American swimmer Luke Hobson recently shared that watching Michael Phelps compete at the Olympics inspired his dreams and goals. Hobson made his Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he won two medals.In a recent interaction with Michael Phelps’ former coach Bob Bowman, Hobson revealed that he never thought he would swim at the Olympics. He added that watching Phelps in 2012 inspired him, but he didn't see himself achieving that feat. At the 2012 London Olympics, Phelps had won a total of six medals, four gold and two silver. In a video shared by Longhorn Network on Instagram on June 26, 2025, Luke Hobson said:“Not really, not at all. I remember watching like Phelps, you Coach, obviously, in 2012 I remember watching him and kind of being inspired and thinking I enjoyed swimming, but never thought I could get to that level. And as I went through my career, it started getting a little bit more attainable, and then by the time I got to college, it was kind of kind of a goal of mine, and kind of set my eyes on 24 and super happy that it worked out." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostFrom dominating at the University of Texas, becoming a five-time NCAA champion, to winning two Olympic medals at just 22, Hobson has already made his mark. Michael Phelps also congratulated Hobson when he broke the oldest short-course meters (SCM) world record at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.Hobson recently broke Michael Phelps' U.S. Open record in the 200m freestyle at the U.S. Nationals. Hobson swam a 1:43.73 to win the race and set a new U.S. Open record, breaking the previous mark of 1:44.10 set by Phelps at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Omaha. However, Phelps still owns the fastest time ever by an American in the event with a 1:42.96 from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.Michael Phelps reflects on his world records being broken over the years2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming- Source: GettySwimming world records rarely stand for a long time, even for the 23-time Olympic gold medalist. While attending the World Aquatics Championships in 2023, Michael Phelps shared that some of the world records he had held came as a surprise.“I had the opportunity to watch a lot of my World Records fall over the years. [At one point I had half of them:] 200 free, 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM, 400 IM and three relays. When Kristof Milak broke the 200 fly world record in 2019, that shook me more than anything else – because I didn’t think that one would be broken for a while,” Phelps said via worldaquatics.com.While many of his world records have been surpassed, Phelps still shares two world records in the 4×100m and 4×200m freestyle relays.