Michael Phelps was upbeat, funny, honest, and full of life in Fukuoka on Monday, 15 hours after Leon Marchand of France broke his last individual world record in the 400 IM. For 45 minutes, Phelps spoke to other competitors who were utterly riveted by the intensity and truth of what he said. No subject was off limits.

Here is a bit of what he shared, in his own words:

Panic On The Big Stage 

“This is the first time I've been back to this pool since I won my first world championship gold, in 200 fly. From that event, I can remember my semifinal swim was – I freaked out about it. Franck Esposito and Tom Malchow both went 1:55.03. I went 1:56 and I had like a full-blown panic attack. My coach, Bob Bowman, basically said to me, 'No, you're prepared. Just go do what you know how to do.'

At that very moment, I felt he had confidence in me and I was able to relax. So when you get up onto the block, don't be nervous. Don't be scared. Because you've done all the work. Everything I did throughout my career – it’s not rocket science. It was work. I was working as hard as I possibly could every single day.

When You Don’t Want To Do The Work

In the 2012 London Olympics, I didn't do the work and I got the results that I deserved. I got touched out in the 200 fly. I didn't even make podium in the 400 IM and I was the world record holder. I kept those things close to my heart because I didn't want to have those feelings again. So I went to work. I didn't want to miss an opportunity; I couldn’t go back in time and get the opportunity back. That's why I always say it's important on the days where you don't want to do it, to give 10, 20, 50% toward that day. So I can take a step towards my goal. Always keep moving forward towards your goal. On days you don't feel good, make yourself do something to make your body feel better, because if your body feels better, this [pointing to his head] feels better.

When Records Get Erased

I had the opportunity to watch a lot of my World Records fall over the years. [At one point I had half of them:] 200 free, 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM, 400IM and three relays. I broke 39 world records total – 40 if you count my [159-foot longest televised] golf putt. Ian Poulter broke it by three feet in 2022. When Kristof Milak broke the 200 fly world record in 2019, that shook me more than anything else – because I didn’t think that one would be broken for a while.

But it's cool seeing the sport change. Throughout my career, I felt like it was USA versus Australia. Now, every country is showing their stuff. I'm happy to see that. Does it stink to have your records get smashed? Of course! Especially when you're watching! But my coach, Bob, is coaching Leon. I spend time with Bob almost every single day. I know the stuff [Leon] does in workout every single day. I knew that it was a matter of time before he broke it. He's scared of it last year. But 4:02 is…ridiculous.

I will tell you this: There is somebody on this planet that will break four minutes in the 400 IM. I don't know when. But I think it's possible. I'll leave it at that.

Back in 2007 I had a training partner, Erik Vendt. He was a machine, an animal in practice and he said to me, ‘Dude, you could break four minutes.’ I didn't believe him. The world record when I broke it was 4:11. I broke from 4:11 down to 4:03. I was like: Whoa, you want me to drop 12 seconds off the world record? But now you have minds that are special enough to believe they can do it. You saw one last night.

That swim, good God. I know the preparation it takes to do that. I know how hard it is to do that. I can spend 30 minutes breaking that race down. Every aspect of it was perfect. His underwaters were insane. His strokes were great. The second 50 of breaststroke, he built. And he had enough legs on freestyle to kick 15 meters off the last wall. Me and [Ian] Thorpe-y kind of brought the underwater dolphin kick to freestyle. What you see Leon doing is another level. If you ever watch that kid swim in a short course pool, I don't care how long the race is. He's pushing 12 to 15 meters off every single wall underwater. And why? Because no one else is doing it. He's the only one. Guess what? That makes him that much harder to beat.

On Confidence 

I was helping a golfer and I asked him, ‘How many golf balls do you hit each day?’ He said, ‘I don't hit golf balls every day.’ I said, ‘How do you expect to be No. 1 or win a major if you're not giving yourself the best chance?” For me, preparation is confidence. Preparation is the only way my nerves are gone.

In 2012, I was like, ‘I’m not prepared and I have to try to fake it. For me, mentally, that was challenging. The more you're prepared, the easier it is to just be like, ‘Alright, cool.’ Not laissez-faire, but you're comfortable, you’re relaxed.

I'll tell you, I go through emotional roller coasters daily. Daily. Throughout my career, I had so many people helping me be as strong as I possibly could. Physically strong, but not mentally strong.

I would shove things down SO much, all my dark feelings and the things that made me scared, because I didn't want to show vulnerability or weakness to my competitors. Once I retired, I found out I couldn't do that anymore. It's not safe. It's not healthy. So take time for yourself. If you do that, you're going to be able to achieve anything you want. Because you're happier. Like, for me, going into 2016, I spent 45 days in a treatment center and I had unloaded all of my stuff. And I just felt normal – for the first time. That was the greatest and the easiest time in my life.

One thing that helps me is having my own support team to help me when I need it most. I would encourage you all to do the same thing. If the organizations aren't doing it, take it upon yourself. Because it's important.

If you can take care of your physical well-being and your mental well-being, and you put them together, you become a superhero. Honestly! Why can't we all become our own Aquaman, Aquawoman?  I say that because that's what my kids call me. My kids call me Aquaman.

Plateaus

During my comeback, in 2015 maybe, we were at a Grand Prix, in-season, and I went like eight seconds slower than my best time in 200 butterfly. I remember going up to my coach afterwards. I said, ‘What the hell are were doing? If this is how it's going to be, I want to quit right now.’ And he said, ‘Trust the process.’ Because it's baby steps.

Another story: In 2006, I had I gone three years, without doing a best time. I think it was 200 fly. Day in and day out, I'm not getting any faster, this is frustrating, yada, yada, yada. And all of a sudden you have one breakthrough. And then you take off. At Pan Pacs, I broke the record, and broke through that barrier. For me, 2007 was probably better than 2008, to be honest, swimming-wise. That was because I had to go through those difficult times to be prepared for whatever was coming my way.

So I would say: don't give up. Please. If it's if it's inside your heart, continue chasing your dream.

There's nothing better than achieving a dream. I had the privilege to do that throughout my whole career. Sh**, now I'm gonna start crying. But it was such a long career, right? It's fun looking back. I hope you all have the opportunity when you retire, or when you stop swimming, to say you accomplished every single goal that you ever wanted to. So keep trying. Keep playing. You deserve everything that you're trying to achieve. So go out and do it. Have fun with it, too. I had fun throughout my career [except] one year: 2012. It just means I didn't get the results I wanted. But yeah, have fun.”