Well before Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian in history, he was just an exceptionally talented teenager hoping to win a medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
This 2001 interview with the young swimmer recently resurfaced on Reddit. In it, he discusses his life as a teenage swimming prodigy and his experience at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he failed to medal. Though Phelps now has 22 gold medals on thanks to his Thursday night win, back then his goal was to "just get faster."
That, and to get his learner's permit.
