Michael Phelps announced earlier this week that his father, Fred, passed away.
The decorated swimmer mourned his father’s death in an Instagram post shared on Monday.
“You’ll always be my dad…
And I’ll always be your son…
Love you dad and I will miss you,” Michael Phelps wrote.
Michael Phelps posted three photos along with the sad news. The first is an older one of him standing next to his dad in a Maryland state trooper uniform.
Fred is admirably watching Michael hold one of his young children in another picture and is likely holding one of his grandchildren in the third shot.
In 2016, the 23-time gold medal winner told Sports Illustrated that his parents divorced when he was nine, but the father and son grew closer after Michael went into rehab following a 2014 drunk-driving arrest.
“Our relationship is really great, and it’s continuing to grow,” Michael said. “We’ve learned that we have a lot in common.”
Our condolences go out to Michael and the Phelps family for their loss.
