It’s unlikely the achievements of Olympic legend Michael Phelps will ever be surpassed, leaving a legacy that will last for generations.
During a long and illustrious career, the American swimmer earned a record 28 Olympic medals - of which 23 were the coveted gold.
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Such a career required extreme dedication and sacrifice, with coach Bob Bowman revealing just how much effort his protégé put into swimming.
According to Bowman, Phelps would swim 13 kilometres a day, for six or seven days a week, and completed three gym sessions a week.
This required Phelps to consume an astonishing 8,000 to 10,000 calories every day - that's more than wrestling and Hollywood star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's infamous cheat meals.
Now 38 years old, Phelps has been away from the pool for eight years, meaning he won't be competing at Paris 2024 this summer - which is LIVE on talkSPORT in July.
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He retired from competitive swimming for a second time after the Rio 2016 Olympics, having briefly stepped back from the sport after London 2012.
After such commitment for so much of his life, it would not be surprising if Phelps is making the most of his retirement. But what exactly is he up to?
Record-breaking career
Phelps started swimming aged seven, coming under the tutelage of Bowman when he was 11. While skilled across all four strokes, Phelps specialised in the butterfly - arguably the most challenging.
He competed at his first Olympics when he was just 15 years old, becoming the youngest male athlete to represent the United States at the Games in 68 years.
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The young star finished fifth in the 200 metre butterfly at Sydney 2000, but it would be the only time he would compete at the Olympics without winning a medal.
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Phelps clinched six gold medals and two bronzes at Athens 2004, before picking up a record eight gold medals at Beijing 2008 - still the greatest ever medal haul by a single athlete at an Olympic Games.
Four gold medals and two silvers followed at London 2012, at which point Phelps announced he would be retiring from swimming.
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Despite insisting he would not return to the sport, Phelps came out of retirement in April 2014 and started to prepare for his fourth Olympic Games.
He was chosen as a flag bearer for the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony and was voted as one of the team captains for the US delegation at the Games. Phelps lived up to the billing once the action got underway, winning five gold medals and one silver.
This time, Phelps retired for good. So what does the most decorated Olympian of all time do when they step away from sport?
Life after swimming
Phelps’s first point of order after retiring was to spend more time with his family, who include wife Nicole Johnson and their four sons.
His first son was only three months old when Phelps called time on his swimming career in 2016, and he immediately made it clear his growing family was one of the key reasons behind his decision.
"I want to be there every step of the way,” Phelps said after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. “I don't want to miss a thing. I've had so many people say to me, 'You blink an eye, it's over', 'They grow up so fast', and 'Next thing you know, they're going off to college'. I don't want to miss anything."
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The Olympic icon has also taken a more active role in charity work, having set up the Michael Phelps Foundation in 2008. The organisation aims to promote healthy and active lives for children by increasing opportunities to participate in swimming, with a focus on water safety.
Phelps has continued to use his profile for good, becoming a vocal advocate for mental health support, often opening up about his struggles with depression, anxiety and ADHD while competing.
This topic was explored in depth in The Weight of Gold, a documentary released in 2020 which was produced and narrated by Phelps, and he has often delivered talks on the subject.
In the rest of his spare time, Phelps appears to play golf as often as he possibly can. He even won the Shot at Glory competition at the 2023 Phoenix Open Pro-Am competition, which tees up golf-obsessed celebrities with the PGA Tour’s top players.
His involvement in other sports also extends to football, with Phelps part of the 49ers Enterprises’ takeover of Leeds United in July 2023.
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Phelps is not the only sports star to become an investor in the Championship club – golf players Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were also involved, along with NBA star Larry Nance Jr.
Phelps has been seen showing his support for the team on social media, often kitting his sons out in Leeds United shirts.
As for swimming, Phelps has admitted he rarely enters the pool these days, but he still imparts his expertise on the sport from time to time, and provided commentary for NBC during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
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It’s likely he will be called on again for Paris 2024, showing that even in retirement it’s impossible to stray too far from swimming.
The Olympics are on talkSPORT this summer, and you can tune in via our free online streaming service at talkSPORT.com