Sep 4, 2008 5:24 pm US/Pacific
Olympic Champ Phelps Promotes Swim Programs In SF
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―
Olympic champion Michael Phelps was in San Francisco Thursday to promote his sport among Bay Area children, and sat down for an exclusive interview with CBS 5's Roberta Gonzales.
Back in November 2007, Michael Phelps and the Hilton Hotels kicked off the "Hilton Swim To Beijing Relay".
This consisted of children from the Boys and Girls Club and local YMCA swim programs, swimming 6,250 laps. This distance represents the mileage between San Francisco and Beijing.
In November, Michael swam the first lap - in San Francisco I swam with local kids. Michael completed the relay with the final lap in Beijing during the Olympics.
Michael returned to San Francisco Thursday to make a sizable monetary contribution to the Boys and Girls Club and continue his Swim Education Outreach Program. San Francisco is one of eight cities he is visiting during his US tour. I spoke with Phelps about his experiences Pre- and Post-Olympics in an exclusive Bay Area interview.
In this 30 minute interview, you will hear Michael discuss his goal of elevating Swimming to the same level that his Sports Idol Michael Jordan has done for Basketball. He also hopes to bring recognition to the sport of Swimming, as Lance Armstrong has done for Cycling and Tiger Woods has done for Golf.
And you will hear when Michael Phelps, 8-time Gold Medal Olympic Champion, plans on retiring.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
