AUGUSTA // Debbie Phelps received a lot of face time during the Olympics.
Now, in the wake of her son winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Games, she is putting out her own book to relate the experiences of a single mother raising three children, one of whom turned out to be the greatest swimmer.
In A Mother For All Seasons, to have been released late last night, Michael Phelps's mother even touches on the embarrassment of her son being photographed inhaling from a marijuana pipe after his Olympic triumph.
"Yes, it's an obstacle, a speed bump," Debbie said as she worked late at the Baltimore-area middle school where she serves as the principal. "But things happen for a reason. This is something that all parents go through in some form, it just doesn't happen to most people after your son has won eight gold medals at the Olympics."
The picture of Phelps turned up in a British tabloid on Feb 1, severely damaging the reputation of an athlete who broke Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record for the most gold medals at one Olympics. It was the second major faux pas for the swimmer, who pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge after winning six golds at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Debbie was livid when her son called with news of his drunken driving arrest, and it was another tough blow when she learned of his latest troubles. But she made sure to express her love and understanding, especially when he came under intense criticism, lost a major sponsor and received a three-month suspension from USA Swimming.
"It was difficult, very difficult," she said. "As a parent, you very much want to listen to what your children have to say, and you also hope they listen to what you have to say, too. I told him how much I loved him.
"He knows he has my support and anything he needs. A mother is always there for her children. Michael knew that, but he needed to hear it."
The swimmer was hesitant to discuss the incident at first, even with his mother. But Debbie managed to break down that barrier. "There were times when he was like, 'I don't want to talk right now'. And I would [say], 'I know you don't, but maybe we need to'," she related.
"Eventually, we were able to talk about the whole incident and process it and he was able to share with me his side."
Debbie's book is divided into 12 chapters, mirroring the months of the year and the ever-changing seasons. She writes of an idyllic childhood growing up in a small town in western Maryland, then having to deal with two traumatic blows: the untimely death of her father, and a divorce that left her a single parent raising two daughters and a son.
"My mother had no profession," she said. "When my father died, there she was. I watched her make five dollars out of one dollar, a dollar out of 10 cents. She stretched a budget. But she also taught me so much about how to embrace life: have faith, believe in God and we will get through this as a family."
Those lessons were invaluable to Debbie when her marriage fell apart. "The man I married, who was the father to my three children, he was like my knight in shining armour," Debbie said. "He was my high school sweetheart. We were together a long time. But what I found is that when you get married sometimes, instead of growing closer, you grow apart.
"That happens in a lot of marriages around the country and probably around the world. When that whole thing happened, I was surprised, I was shocked, it was not what I expected.
"Now, what do you do when something goes wrong in your life? Some people go into deep depression. They can't process the whole thing. Or you can accept it and try to move forward in your life."
Drawing on her mother's experience, Debbie made some jarring changes. She was a teacher working at a high-performing middle school, but felt more fulfilled after switching to a school where many of the students came from underprivileged backgrounds. She also returned to college to get her master's degree, which led to a new career path as a principal and school administrator.
Throughout the book, she mixes in writings from all of her children, everything from school essays to classroom papers to Phelps' childhood journal.
"When they were reading those things, they would say, 'I remember writing that'," Debbie said. "It would even take them back mentally to what they were doing when they were writing those things. Being in a college dorm. Being in so-and-so's English class.
"Life is so rich. Sometimes, people don't embrace how rich it can be. In the book, you can hear that voice. What do you do when an obstacle gets in the way? How do you overcome it? How do you embrace it?"
Those were handy lessons when dealing with Phelps's latest woes. While clearly she does not defend her son's actions, Debbie seems stung by the ferocity of the condemnation and ridicule her son faced after the infamous photograph was published. "Any time a parent's child gets belittled, it hurts, it hurts a lot," she said. "Sometimes, people are cruel."
This incident has led Debbie to a new crusade: developing programmes to help athletes cope with life after fame. She has read up on the subject and believes many athletes, after working to develop their skills for competition, find themselves unprepared to deal with the real world.
"When they've met this optimal goal, sometimes it's a hard process to come down from it," she said. "When that last event has been swum, what happens next?"
* AP
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
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Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
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Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
