Phelps finds oasis in Arizona desert

Michael Phelps is settling in to life in Arizona quite well, his longtime coach says.

“He’s doing very well personally and as an athlete,” Bob Bowman said. “He just purchased a house up here. He likes Phoenix and Scottsdale. He’s really grounded, and he’s approached everything so well since he came back from his time away. He’s as fit as he’s been in a long time.”

The move, which came as Bowman accepted a job coaching at Arizona State, was timed well for Phelps, who had recent- ly completed a six-month suspension from USA Swimming, which included as punishment that he could not compete in the 2015 world championships, after a drunken-driving arrest.

Phelps has spoken effusively about changes he made in his life and how happy swimming is making him during the lead-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics. He also has talked about growing up in general — he and fiancée Nicole Johnson are expecting their first child.

“The timing was fortuitous for him because it let us have a clean slate, start over,” Bowman said. “He’s just really in a different place now.”

His swimming is fast, too. At U.S. nationals last summer, Phelps put up the fastest 100and 200-meter butterfly times since high-tech bodysuits were banned after the 2009 world championships. He also swam the world’s fastest time in the 200 individual medley last year.

“I was thrilled,” Bowman said. “They’re way faster than I thought he would be. It just took a whole year of him training after he took the time off after London (2012 Olympics). That whole year off where he didn’t do anything than play golf, I think it took him further away from his swimming performance level than he thought it would be when he came back. It took a year of training just to be able to train. Once he really got into it and cleaned up his life outside the pool, it just took off. He’s better now than he’s been in many years.”

Bowman said he and Phelps have an idea of which events he’ll race in Rio, but they’ll try some out during Grand Prix events. Bowman thinks Phelps should do all three of the U.S. relays: the 100- and 200 butterflies and the 200 individual medley. The question now is whether to do the 200 freestyle.

“That’s the only thing that fits in the program, and I would say probably not,” Bowman said. “He’s probably going to be doing enough to show that he should be in the relays.”