Louder, funnier, needier: Olympic parents

Meanwhile, Phelps’s mother Debbie ” who staged a legendaryparental performance poolside at the 2008 Beijing Olympics ” provided cruelamusement during the same race by mistakenly celebrating her son’s 15th gold. Avideo shows her doing a pop-eyed double take after being informed he was bestedby Le Clos. The pool and trackside outbursts often provide crucial releases forparents who have invested large parts of their lives in the sporting fortunesof their children, Cundy explains. “It’s very difficult to describe to someonewho has never experienced it, but we’ve been there through the triumphs anddisappointments, so there are a lot of pent up feelings to release,” she says.“These will be our fifth games and they’re going to be the worst. I’m tryingnot to think about it because I feel physically sick when I do.”

But not all parental attention is welcome. Carrie Sheinberg,a US skier who competed in the slalom at the 1994 Winter Olympics inLillehammer, Norway, says she appreciated her parents’ hands-off approach afterwitnessing the obsessiveness of others. Cundy agrees. “The support of familyand friends is 50 percent of it at least, but ultimately it has to be down tohim and his talent and hard work.”