Advice From Michael Phelps The Motivation Behind Cody Simpson's Olympic Swimming Dream

When it comes to swimming at the Olympic Games, there's no one more experienced (and decorated) than Michael Phelps.

So when the 28-time medallist gives you some special advice, you better listen.

And to be fair to Cody Simpson, that's exactly what he's done.

It has been revealed that the motivation behind the Australian pop star's Olympics push was swimming legend Michael Phelps and some genius advice he dished out free of charge.

Simpson recently announced that he had qualified for the Olympic swimming trials for the 100-metre butterfly stroke after training in secret for five months.

But it turns out the 23-year-old, who is most famous for bursting onto the music scene as a fresh-faced teenager, actually spoke to American icon Phelps during his preparation.

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And the record holder for the most Olympic gold medals in history had some pretty genius advice for the budding young Aussie.

"Our goal is to be as fast as we can possibly be this year and just keep building on that," Simpson's trainer Brett Hawke told told Afternoon Sport.

"He's looking at this as a four-year plan, he's committed to four years.

"He had a conversation with Michael Phelps who told him, 'You can't do anything in under four years, you've got to commit to that' so he said, 'OK, I'll agree to that, I'll give it four years'.

"He's looking from the age of 23-27 here and that's prime athletic age for anybody.

"I think that's the best chance he'll have, to make an Olympic team four years from now.

"We're not putting any limits on where we're going with this, but at the same time we're not telling people, 'This is the goal'.

"We want to get better every day and see where it takes us."

So if you thought this was all just a big publicity stunt, then think again.

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It appears Simpson and his trainer are very serious about getting to the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.

And it they adopt the four-year plan set out by Phelps, success in next year's Games could even land Simpson in the Australian team for 2024.

Topics: olympics, Aussie, Michael Phelps, swimming, Australia

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry