Thousands of people have been inspired by a young man with Autism that simply wanted to show his appreciation for Olympian Michael Phelps. 21-year-old Austin Levingston wrote to Phelps on the athlete’s facebook page, and in just a few short weeks, his words have already been shared by thousands of people.
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“Hello Michael, my name is Austin and I am autistic. I know you may not care to read this but you are one of my biggest idols and I’ve been following you for a very long time. Right now, I am currently going to college and hoping to become the first person in my whole family to get a degree. I am also a swim competitor just like you and I’m hoping to swim in the Olympics just like you someday.”
It isn’t the first time this super fan has reached out to Phelps but it is the first time he has received such a warm response. In a recent interview with Baltimore Sun he said he was bullied in school because of his disability. Then in high school he was cut from the basketball team, his favorite sport, by a coach who said he didn’t have the ability to play. That’s when he started swimming.
The pool became his safe place. A place where he could improve and be supported by his teammates.”The sport gave me an amazing feeling that I have never felt before,” Levingston said.
After watching Phelps swim in the 200 Sydney games, he became an avid fan. And people started to noticed the resemblance.
Facebook
Levingston also included the split screen photo above showing Michael how much they look alike. Apparently he’s stopped all the time by people on the street who point out their resemblance.
The story of Michael Phelps, a fan in Kansas and a Facebook post: https://t.co/vPiVdgC0h3 pic.twitter.com/qWFqXJf4K7
– The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) August 29, 2016
Hundreds of people replied to Levingston’s post, telling him how much of an inspiration he is and applauding his go-get-em attitude.
When asked what he would say to Phelps to convince him to swim in the 2020 games, he replied with,”I would tell him to come back so I could have the chance to compete against him in a few races. Or maybe even be on a relay team with him one of these days.”
Share and spread the message today! Let’s get these two together.
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