Dear Michael Phelps,

Friday Finals, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 12, 2016, you and two other men finished in a three way tie for the silver medal in the 100-Meter-Butterfly, which just so happened to be the last individual race of your Olympic swimming career. Rowdy Gaines and I agree--your race was flawless, there was nothing more you could have done--but at the end of your race, I could tell by the look in your eye you were heartbroken.

Michael Phelps, thank you for maintaining such awesome composure, thanks for showing such great sportsmanship and leadership. Also thank you for smiling at the end of that race, because at that exact moment I couldn't have been any prouder to be an American athlete. It's funny because after all your wins and all your other successes, I cry and shed tears of joy, but after this race in particular I began sobbing a little bit because I realized the Olympics will never be the same without you, especially if you stick to your word this time and actually retire for good. Win or lose, you're still my hero and I appreciate all sacrifices you've made to become the greatest of all time.

Sydney, 2000

Thank you Michael Phelps for motivating me.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics I was 8-years-old. I vaguely remember you that year because swimming wasn't really my favorite sport yet and probably not that popular yet for many Team USA fans. However, I just remember seeing you on the news labeled as the youngest athlete at the Olympic Games that year and I remember thinking you looked a lot like my cousin, whom I admired and looked up to my entire life. He was really good at swimming and he was the one who encouraged me to join a small Summer League Team that year. After seeing you on TV and seeing how "cool" it was that you were an Olympic swimmer motivated me to go keep swimming and now I am a Division 1 student athlete. So I understand the brutality of the sport and all the sacrifices you have to make in order to be successful.

Athens, 2004

Thank you Michael Phelps for inspiring me.

Let's fast forward to 2006 when I was in 6th grade. By that time swimming was my favorite sport and I have developed a full-blown obsession and started to get divisional and state cuts in my age group. I was so inspired and motivated by your success in Athens, that I had posters and quotes of you hanging in my room and a special photo of you hanging in my school locker. Now as a 12-year-old girl the last thing I cared about was the way you looked in your Speedo brief; however my social-studies teacher had a problem with it and thought your TIME Magazine Cover photo was too inappropriate to be hung in my locker at school. So people made fun of me back then for being so obsessed with you and my sport but I'm sure they're not laughing anymore. Thanks for being hot but also thanks for proving to the world that swimming is cool...like really cool.

Beijing, 2008

Thank you for showing us what it's like to be a true competitor and for being so entertaining.

....Need I say more?

London, 2012

Thank you Michael Phelps for your determination, courage, and guts.

Yes this Olympics was just as epic as all the other ones. But you were dealing with your own personal demons which created a few bumps in the road. All the repercussions that you face now are just trials that make you stronger. Nobody understood what you were going through and nobody ever will. However, I will never fail to admire you because of your strength to come back. No matter what mistakes you've made in the past you continue to focus on the present and future and that is something most people do not see. Non-swimmers don't understand all the hard work and devotion this sport requires, especially when it comes to obtaining Olympic medal status. What I appreciate about you is that you continuously remind me and other fans that you are human, that we are all human; and although your talent is somewhat un-human-like, you prove that no dream is impossible if you work your ass off to reach it.

Rio, 2016

Thank you Michael Phelps for all the passion and dedication you have put into this sport and thank you for never giving up.

This Olympics was extra special for you and also for me because I got to watch the comeback of a lifetime. Two years ago around the time where you hit rock bottom, I hit rock bottom as well. I lost my identity and almost thought I was done with swimming because of what all had happened to me. I am so thankful for you because you've probably been my most influential role model since I was 8-years-old. You showed enough humility to apologize and own up to your mistakes and prove that you are more than just a swimmer. That means more to me than anything else you've done.

Michael Phelps I am so proud of you. Thank you so much for blowing away the entire swimming population but also thank you for setting a standard for all of us to aim for. Thank you for showing such great character and being such a great example to everyone in the world. Although this is the end for swimming, it is only the beginning, and I cannot wait to see what the next 4-years unfolds for you.

Thank you so much for everything MP, we are all going to miss you so much in 2020.

- Me

"Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." -Babe Ruth