Oddly, it's almost a decade since Michael Phelps raced at his last Olympics, 2016 the time, Rio the place where he took his outer-orbit tally to 23 gold atop 28 medals. The bigger point on June 30, 2025, however, is that this is the day Debbie Phelps brought Michael into the world 40 years ago.

Many happy returns to the living legend.

His career included 39 World records, including the 200m freestyle, 100 and 200m butterfly and 200 and 400m medley. Schedules being what they are, he didn't break any of those standards on his actual birthday but the closest he got were these:

• 29/06/2003 1:57.94 200m medley Michael Phelps USA Santa Clara
• 29/06/2008 4:05.25 400m medley Michael Phelps USA - Omaha
• 04/07/2008 1:54.80 200m medley Michael Phelps USA Omaha
• 07/07/2004 4:08.41 400m medley Michael Phelps USA Long Beach

Phelps also had backstroke and breaststroke times tanked in the all-time top 10 at points in a bull run of success covering five Olympics over 16 years. Nothing in history comes close on multiple counts.

Worth, then, dipping into the archive, and recalling some of the voyage this day.

Below are extracts from an archive much deeper - but no books this day, just a look back at the making of the most outstanding Olympic career in history, a toast to the G.O.A.T and the first four decades of Michael Phelps through the lens of my goggles and, in a couple of galleries, the lens of a man who's also had his eye on the water for longer than we've known Michael, Patrick B. Kraemer: