Michael Phelps made it clear after his fourth Olympics in 2012, after 22 medals and 20 years in the pool.
“I’m done,” he said.
Yet there Phelps was in Charlotte, N.C., over the weekend, carrying a cap and goggles and on the starting blocks for the second meet of his return to swimming. Don’t call it a comeback, he and coach Bob Bowman say.
Whatever it is, Phelps’ ending will no longer be that six-medal effort in London. What will make for a perfect ending when Phelps is all said and done? Joe Posnanski examines.
He looked pretty fast in the pool; he says that he finally feels like his body is getting back into swimming shape. Phelps will carefully admit that he has talked privately with Bowman about some goals that clank around in his mind. But mostly, he doesn’t want to talk about goals. There are no goals, not really. Phelps just wants to swim. Why not? He’s still good at it.
