FILE - United States' Michael Phelps reacts after winning the silver medal in the men's 100-meter butterfly final during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
August 12, 2025 - 2:46 PM
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens got their chance to swim with Michael Phelps.
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 to 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.”
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