Phelps taking different approach in comeback

MESA, Arizona — Michael Phelps tied the fourth- fastest time in the world this year swimming the 100-meter butterfly in his first competition in nearly two years. His comeback is off to a strong start albeit with a much different approach than he took in winning 22 medals over three Olympics. After a 20- month retirement, Phelps resumed training last September with his longtime coach Bob Bowman at the North Baltimore Aquatic Center in his hometown. But he didn't pick up the grueling regimen that had ruled his life since he was a teenager. Phelps trains just once a day in the afternoon. No double or triple sessions or plowing through thousands of meters a day. While his workload will go up eventually, for now Phelps is doing half the amount of training he did during the height of career, when he won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "I'm sort of experimenting with stuff that I didn't have the guts to do before, like not swim as far," Bowman said. "I'm very pleased with how he's doing." This relaxed approach appears to suit both Phelps and Bowman just fine. Their decades- long partnership — rare in a sport where swimmers frequently change coaches — survived fiery clashes as Phelps grew up and rebelled against Bowman's hardnosed ways. "Our last several years together, it really wasn't much fun for everybody," the coach said. Without committing to specifics, Phelps seems intent on swimming fewer events and shorter races this time around. He turns 29 in June, and as the most decorated Olympian in history, his place in the record books is secure. At the Arena Grand Prix meet in Mesa, he competed in just two events — the 100 fly (he finished second to Ryan Lochte) and the 50 freestyle, where he instead used a butterfly stroke and finished 42nd. Phelps timed 52.13 seconds in the 100. In his other event, he swam 50 meters of fly in 24.06, faster than his split time a day earlier in the 100 fly. His biggest challenge last autumn was to lose the 30 pounds (13 1/2 kilos) he had piled on since retiring after the 2012 Olympics. He's gone from a high of 225 to 194 (102 to 88) — about seven more pounds (three more kilos) than he raced at in London.