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The youngest member of the swimming contingent, at 15, Phelps finished fifth in the only event he raced, the 200m butterfly, and vowed that the next time he went to the Games, he would not leave without a gold. "I was disappointed walking away from Sydney with nothing," he says. "People were saying [fifth is] good, and I was saying, 'No, it's not. I want more.' It's something that's been with me ever since."
Like most 19-year-olds, Phelps has stuck on his wall, in a prominent spot right next to his bed, a picture of a fit figure in a bathing suit. But this being the ultrafocused Phelps, don't expect the latest beauty from the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED swimsuit issue. Instead, it's rival Ian Crocker celebrating his world record in the 100m butterfly at the 2003 world championships--and his win over Phelps. That's the image that gets Phelps up at 6 a.m. every day and into the pool. "After losing the 100 butterfly at world's, I was even more motivated to train every day and get faster," says Phelps. "I hate to lose. I absolutely hate to lose. I can't stand it."
In a way, Phelps makes it easy for Bowman, because getting the teen to the pool to log seven miles a day, 365 days a year ("Christmas morning, I'm at the pool," notes Phelps), is never a problem. Money, malice (in the form of taunts from competitors) and missteps--"He turns anything into a reason to work harder," says Bowman. "I call him the motivation machine."
While training for the world championships last year, Phelps received an unexpected kick from Thorpe's coach, who asserted that Phelps was not in the same league as Thorpe. Bowman slipped a copy of the comment into Phelps' mailbox at the pool. His response was devastating: he broke five world records; Thorpe broke none. "It's lunacy to give Michael any ammunition whatsoever," says Olympian Gaines. "He thrives on confidence. Giving him more fuel in the way of criticism is suicidal when it comes to swimming against him."
Phelps will rely on that competitive fever, so prevalent in Sydney, for his 200m freestyle race against the Thorpedo. He is not the favorite, and it's probably his longest shot for a gold--or even a medal--against the Aussie. The two swam against each other at the world championships in the 200 individual medley, which Phelps won by 3.62 sec. But this event would be the first head-to-head freestyle race between today's two greatest swimming talents, and Phelps welcomes the challenge. "I love to race the best, and I've never faced him in the 200 freestyle," he says of Thorpe. "It's something I've always wanted to do." When Bowman suggested scratching the event from his program in Athens, Phelps said, "Absolutely not."
It will be another first--two millionaire swimmers in a duel at the pool. Can't you just see a million-dollar, winner-take-all rematch during half time at the Super Bowl? Phelps has indeed changed swimming. So, yes, Michael--we are likely to be paying attention, well beyond the Olympics.