The greatest Olympian of all time is back! I am of course talking about the return of Michael Phelps. Phelps’ last time in the pool was in London during the 2012 Olympics. Phelps took gold in the 100m butterfly, the 4x200m freestyle relay, the 200m individual medley, and the 4×100 medley relay. He also took silver in the 4×100 freestyle relay and the 200m butterfly and a 4th place in the 400m individual medley. His gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay put him in the record books as the most decorated Olympian of all time.
After the Olympics Phelps announced his retirement. “I’m retiring so I can go out on top,” said Phelps. “I knew if I came back for the 2016 Olympics, I would only be able to give my fans a performance that at best would slightly disappointment them, and if I stayed swimming until the 2020 Olympics, it would probably be just as tough for fans to stomach.” Michael had three goals in mind for retirement: he wanted to travel the world, play a lot of golf and stay in shape.
After two short years, he has decided to hop back in the pool. He took second in the 100m butterfly with a time of 52.13 seconds at Skyline Aquatic Center in Arizona. He finished just behind longtime friend but rival teammate Ryan Lochte who finished with a time of 51.93. Phelps after the meet said, “I wanted to be around 52.0 and I would be completely happy with that.”
“You’re going to hear this word come out of my mouth a lot,” he told reporters, “but I was having fun.” He tweeted later that night: “Pumped to be racing again… Happy with the time tonight right where I wanted to be!!” He also said, “It’s one meet; it’s one race. It’s a long way whether I decide to continue or not.” However, due to his drive to get better and the happiness he felt getting back in the pool I think its safe to say we will see Phelps at the 2016 Olympic Games.
