butterfly (Gold), 4x200M Freestyle Relay (Gold)
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- 2004 Athens: 200M Individual Medley (Gold)
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- 2004 Athens: 100M Butterfly (Gold)
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- 2004 Athens: 4x100M Medley Relay (Gold)
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- 2008 Beijing: 400M Individual Medley (Gold)
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- 2008 Beijing: 4x100M Freestyle Relay (Gold)
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- 2008 Beijing: 200M Freestyle (Gold)
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- 2008 Beijing: 200M Butterfly (Gold), 4x200M Freestyle Relay (Gold)
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- 2008 Beijing: 200M Individual Medley (Gold)
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- 2008 Beijing: 100M Butterfly (Gold)
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- 2008 Beijing: 4x100M Medley Relay (Gold)
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- 2008 Beijing: Michael Phelps special section
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- 2012 London: 4x100M Freestyle Relay (Silver)
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- 2012 London: 200M Butterfly (Silver), 4x200M Freestyle Relay (Gold)
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- 2012 London: 200M Individual Medley (Gold)
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- 2012 London: 100M Butterfly (Gold)
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- 2012 London: 4x100M Medley Relay (Gold)
*The first Sun front-page story on Phelps, “Local swimmer, 15, headed for Olympics,” ran on Aug. 13, 2000, after “Little Phelps,” a rising sophomore at Towson High, qualified for the Sydney Games, becoming the youngest member of the U.S. men’s swim team since 1932. “‘Little Phelps’ has made a big splash in the swimming world,” reads the lede.
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Below is a breakdown of each of Phelps’ 22 Olympic medals, with links to The Sun’s print stories and covers (for the Beijing Games, instead of the daily stories, we’ve used in-depth race recaps that ran in a special section following the Olympics).
Which Phelps cover is your favorite and why?
For me, it’s a tie between the “8th Wonder” special section from the Beijing Olympics and the recent, “Amazing ride” front page from the London Games, which ran the day after Phelps broke the record for most career Olympic medals.
It certainly has been an amazing ride for Phelps, and an incredible amount of media coverage, but don’t expect the latter to end anytime soon. We’ll just have to wait and see what’s next for the former “Little Phelps.”
| OLYMPICS | RACE | MEDAL | COVERAGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 Athens | 400M Individual Medley | Gold | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2004 Athens | 4x100M Freestyle Relay | Bronze | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2004 Athens | 200M Freestyle | Bronze | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2004 Athens | 200M Butterfly | Gold | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2004 Athens | 4x200M Freestyle Relay | Gold | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2004 Athens | 200M Individual Medley | Gold | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2004 Athens | 100M Butterfly | Gold | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2004 Athens | 4x100M Medley Relay | Gold | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2008 Beijing | 400M Individual Medley | Gold | Sun recap | Print cover |
| 2008 Beijing | 4x100M Freestyle Relay | Gold | Sun recap | Print cover |
| 2008 Beijing | 200M Freestyle | Gold | Sun recap | Print cover |
| 2008 Beijing | 200M Butterfly | Gold | Sun recap | Print cover |
| 2008 Beijing | 4x200M Freestyle Relay | Gold | Sun recap | Print cover |
| 2008 Beijing | 200M Individual Medley | Gold | Sun recap | Print cover |
| 2008 Beijing | 100M Butterfly | Gold | Sun recap | Print cover |
| 2008 Beijing | 4x100M Medley Relay | Gold | Sun recap | Print cover |
| 2012 London | 4x100M Freestyle Relay | Silver | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2012 London | 200M Butterfly | Silver | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2012 London | 4x200M Freestyle Relay | Gold | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2012 London | 200M Individual Medley | Gold | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2012 London | 100M Butterfly | Gold | Sun story | Print cover |
| 2012 London | 4x100M Medley Relay | Gold | Sun story | Print cover |
ALSO SEE
The Sun’s Michael Phelps online section
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Renato Dias
Aug 13, 2012 @ 15:49:30
Thank You Michael,
In 1992, when you accidently joined swimming, you were far from predicting the changes and contributions you would bring to the sport.
Your retirement from competition in glory days, at London Olympics, clearly demonstrates that you know is your time to leave, but moreover is time for you to live.
Yes, to live!
I believe that being the most accomplished swimming athlete of all times, has required dramatic restrictions on your personal and family lives in the last sixteen years.
Consistently delivering speed, strength, and hyper competitiveness beyond limits, is certainly a kind of slavery mindset and discipline that were easily forgotten under the shinning glow of the medals.
Also here you did a quite outstanding and remarkable trade-off: an inspiration for future generations.
Have fun, move on, and keep in touch.
We will never forget you.
A Big Thanks for Everything.
Farewell Champ and Hero.