Michael Phelps has won more gold medals (8) in a single Olympics than anyone in history. In honor of his inspiring week in Beijing, we’ve assembled a list of 8 secrets to Michael’s Olympic success:

1. Rap Music: Michael gets focused and pumped up to crush world records with the help of Outkast, Eminem, Twista, and Lil Wayne. When asked what he was listening to before medal #4 he responded,  “What did I have on today? I think I had “I’m Me, by Lil Wayne.” Swimmers regularly ‘psyche’ each other out by talking smack in the Olympic ready room, rap on his iPod keeps Michael focused and in the zone before each race.   More on Michael’s iPod selection, at: What’s on Michael’s iPod
   
2. Hating to lose: It may go without saying, but you can hate to lose and still be a good sport. Michael has said he looks for motivation in everything he can find, including losing. “Four years ago I wanted to race and I hated to lose, getting third in the 200m freestyle, and when I do lose in races like that it motivates me to swim faster.” Learn more about how Michael turns losing into winning, here.
   
3. Eating 12,000 calories per day: Phelps consumes 6x the normal adult male diet every day while maintaining 4% bodyfat. That’s a testament to an incredibly high metabolism and an insane training regimen. He says he spends most of his time eating, sleeping and swimming, but with all that food moving through him, he’s clearly leaving out pooping! See this article in The Telegraph to see the full breakdown of Michael’s diet.
   
4. Being an X-Man: There’s no getting around the fact that Michael Phelps is a real-life mutant with genetics on his side. Size 12 feet may as well be flippers, extra-long arms and a torso with short, powerful legs and a heart that pumps twice as much blood as the average man gives him the perfect design for blazing through the water. See Michael’s mutant proportions broken down in this cool video from NBC: Michael Phelps: Perfect Body
5. Using criticism as motivation: Probably the most famous quote of the ‘08 Olympics was from Frenchman, Alain Bernard  who, referring to his matchup with Phelps’ relay team said, “The Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for.” These, of course, turned out to be famous last words. Phelps explains how he used Bernard’s statement to his advantage, “This morning, Bob (Bowman) had said the French were saying some stuff, talking a little bit of trash. It fired me up more than anything else.” Knowing how Michael uses critique and trash-talk as fuel, Coach Bowman often takes newspaper clippings of competitors talking smack and puts them up in Phelps’ locker to motivate him, which leads us to #6…
6. A Coach who keeps pushing: Bob Bowman first saw Michael Phelps swim when he was 11 years old and immediately told Phelps’ mother that her son could be an Olympic champion if he chose to. Since then, Phelps’ path has been meticulously planned by his infamously intense swim coach. Michael so completely trusts Bob Bowman with his career path that at times he doesn’t even ask where it’s going. Before the U.S. Olympic trials, Phelps said, he didn’t know which events he was swimming.  “I just swim,” Phelps has said regularly. And it’s true. Bowman handles everything else. Read more about Coach Bowman in: Intense? Insane? Maybe, but Bowman is the architect of Phelps’ quest
   
7. The Speedo LZR: Many have wondered how 20 world records were set in the pool at the 2008 Olympics this year. Besides the ‘fastest’ pool ever built (waveless gutters and an unusually deep bottom). Another piece of technology that only a few swimmers had the advantage of clearly made a difference. The Speedo LZR is a revolutionary suit that decreases drag by 10%, and reduces the amount of oxygen needed by athletes by 5%. In a competition where several races were one by hundredths of a second, that’s a significant advantage. Michael was one of the few athletes to put this new supersuit to good use, see: “Debate about LZR Racer causes sizable ripple effect”
8. Heart: Even with great genes, an unforgiving coach, advanced super-fast swimsuit and a winning attitude, you can’t become the greatest Olympic champion of all time without a big heart…and I’m not talking about its blood capacity. Michael quotes his ‘imagination’ as his ability to believe what might be possible and reach for it. It’s that, combined with his insatiable passion that helps push his body beyond its natural limits and inspire his teammates to follow. Namely Jason Lezak, the 32-year-old who swam the fastest relay split in history in the above video to help Michael on his quest for 8 gold medals…it also inspired millions worldwide…we know that 66 million Americans watched Michael’s nailbiting 100 butterfly final on Friday and I know that the pool where I swim laps each day is considerably more crowded lately…people are fired up…congratulations Michael!