Phelps Endorses NYC Swimming Cause for Visa

Olympics multi-gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps made an appearance at a Manhattan YMCA yesterday to endorse a swimming program for second graders and present a check on behalf of Visa.

In one of his first public appearances since returning to the U.S. this week, Phelps presented a $20,000 check from Visa to the YMCA of Greater New York toward buying new swimming equipment and building family swimming facilities in Brooklyn and Queens.

A relaxed Phelps, wearing a blue shirt bearing the Visa name, said it was a cause second only to the Beijing mission that earned him eight gold medals: “Today is going to be a fun start for my goal outside the pool, to raise the bar and get more people involved in the sport of swimming.”

He recounted how his now-famous mother, Deborah, started his swimming career with water safety lessons at age 7. And he noted that accidental drowning is a “big problem” in the U.S.

“I fell in love with the sport,” he said, recalling his earliest pool experiences. “There were times when I wanted to stop. But I had certain goals I wanted to achieve.”

The goal of the YMCA with its 2^nd Grade Swim Program is to teach the grade schoolers water safety skills as a part of their curriculum. The program, launched by the New York City Board of Education this year, also aims “to give children healthy habits for a lifetime,” as YMCA representative Michael Spezzano put it.

More than 2,000 second graders participated in the program this year.

Visa President Hans Morris said the “common thread” for Olympics swimmers is that, “They were all able to have access to that space which ultimately led to an Olympics gold medal.”

Phelps gleefully mentioned that he had access to a hot dog and a pretzel for lunch on his way to the YMCA. He said it was “a good feeling” to be back in the U.S. and said he was looking forward to seeing his dog.

He spoke warmly of the support he had received in his quest for gold from Mark Spitz, the man whose seven-medal Olympic gold record be broke and said it would be an “interesting” race if the two could face off in their prime.

He used that same word to describe his expectations of his guest host role on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” tomorrow night. “I certainly hope I’m not literally going to be a fish out of water.”

Shortly after his press conference, Phelps was in his swimsuit, cap and goggles and looking like the renowned aquaman he is, swimming laps and interacting with a visibly excited group of second graders in the McBurney YMCA pool.

Meanwhile, Visa’s Morris said his company is contemplating other causes they can work on with their gold medal sponsee: “We want to see what else we can do together.”