Q&A: Michael Phelps' family is full of athletes
The following Q&A is part of a sponsored interview that USA TODAY Sports held with swimmer Michael Phelps and his sisters, Whitney and Hilary.
Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympic athlete of all-time.
But his sisters also hold their own. Whitney Phelps will be running the upcoming ING New York City Marathon, and Hilary Phelps was a successful college swimmer.
Whitney, what inspired you to run the ING New York City Marathon™?
This is my second marathon. I ran the Baltimore marathon in 4 hours, 28 minutes and I'd like to do a lot better this time. But this is New York, I want to take in all the sights of the city and appreciate the experience. If I can do well and also enjoy the event, I'll be happy.
Whitney, does anything Michael learned competing at a world-class level transfer over to marathon training?
There is definitely crossover. They're different sports and a marathon is a lot longer. But in terms of setting goals and knowing how to pace yourself in both the length and intensity of your workouts, what you learn in the pool is something you can apply to running.
Michael, now that you're retired from swimming, what's your proudest accomplishment?
I never broke it down to individual events. It was always about the process and thinking about whether I could reach the goals I set for myself. What could I do to bring the sport of swimming to the next level? That sort of thing.
Hilary, what's it like being the sister of a famous global icon?
We get asked that a lot and the only way I know how to answer that is, he's just Michael to us. We're just like any other family who's into sports. We always went to cheer for our brother and we'll be in New York at the Marathon cheering for Whitney.
Michael, you made headlines by sinking a 153-foot putt recently. How did you do it?
Well, I was right on the edge of the green, and I have a lot more confidence in my putting game than in my wedge game. I saw the lie was pretty good and I thought I'd give it a try. The ball started rolling downhill and next thing you know the ball went in. It was pretty cool.
***
Check out our past interviews with Olympic gold medalist speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, Washington Redskins rookie QB Robert Griffin III, Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and Jared Fogle as well as NBA star Blake Griffin and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards.