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The Olympics is where the best athletes in the world showcase their talents, and it’s an accomplishment just to make it to the games. To win a medal, especially a gold one, though, that takes an elite talent. In the history of the Olympics, no athlete has found themselves at the top of the podium more than swimmer Michael Phelps, who took home 28 total medals over his Olympic career. Now retired from swimming, Phelps is still an ambassador to the sport, and the most well-known name in its history.

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Phelps was born on June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland, spending much of his youth in the area. From just about the day he was born, Phelps was a child with a lot of energy and didn’t know where to expend that energy. From the advice of his family, Phelps took up swimming, and he ended up being much better at it than he had expected. Because of this, Phelps started to turn heads as he was dominating those in his age group, setting records left and right. By the time he was a teenager, Phelps was already one of the fastest swimmers in the world and had qualified for the United States team in the 2000 Summer Olympics. Though he didn’t make it to the podium, the swimming world was put on notice.

After showing more improvement in the that followed his first his first Olympics, Phelps was considered to be a favorite for many of the swimming events at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. He certainly didn’t disappoint, either, as Pehlps had won a whopping six gold medals and two bronze medals, making the expectations for the future even higher.

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Phelps continued to crush his competition and was setting world record by the time the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China came. That year, Phelps won the gold medal in every race that he participated in, earning eight of them in total. Phelps added more gold medals to his accolades at the 2012 Olympics in London, England, as well, with four wins in his races, as well as a pair of silver medals.

Afterward, Phelps said that he was retiring from swimming. He seemed very adamant about his retirement, too, saying that “I just wanted to be done with swimming and didn’t want anything to do with the sport anymore.” However, in 2014, Phelps relieved a lot of fans when he said that he’d be making a comeback with his eyes on the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. During the game, Phelps won five gold medals in his six races, and had a silver medal in the other to give him a record 28 total medals and 23 golds.

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Phelps said once again following the 2016 Olympics that he was going back into retirement. “I am done, boys,” he said to his teammates before his final race. ‘I’m just ready for something different,” Phelps said. “My swimming career might be over, but I have the future ahead of me to turn the page and start whenever I want. It’s not the end of a career, it’s the beginning of a new journey.”

The man who holds 39 world records in swimming had just gotten married at the time of the Olympics to pageant winner Nicole Johnson. They’ve had two children together with sons that were born in 2016 and 2018. Family is what Phelps said he wanted to focus on after retiring, but was still working out at an Olympic level, meaning that there were many expecting a return. Phelps said, however, that “For me, I think the biggest thing is just knowing that for me to be the best husband, the best dad, the hardest worker, I need to work out. And it’s something that I have to do at least five or six times a week.”

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He didn’t completely rule out a comeback at the same time, though. “The true test will be, if I do end up going over to the world (championships), do I have that itch again?” Adding that “I’m having so many amazing experience, so many cool experiences with my family. I don’t see myself making a comeback. I have no desire right now to do it...I have a lot of things I now want to accomplish. I’m realizing that more and more.”

Olympic athletes don’t make much money from sports alone. Phelps did earn himself some nice paydays as gold medals are worth just under $40,000 a piece, and he has plenty of them. What has helped Phelps become a multi-millionaire is the large amount of endorsements that he’s had during and after his career. Companies like Under Armour and Wheaties have used Phelps as a spokesman with big contracts attached, and he continues to be a significant figure for athletic-based advertisements.

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Of course, with all of his Olympic success, many people have been curious to know if he was planning to come out of retirement to compete at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. “Don’t ask me that question,” he said with a laugh. But, there are no plans to return to the pool to compete on a global level again.

“I’m focusing on issues that are very near and dear to my heart,” Phelps said of his current life. “A healthy, active lifestyle, water safety, and broadening the mental health discussion. These are the things that get me excited to get out of bed every day.” As for the advice that he’d give to those that are trying to follow in his footsteps, Phelps says that “Never give up is kind of what defines my career in a nutshell.”