(L-R) Michael Phelps, Boomer, Nicole and Beckett attending the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports 2018 on July 19, 2018 in Santa Monica, California.
The Phelps family now has a full men’s relay team.
Twenty-three-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps and his wife Nicole announced on social media Wednesday the birth of their third son, Maverick, on Sept. 9.
“We welcomed Maverick Nicolas Phelps into the world on 9/9/19 at 36 weeks and 2 days,” Nicole Phelps wrote on Instagram. “Our lil big man was 6lb 5o and 20 (inches). He instantly has stolen all of our hearts and keeps me an ecstatic mommy of boys.”
Maverick joins older brothers Boomer (born in 2016) and Beckett (born in 2018). Their parents were married in June 2016 after dating for several years, having met at the ESPY Awards in 2007. Nicole Phelps — née Johnson — is a former Miss California.
With 28 career medals, Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time, and also holds the record for most career gold medals and most gold medals at a single Olympic Games when he won eight in 2008. Phelps is also a 26-time world champion and set 39 world records in his career.
Phelps made his debut as a 15-year-old at the Olympic Games Sydney 2000, the only Games of his career in which he did not medal. He went on to compete in four more Games, retiring from competitive swimming following the Rio Games in 2016. Though still only 34, Phelps has routinely quashed the idea of a 2020 comeback.
With the latest addition to the family, the greatest swimmer of all time will have plenty else to keep him busy.
Todd Kortemeier is a sportswriter, editor and children’s book author from Minneapolis. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
