Michael Phelps was shaken Thursday morning when he received an urgent call from fellow NBC Sports personality Mike Tirico. The Olympic swimming legend immediately sensed bad news—but he wasn’t prepared to hear that Dan Hicks, the iconic broadcaster whose voice narrated many of his greatest career moments, had died at 64.
“I was in shock,” Phelps said during a phone interview, his voice breaking as he reflected on his decades-long friendship with Hicks. The broadcaster, married to ESPN’s Hannah Storm, passed away after a sudden illness, his family announced Thursday.
From Rookie to Legend: A Bond Forged in the Pool
Hicks spent over 20 years as NBC’s lead golf play-by-play announcer but was equally renowned for covering swimming—particularly Phelps’ historic Olympic career. He called all 23 of Phelps’ gold-medal races across five Olympics, including the legendary 2008 relay where the U.S. stunned France to keep Phelps’ record eight-gold quest alive.
Their relationship began when a 15-year-old Phelps made his first Olympic team in 2000. “I grew up with him,” Phelps said, noting that Hicks and his family became like his own. The broadcaster mentored him from a nervous teen giving interviews “full of ‘ums’” to a polished commentator working alongside him in the NBC booth after retirement.
A Lasting Legacy Beyond the Broadcast
Off-air, their friendship was filled with lighthearted moments—exchanging memes, golfing together, and even prank-calling former colleague Matt Lauer during a birthday dinner earlier this year. “All these memories are popping into my head this morning,” Phelps said.
Hicks had recently expressed excitement about reuniting with Phelps and fellow commentator Rowdy Gaines for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “You can’t write it up any better than that,” Hicks once said of witnessing Phelps’ journey from teen phenom to broadcasting colleague.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/emotional-michael-phelps-remembers-late-friend-dan-hicks-hes-always-helping-me