Dec 2, 2008 5:24 pm US/Eastern
Phelps Named Top Sportsman By Sports Illustrated
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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Michael Phelps was named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated.
Sports Illustrated
Michael Phelps joined the ranks of Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods Tuesday. The Baltimore native has been named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.
The 23-year-old is the first Marylander to earn the coveted cover spot and title since Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995.
Phelps says it's hard to put into words what the honor means to him.
He is the first swimmer to receive the honor.
Tuesday's announcement propels the phenom back into the media blitz that never really died down since Phelps made history in Beijing by winning a record eight gold medals. He broke Mark Spitz's record and became the winningest Olympian ever with his 14 career victories.
There were endorsement deals and Hollywood and New York red carpets, just rewards for a guy that's been training non-stop since age 11, lap after lap, staring at a black line in the bottom of a pool at Meadowbrook Swim Club in Mount Washington.
By mid-September, the superstar hadn't been home for four months. A parade and Star Spangled Salute welcomed Phelps home, as did his beloved Ravens, but he would eventually get down to business. He and his trainer Bob Bowman have taken over the pool he spent so much time training in, hoping to turn it into a destination for elite swimmers.
The CBS show "60 Minutes" gave the country a glimpse of Phelps' new life in Baltimore, complete with a peek inside his Fells Point pad and his legendary appetite. The Baltimore Bullet admitted to Anderson Cooper he's tipping the scales at 205, the heaviest he's ever been.
He'll jump back into the pool next month, but now he's enjoying his latest well-earned title: Sportsman of the Year.
Phelps follows a more traditional winner, NFL quarterback Brett Favre. Sports Illustrated Group editor Terry McDonell called the selection of Phelps the easiest choice he has made.
McDonell says it is obvious that Phelps changed "not only swimming, but the entire Olympic landscape."
With the honors comes the dark side of notoriety. "People Magazine" reports that last week, his girlfriend, Las Vegas cocktail waitress Caroline Pal, spent Thanksgiving with the family in Towson.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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