Written by Giavanna Foster

Michael Phelps received this year’s Legend Award at the Kids Choice Sports Awards. Here’s the scoop:

As Michael Phelps walked to the stage, he was named the “most decorated Olympian of all time”. With 23 Olympic gold medals and 16 Olympic medals in individual events, Phelps has set new all-time records. Phelps is an 11-time American Swimmer of the Year Award champion and 8-time World Swimmer of the Year Award winner. He joins Aaron Rodgers and Stephen Curry in the list of Associated Press Athlete of the Year winners.

In addition, Michael Phelps is also a philanthropist. He founded the Michael Phelps Foundation, which aims to educate children about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle while expanding opportunities to participate in the sport of swimming. Read more information here. He recently joined the board of Medibio, which focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders.

During Phelps’ speech, he reflected on his journey as an aspiring Olympian swimmer. As a child, Phelps had a fear of the water. He developed a deep passion for swimming and practiced regularly. Onstage, Phelps talked about the key ingredients of success before encouraging everyone to dream big and work towards accomplishing their goals.

“I wanted to do something that nobody else had done before, and thankfully, with a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication, some sacrifice, and a little bit of luck, I was able to do it. To be honest, I still really haven’t been able to fully process everything. […] Personally, I’ve been able to be very fortunate to have such a great support system around me who has helped me grow as an individual,” Phelps said. Click here to watch the full speech.

 

To read about the complete list of KCS winners, visit artsnla.com.