Time to swim away Michael Phelps’ Olympic medals
Phelps says he has ‘no desire’ to return to competition
MICHAEL PHELPS wondered if watching others compete at the world championships would pique his desire for another comeback.
Nope.
Phelps said Tuesday he has “no desire” to return to competitive swimming, but he is eager to stay involved with the sport and cheer on those who follow in his enormous wake.
In an interview with The Associated Press while promoting a healthy pet food campaign, Phelps said he is excited about having his second child and building a life beyond swimming.
“For me, it’s about being happy where I am and happy where my family is,” Phelps said.
“We have more goals we want to accomplish outside the sport.”
It was around this time four years ago when Phelps got serious about ending his first retirement, but he now seems content with his decision to step away again after the Rio Olympics.
His wife, Nicole, is about four months pregnant. They already have a 16-month-old son, Boomer.
“I’ve got no desire — no desire — to come back,” Phelps, 32, said flatly.
Phelps has attended a handful of swimming meets since the Rio Games, where the winningest athlete in Olympic history added to his already massive career haul by claiming five gold medals plus a silver . A few months ago, he conceded to the AP that he wasn’t sure how he would feel about a possible comeback after watching the worlds in Budapest, Hungary. “We’ll see if I get that itch,” he said in April . Turns out, it had no impact.
Phelps said the second-biggest meet after the Olympics “truly didn’t kick anything off or spike any more interest in coming out of retirement again.”
He is excited to follow the development of his heir apparent, Caeleb Dressel, 21, who emerged as the sport’s newest star by winning seven gold medals at Budapest .
The Floridian joined Phelps and Mark Spitz as the only swimmers to accomplish that feat at a major international meet.
“I’m happy Caeleb decided to go off this year instead of last year,” quipped Phelps, who won 23 golds and 28 medals overall in his Olympic career. “I’m kind of happy to see him swimming so well when I’m not there.”
While he still travels extensively for his many sponsors, Phelps said he’s much more involved in his wife’s second pregnancy than he was before Boomer’s birth, when he was consumed by full-scale training for the Olympics.
Boomer is even starting to show some good form in the pool. His mom and Phelps’ longtime coach, Bob Bowman, have detected a bit of the stroke that was his father’s strongest.
“Nicole and Bob both say he’s got a good butterfly technique that he’s working on,” Phelps said. “I guess he’s seen his dad doing it a couple of times and kind of picks it up. He’s also now in a stage where it’s like all five senses are coming together. He feels everything, recognizes everything. It’s really fun to watch, as a dad, just watching these transitions in his life.”
In his latest business endeavor, Phelps is spearheading a marketing campaign for Nulo Pet Food , which he describes as a healthy alternative for dogs and cats. He’s an investor in the company and accompanied in ads by his French bulldogs, Juno and Legend.
“Our bodies are like a high-performance car. You have to make sure you’re putting the correct fuel in your body,” Phelps said. “We obviously treat our pets like human beings. I’d like my animals to be fed in the right way, with good nutrition and healthy foods. If we can do that with a company that’s putting good, natural ingredients into a pet food, it makes sense for me with what I’m doing in my own life. It’s something that goes hand in hand.”
With Dressel and Katie Ledecky now leading the American team, the U.S. is expected to remain the world’s dominant swimming country heading into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Even without Phelps.
“It’s time to kind of move on,” he said, “and watch other people come into their own.” Athens 2004
■ 400-meter medley, gold, 4:08.26 (world record)
■ 4x100 freestyle relay, bronze, 3:14.62
■ 200 freestyle, bronze, 1:45.32
■ 200 butterfly, gold, 1:54.04 (Olympic record)
■ 4x200 freestyle relay, gold, 7:07.33
■ 200 medley, gold,
1:57.14 (Olympic record)
■ 100 butterfly, gold, 51:25 (Olympic record)
■ 4x100 medley relay, gold, 3:30.68
Beijing 2008
■ 400 medley, gold, 4:03.84 (world record)
■ 4x100 freestyle relay, gold, 3:08.24 (world record)
■ 200 freestyle, gold, 1:42.96 (world record)
■ 200 butterfly, gold, 1:52.03 (world record)
■ 4x200 freestyle relay, gold, 6:58.56 (world record)
■ 200 medley, gold, 1:54.23 (world record)
■ 100 butterfly, gold, 50.58 (Olympic record)
■ 4x100 medley relay, gold, 3:29.34 (world record)
London 2012
■ 4x100 freestyle relay, silver, 3:10.36
■ 200 butterfly, silver, 1:53.01
■ 4x200 freestyle relay, gold, 6:59.70
■ 200 medley, gold, 1:54.27
■ 100 butterfly, gold,
51.21
■ 4x100 medley relay, gold, 3:29.35
Rio 2016
■ 4x100 freestyle relay, gold, 3:09.92
■200 butterfly, gold, 1:53.36
■ 4x200 freestyle relay, gold, 7:00.66
■ 200 medley, gold, 1:54.66
■ 100 butterfly, silver, 51.14
■ 4x100 medley relay, gold, 3:27.95