Olympic Legend Phelps Endures Worst Performance of his Career

It has come to the point that when spectators see that 24-year-old American swimmer Michael Phelps is competing in an event, they expect him to win every race that he competes in. However, Phelps showed that he is in fact human during the 2009 FINA/Arena World Cup where he failed to qualify for the finals in two of the three events that he participated in.

According to The Washington Post, Phelps shockingly finished 16th in heats for the 100-meter freestyle, posting a time of 47.77 seconds. Although he was disqualified in the 100-meter backstroke, his time of 52.47 seconds would have placed him in 15th. After those two races had concluded, the U.S. Olympic legend explained his thought process, stating, "Coming into the individual medley I'm 0 for 2. Let's see if I go 0 for 3 today."

Despite Phelps' rattled confidence and pessimistic perspective on his performance Tuesday night, he managed to qualify for the 100-meter individual medley in the time trials and ended up winning a bronze medal in the finals. The Associated Press is reporting that Phelps has qualified for his second final of the 2009 FINA/Arena World Cup in the 200-meter medley event on Wednesday morning.

Earlier on Wednesday, Phelps failed to qualify for the 100-meter butterfly final after coming in 11th place during trials. Most swimmers who are competing at the 2009 FINA/Arena World Cup are wearing revolutionary high-tech suits but Phelps has opted to wear traditional suits for the event.