Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Phelps hints at comeback, back in drug-testing cycle
MICHAEL PHELPS has rejoined the US drug-testing programme, the strongest signal yet that he’s planning a comeback for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Phelps told The Associated Press on Thursday that “nothing is set in stone” though clearly he has enjoyed getting back into shape – he’s down about 7kg – and working out with his former team at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club.
“If I decide to keep going and swim again, then I’ll compete,” Phelps said from Minneapolis, where he is attending the Arena Grand Prix this weekend.
“If I don’t,” he added, letting out a big laugh, “I guess I’ll reretire. Just don’t compare me to Brett Favre (NFL quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, who made a comeback with the Vikings after having retired from the sport).”
The US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) said Phelps was among the athletes who underwent doping tests in the third quarter, the period ending September 30. He was tested twice.
His former coach and close friend, Bob Bowman, said Phelps re- entered the programme near the end of the second quarter, but wasn’t tested and therefore wasn’t listed that time in Usada’s quarterly report. He would be eligible to compete again in March, according to Bowman.
Each week, Phelps said, he’s working out for a couple of days in the pool, a couple of days in the weight room, and one or two days on his core training.
“I just think he’s in a place where he’s feeling good about swimming,” Bowman said. “If he chooses to compete, he’s got some time. I like having the ability to do it. To be perfectly honest, he’s not anywhere near being able to compete in a meet or anything like that. We’re just getting started on improving his fitness. We’ll see where that goes.”
By subjecting himself to drug testing, Phelps has given himself plenty of time to go through an entire season before the next major meet, the 2015 World Championships in Russia, an important steppingstone to the Rio Games the following year.
Fina requires an athlete to be tested for at least nine months before taking part in sanctioned events.
“This may not go anywhere,” Bowman said. “We don’t have an event picked out or anything like that. There’s no grand scheme. It just sort of makes sense that he can make some choices if he wants to.”
Further stoking speculation about a comeback, Phelps was present at the meet in Minneapolis and even did some laps in the diving well.
“I just splashed around a little bit,” he said. “The guys are swimming laps around me. But at least I’m exercising and trying to get back into some respectable shape.”
Phelps attended the World Championships in Barcelona in July, and was happy about being on hand for one of the more mundane events.
“I just wanted to come up here and see how a meet was,” he said. “This is kind of like a normal meet. Barcelona was not a normal meet. That’s a big boy meet. Just being around this is exciting for me. It really has been a part of my life ever since I was a kid.”
Phelps is the most decorated athlete in Olympic history. He captured 18 gold medals and 22 medals overall at the last three Olympiads, shattering the previous marks. He is best known for breaking Mark Spitz’s record for a single Olympics by winning eight gold medals in Beijing in 2008.
Phelps retired at 27 after winning six more medals at last year’s London Olympics, adamant that he had no intention of competing again.
But he’s moving close to a comeback.
“If I do really start getting excited and wanting to do it, I can make that choice,” Phelps said. “If not, at least it’s something we can say we were prepared for.”
Phelps doesn’t need the money, of course, having earned tens of millions of dollars in endorsements during his career, and he remains a marketable name, even in retirement. If he does come back, it will probably be another case of an athlete who simply missed the thrill of competition.
“There are a lot of things that really excite me… that get me motivated,” he said. “But I swam for 20 years. That’s something that’s going to be very, very hard to top.” – Sapa-AP