Local Swimmers Thrilled To Cheer On Hometown Hero Phelps
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- As if those from Maryland didn't have enough to cheer during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, they now have another reason to be proud after Friday night's opening ceremony.
Baltimore's own Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic athlete ever, was selected as Team USA's flag bearer.
As WJZ's Tracey Leong reports, those at the Padonia Park Club in Cockesville, where Phelps grew up swimming and training, are beaming with pride and looking forward to cheering on their hometown hero.
For Phelps, known affectionately as "The Baltimore Bullet," it's his fifth and final trip to the Olympics. So far, he's already racked up a record total of 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them gold.
That distinction made him Team USA's clear choice to carry his nation's flag.
"Emotion came over me," Phelps said after he was chosen. "I probably shed a little bit of tears, just of joy. The honor and opportunity to do that is incredible."
Claire Ford, a lifeguard at Padonia Park, described Phelps as a "good role model," who "gives people in the area...a person to look up to."
Young swimmers in the area now get to train at the pool Phelps once competed in about 20 years ago, and where he set records in 1994, 1995 and 1996 -- records he still holds.
"Every kid on the swim team aspires to be like Michael Phelps," Ford told WJZ.
For Phelps, who is no stranger to competing on the global stage, these Olympics mark a first. It's the first time he's representing the United States as a father. He'll have his son, Boomer, and his fiance, Nicole, cheering him on.
Phelps is the fifth swimmer selected to carry Team USA's flag in Olympic games history.