NBC TO AIR SPECIAL "MICHAEL PHELPS: AMERICA'S GOLDEN CHAMPION" SUNDAY, AUGUST 5 AT 7 P.M. ET

London - August 5, 2012 - NBC will air Michael Phelps: America's Golden Champion, a special, intimate look at 18-time gold medalist and 22-time overall Olympic medalist, Michael Phelps, Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET/PT, 6 p.m. CT/MT.

Phelps sat down exclusively late Saturday night with NBC Olympics host Bob Costas, and disclosed his innermost thoughts about his Olympic odyssey, beginning as a 15-year old boy in Sydney in 2000, to his six-gold medal performance in Athens in 2004, through the unprecedented 8 for 8 in Beijing in 2008, and ending this week at the London Olympics with four more gold and two silver medals to cap the greatest Olympic career ever.

"America's greatest interviewer sitting down with the world's greatest Olympian makes for an inspiring piece of television," says NBC Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell. "Our feeling after seeing the interview was that this was something that every fan of the Olympics should see, and tonight they will."

On the night of his final Olympic event, a night full of emotion and achievement, Phelps sat with Costas shortly after leaving the pool. Phelps and Costas discuss the tapestry of Phelps' career, including; the first time on an international stage in Sydney; the trials and tribulations with coach and mentor Bob Bowman; his world famous 200-meter Butterfly race in Beijing, where his goggles filled with water during the race; the training regimen that helped him win so many medals; how his rivalries fueled his passion and desire to win; the influence of watching Michael Jordan's dominance and how it shaped his career as one of America's greatest athletes ever; and Phelps' future outside of the pool.

Sunday night's show will also feature the Men's 100-meter final, which determines the World's Fastest Man, as well as the return of women's gymnastics and the start of three straight night's showcasing the Fab Five in individual competition, as well as beach volleyball and two-time defending Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings.