Baltimore Ravens swim with Michael Phelps, get lessons from the Olympic champion
A couple of weeks after players shot video asking the 23-time Olympic champion — and Baltimore native — for swimming lessons, Phelps showed up at practice Tuesday. Then the team posted video of players swimming and diving — or at least leaping off diving boards — at nearby Loyola University.
In one video posted by a reporter for the team's website, Phelps let everyone else have a significant head start before diving in and racing them. At least some of them did beat him in the end.
Phelps also toured the smaller pools at the Ravens' facility, and he spoke to the team on the practice field along with former Ravens star Ray Lewis.
"I'm not going to say I'm a big swimming fan, but I know Michael Phelps," defensive coordinator Zach Orr said. "I think it was neat having him and Ray come talk to us, because the message was the same. That's one thing you notice when you listen to the greats. When you study the greats, you wonder, 'How do they do such great things in the highest tense moments?' And it all leads back to the work that nobody sees, and that's what Michael Phelps talked about. Ray talked about preparation. Michael Phelps talked about preparation as well."
Michael Phelps, a former competitive swimmer, has 28 Olympic medals, including 23 gold medals. He is known as one of the greatest Olympians ever.
At one point, he was the world record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, and 400-meter individual medley.
Phelps was born in Baltimore and grew up in Towson. He graduated from Towson High School before his Olympic fame.
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