Michael Phelps’ Training Strategy Is a Blueprint for Any Kind of Success

Foreshadow failure to win big

Swimmer Michael Phelps powers along in his 200m butterfly semi finals on Day 4 of the swimming heats at the Beijing Olympics 2008 on October 14, 2008 in Beijing, China. Photo: Phil Hillyard/Newspix/Getty Images

By the sixth day of the 2008 Olympic Games, the swimmer Michael Phelps was on the cusp of making history. He’d already won three gold medals that year, and winning his next race, the 200-meter butterfly, would set him on course to become more decorated in a single Games than any other athlete…