The most decorated Olympian in history is diving into a new kind of team sport.
Michael Phelps, the 23-time Olympic gold medallist, has agreed to help members of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens improve their swimming skills after the team reached out to the swimming icon via social media.
Phelps, a Baltimore native and lifelong Ravens fan, responded to a lighthearted video posted on Tuesday (29 July) by Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who appealed to Phelps for assistance after revealing that a third of the team’s players don’t know how to swim.
In the video, Humphrey, along with teammates Ronnie Stanley, Kyle Hamilton, and Charlie Kolar, took to the team’s new training facility pool, jokingly demonstrating their swimming form while lining up and diving side to side in shallow water.
Humphrey captioned the clip on Instagram: “We got a problem that only @m_phelps00 can fix! From the #RavensAquaticsTeam.”
Less than 24 hours later, Phelps responded enthusiastically: “I got y’all!!! Let’s do it!!”
While the moment sparked widespread laughter online, tight end Charlie Kolar admitted he hadn’t expected the post to go public.
“I thought Marlon was just going to send it to Phelps directly,” Kolar said on Wednesday. “I should’ve known better.”