Michael Phelps' Father and Mother Support Son; Olympic Parents and Their Best Bits

Michael Phelps' father, Fred Phelps, has been spoken about prominently in light of his son's amazing feats at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Here is a look at some of the parents behind a number of the top athletes competing at this year's summer Games:

MICHAEL PHELPS' FATHER, FRED PHELPS

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Fred Phelps has worked for the Maryland State Police, and he parted company with Michael's mother in 1993 when Michael was just nine years old. They became distanced, but have since come to a closer relationship, although one would not exactly call them particularly close.

Fred has remarried since his split with Michael's mother and now lives in Baltimore.

In 2004 Fred and Michael had a brief reconciliation at the Athens Olympic Games, where Phelps won 6 gold and 2 bronze medals. However, in Beijing in 2008 he didn't travel to China to watch, preferring to catch up on his son's record breaking feats on the television.

Since that time Fred has kept a low profile and prefers not to allow his disjointed relationship with his son distract the world from his son's amazing achievements.

Phelps' mother made many chuckle when she started celebrating what she believed was another gold for her son (well who could blame her for thinking that given it's happened 17 times!), only to be tapped on the shoulder by her daughter and explained that it was only silver this time.

CHAD LE CLOS' FATHER

Chad Le Clos' father erupted with joy during a BBC interview this week and stated that his son's win was "unbelievable!" 

"Unbelievable! I have never been so happy in my life ... I mean, what happened tonight is like I died and went to heaven.. This is unbelievable - look at him! And he's beautiful! Look at what a beautiful boy, look at this, look at how ugly I look!" the father said.

ALY RAISMAN'S PARENTS

Another notable appearance by Olympic parents were by American gymnast Aly Raisman's mom and dad. Both parents were seen ducking, weaving and wincing as they watched their daughter perform her bar routine during team qualifiers. The video has already gone viral as every parent could relate to their emotions watching their child  anxiously without being able to do anything to help.

JOHN OROZCO'S MOTHER

U.S. Olympic gymnast John Orozco's mother could not bare to watch her son's routine during another memorable moment in the games. Her mother was seen keeping her eyes firmly shut while her husband sat beside her with a pair of binoculars. After her son's routine she opened her eyes offering an expression of absolute relief.

ZARA PHILLIPS' ROYAL FAMILY!

Even the Royal Family has been in attendance to root on family members. Olympic equestrian Zara Phillips, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and daughter Princess Anne, achieved a silver medal to become the first member of the British royal family to win an Olympic Medal. Princess Anne was the proud mom on hand to watch her daughter's achievement.

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