At the swimming Olympic Trials next week and presumably at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, America is going to meet a new Michael Phelps. The old one, by his admission, never let the public get to know the real one. But now, sober and at peace, he’s willing to share.
Since a rehabilitation stint in 2014 that followed a driving-under-the-influence arrest in his hometown of Baltimore, Phelps says he has abstained from drinking and has opened up about his career, his formerly strained relationship with his father stemming back to childhood and the life changes he has undergone since treatment.
“I don’t have anything to be afraid of or anything to hide from,” said Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in any sport. “I want to show people who I really am, because I’m not sure the world has really seen who I am.”
They saw him win 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them gold. They also saw headlines that weren’t so glorious: A driving-while-impaired arrest in 2004, a photograph of him holding a bong in 2009 and the 2014 DUI conviction that resulted in a six-month suspension by USA Swimming.
Now, though, he’s training more seriously than ever, living in Tempe, Ariz., with his fiancee, Nicole, and their 7-week-old son. Phelps will turn 31 this month.
“Do I recognize myself? Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t,” Phelps said. “I think I see a complete change, just living a freer, happier life. Itap a huge change. I don’t feel like I’m carrying weights anymore. I feel like whatever I’ve been holding inside of me, I’ve been able to get it out and start fresh. Thatap a pretty incredible feeling.”
He says he’s more laid-back, more open, and stays closer to the most important people in his life. And he’ll actually answer the phone when it rings.
“Thatap a big change — I used to always dodge phone calls,” Phelps said. “I’m just more engaged in everything I do. Thatap a big change. The process I went through is difficult and challenging. Everything happens for a reason, and I’m thankful I’m alive today, able to grow from the experiences I’ve had.”
Before his second alcohol-related arrest, he was out many nights of the week, drinking with friends. Now he says he and Nicole are “homebodies,” usually in bed before 10 p.m. Before tapering for trials, he was doing double workouts three days a week and spending 30 hours a week in the pool or the gym.
“I’ve been around him at numerous meets and a few training camps at the OTC (Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs),” said Missy Franklin’s coach, Todd Schmitz. “Just watching him, I think he is on a mission. He truly wants to put himself out of reach from anybody (in medals).”
Phelps says it’s “pretty crazy” to see the changes that have come with sobriety.
“I see a complete change in my body,” Phelps said. “I see a complete change in how I am day to day — completely clear head, no headache when you wake up. I’m actually happy every day. I’m actually able to be productive every day. Thatap something I am very proud of.”
Four years ago he insisted he would retire after the London Games. He hadn’t trained at a level that made him proud — he won two individual gold medals but finished fourth in the 400-meter individual medley — and after London he wanted nothing more to do with swimming. That changed a year and a half later.
“I just randomly decided to jump back in the pool, 30 pounds overweight,” Phelps said. “I was like, ‘OK, maybe I’ll just splash around and see what happens.’ I started liking what I was doing, started enjoying being back in the water. I think I was in a different place mentally than I was in 2012. I just said, ‘What the hell, might as well do it again. I’m young enough. This is my last chance to do it.’
“And I wanted to do it the way I should have done it in 2012. Twenty years later if I looked back to London, I think I would have been disappointed with myself for how I prepared. Going into 2012 was like pulling teeth. It was brutal. I could barely get to the pool. Itap the complete opposite now. I feel like a kid again. I’m happy doing what I’m doing. Itap exciting.”
“Most decorated” Olympian
Michael Phelps made his Olympic debut in the 2000 Sydney Games at age 15. He did not win a medal, but since then he accumulated 22 medals (18 gold), putting him No. 1 on the all-time list. The previous record of 18 was held by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina (1956-64).
Nine of his medals came in relays. He has won 13 medals in individual events:
2004: gold in 100-meter butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 medley and 400 medley; silver in 200 free.
2008: gold in 200 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 medley, 400 medley
2012: gold in 100 butterfly, 200 medley; silver in 200 fly.
