What does Michael Phelps hope to accomplish in Rio?
“I would love to do a best time,” Phelps told Bob Costas after he finished a perfect Olympic Trials (three wins in three events). “I think I’m light years better than I was in 2012, physical shape, mental. I’m just a lot better place now.”
Phelps won all of his events at Trials for a second time in four trips. In 2008, he won all five of his individual events en route to his eight-for-eight gold-medal performance in Beijing.
“It’s a lot more painful at 31 [years old],” said Phelps, who celebrated his 31st birthday in Omaha on Thursday. “It takes a lot more to recover. I have to stay on top of every little tiny thing. But I know if I want to be on the top of the podium, I need to do a lot of work.”
Phelps could swim as many as six events at the Rio Games -- definitely the 100m and 200m butterflies, 200m individual medley and 4x100m medley relay and possibly the 4x100m free and 4x200m free relays.
“We got the job done that we wanted to do at Trials,” Phelps said. “Now, it’s time to switch gears.”
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