Working the first two of Michael Phelps' five Olympiads, while Eminem served as his soundtrack, I always felt the urge to reference the above lines from the modern bard, because Phelps so confounded them.
He entered our consciousness in 2000 as America's youngest male Olympian in more than a half century. He was 16 when he became a professional pitchman, 18 when he asserted himself as the best all-around swimmer ever and 23 when he won an unprecedented eight gold medals at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Now he is poised to claim another five or even six gold medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
He has always been able to do what's never been done, win what's never been won.
And now, at long last, he's got a life, too.
