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Olympic champion Michael Phelps announced this morning that he will give back some of the $1 million bonus he earned from Speedo when he tied Mark Spitz's 36-year record of seven gold medals in a single Games.
He won't be giving it back to Speedo. He'll be using it to start a foundation that will promote swimming for children.
Michael told "Today Show" host Matt Lauer that he'll go to eight U.S. cities to jump-start his new organization.
Michael spent part of his Labor Day weekend swimming with kids at New York's 14th Street YMCA and teaching them some tricks that could help them become champions.
He also presented the Y with a $20,000 check from Visa to support youth swimming programs.
The Daily News reports:
"I was speechless," Valentina Monroy, 16, said moments after she received a pep talk from the human fish at the YMCA of Greater New York. "It was amazing."
The 23-year-old aquatic maestro's every movement inside the Y's pool brought choruses of "oohs" and "ahs" from the children in the water and the buoyant crowd gathered above.
After diving in and swimming nearly its length underwater, Phelps, the 14-time gold medalist, spoke to a group of the pint-sized swimmers.
"Meeting him was like waking up from a dream and finding out it's real," Erica Flear, 9.
The Manhattan girl said Phelps imparted two important lessons to her and her fellow swimmers.
"Try to hold your breath as much as possible and don't give up," she said.
Michael Phelps is proving that he's a true champion, in life as well as in the pool.
More photos:
[Photos: AP]
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