Scholastic News Kids Press Corps Blog: Meeting My Role Model

Meeting My Role Model

Set goals, work hard, says Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps. I'm listening!

As a swimmer, I was really excited when I was assigned to interview Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps. More fish, than man, Phelps is definitely one of my role models.

Michael gave an inspiring speech for the students at Wiley Middle School in Leander, Texas, on Tuesday. He told them to dream big and set their goals even bigger.

It was very motivating to meet such a great athlete, especially one currently working on fulfilling his own dreams. It made me realize that it is possible to accomplish whatever I want if I work hard.

I have been swimming competitively for only about six months, but every day I can’t wait to go to swim practice.

I first swam on the summer swim team, the Marble Falls Eels. Now, I swim on the Hill Country Aquatics Team in Burnet, Texas.

I swim in a lot of events, but the 50-yard butterfly is my favorite. The butterfly is a challenging stroke, which is why I like it. I found out it is Michael’s favorite stroke, too.

I haven’t been swimming for very long, but I’m doing fairly well. Recently, I received first place in the 50-yard freestyle (American Crawl) and the 50-yard breaststroke.

Just like Michael Phelps, I have a goal for swimming, but I don’t want to tell anyone what it is. If I do tell then my competitors will know what they have to do to beat me in the next meet.

Only one other person knows my goal and that is my coach. Michael doesn’t reveal his goals and I don’t either. Speaking of goals, I need to get to work on mine. I’m off to swim practice right now!

—Shelby Fairleigh

PHOTO: Michael Phelps talks to middle school students in Leander, Texas, about how to set goals and meet them. (Photo courtesy Scholastic)