Phelps said many children are like him, who are afraid of water, and that a non-profit initiative started by him a decade ago has so far taught 30,000 children about swimming.
Belgium set up an intriguing men's Olympic hockey final against Argentina after they dumped out the world's second-ranked team the Netherlands with a resounding 3-1 semi-final victory on Tuesday.
Virtually assured of a quarterfinal spot after their morale-boosting win against Argentina, a buoyant India will face world number two side the Netherlands in a tough pool B clash in the Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. After a close 3-2 win over Ireland in their opening match, India suffered a disappointing 1-2 loss against the reigning Olympic champions Germany but bounced back to notch up a 2-1 win against Argentina to remain among the top four in the six-team pool. The target now will be to finish the league stages as high as possible in the points table so as to avoid the world number one Australia in the last eight fixture.
Not even Usain Bolt could overcome a big American lead as the US men sprinted to a convincing victory over Jamaica in the 4x100 metres relay at the IAAF World Relays in Nassau on Saturday.
These images from across the globe tell us how crazy the world out there is!
Tickets for matches in Brasilia have already been on sale for months and it remains unclear how fans, many of whom may have bought flights and booked hotels, would be reimbursed
This year Olympic Games could feature an athletics programme without two of the sport's most powerful nations -- Russia and Kenya -- while a third, Ethiopia, is under immense pressure to show it has adequate anti-doping measures.
Rediff.com brings you a selection of images of fans taking to the field of play to make a point or gain attention.
"The comparison? I see still Ayrton winning the game because in the end Ayrton was such a charming guy and a personality. And obviously if someone loses his life and stays with us in the way of a legend, it's always something special. But I try to see it from a performance point and from a performance point, Lewis is going from one pole position to the next one and Lewis is going from one race win to the next one. Just like Ayrton did."
The Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) said on Monday four athletes had tested positive at the Russian Winter Indoor Athletics Championships in February.
Authorities in Kentucky have charged three men, including a father and son, in connection with the shooting death of Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay's 15-year-old daughter outside a restaurant over the weekend, police said.
Pope Francis has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2013.
Real Madrid will welcome back the added firepower of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and striker Karim Benzema when they entertain promoted Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday.
The decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), imposed a four-year ban on Russia participating in a range of top-flight sporting tournaments, a period covering the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2022 soccer World Cup.
If the Puja as a brand can be marketed more effectively outside Bengal, even overseas, it might do wonders for the economy, says Atanu Biswas.
Russia is banned from competing for their country due to an alleged state-backed doping scheme, but the International Olympics Committee (IOC) has allowed it to send so-called neutral athletes who have no history of drugs-cheating.
Senior journalist Darryl D'Monte reports exclusively for Rediff.com from Paris.
Russian track and field athletes look certain to miss out on this year's world championships after an IAAF task force recommended on Monday that the country's ban should run until November.
Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Mandeep Jangra took just over a minute to force his rival out of the contest with a bloodied face and book a pre-quarterfinal berth in the Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok.
'We are now able to confirm a cover up that dates back until at least 2011 and continued after the Sochi Olympic Games. It was a cover up that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an institutionalised and disciplined medal-winning conspiracy'
Barcelona forward Neymar finds himself at the centre of unwanted media attention in Spain as his struggling team's promising season threatens to unravel after a run of defeats. The Brazilian has not scored in his last five games and is being portrayed as one of the reasons for Barca's woes after three straight La Liga losses has seen them caught by Atletico Madrid, who have also knocked them out of the Champions League. Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia this week focused on the 24-year-old's conduct off the pitch, particularly his "trips away, parties at unadvisable times and commercial commitments". He visited Brazil in March for his sister's birthday party. TV programme 'El Dia Despues (The Day After) on Tuesday showed Neymar arguing with Jordi Ala during Sunday's home defeat by Valencia after the defender chose not to pass to him. Camera footage showed Neymar appearing to swear at his team mate. Barcelona play Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday looking to get their title bid back on track with the cover of newspaper Mundo Deportivo focusing on Neymar, pictured between Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, below the headline 'This cannot go on'.
The 72-year-old master strategist ensured that the Congress's internal conflict ended and took on the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shivraj Singh Chouhan -- the state's longest ever serving chief minister.
The United States Olympic Committee told US sports federations that athletes and staff concerned for their health over the Zika virus should consider not going to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in August.
Olympic bronze medallist Gagan Narang on what made him start the Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation way back in 2011 when he himself in the midst of his own shooting career.
India chief coach Roelant Oltmans today said two yellow cards hurt the team badly and that resulted in its 1-2 loss to the Netherlands in a pool B men's hockey match at the Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. "We were on the attacking side until we got two yellow cards, which was a gamechanger. You had to fight with one or two less. That's not only difficult to score a goal but it also took away a lot of energy from the players that I'm not happy about it," Oltmans said.
Swimming authorities need to increase the number of doping tests to preserve the sport's credibility and stop fans turning away according to Britain's triple world champion and double world record holder Adam Peaty.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Rafa Nadal's bid to get back to top form before the French Open suffered a setback when he crashed to a 6-4, 7-6(6) defeat to 13th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini in the third round of the Barcelona Open on Thursday.
Martina Hingis has no plans of returning to play singles on the women's tour after a courageous performance in a Fed Cup defeat by Agnieszka Radwanska in Zielona Gora, Poland, on Saturday in her first major match in eight years.
An early goal from Lautaro Martinez and a late second from Sergio Aguero gave Argentina a 2-0 win over Qatar on Sunday, a deserved victory that takes them into the Copa America quarter-finals.
World number one Rafael Nadal recovered from an upset loss against Belgium's David Goffin to win the deciding doubles match and send Spain into the semi-final of the ATP Cup teams event in Sydney in the early hours of Saturday. Spain will now play host nation Australia in the inaugural event, while Serbia, led by world number two Novak Djokovic, take on Russia.
One win away from assuring themselves of an Olympic medal, Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna, on Friday, said they would have to keep their emotions aside and start afresh when they play the semi-finals, in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday.
Former England captain John Terry will not be brought of international retirement to play at this year's World Cup finals in Brazil, manager Roy Hodgson said on Wednesday
Images from Day 5 of the Wimbledon tennis championships played in London, on Friday.
One of Brazil's largest builders, Andrade Gutierrez, will confess to paying bribes for 2014 FIFA World Cup contracts and business with state-run companies Petrobras and Eletrobras, a newspaper report said on Friday.
The two new markets are overwhelmingly dominated by US ride-hailing giant Uber, which has been able to edge out local start-ups
Dozens of fans fought a savage battle on the terraces at a Brazilian championship match on Sunday, interrupting play for more than one hour and leaving at least three people reportedly hospitalised in serious condition.
The United States will bid for the 2024 Olympics, seeking to host the Summer Games for the first time since 1996.
Chile have never beaten Argentina in open play in 27 Copa America meetings in 100 years yet have twice in 12 months dashed the hopes of Lionel Messi's team of lifting a major trophy.
Rediff.com brings you some images of the Mahatma's statues erected around the globe.
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