After wearing more gold around his neck than Mr. T last summer, then making like Cheech & Chong at a college party, Michael Phelps is back to being himself, jumping into the pool and training like a maniac.
Weeks after the Olympic phenom, still just 23, considered quitting the sport, he was back at the Loyola College Fitness and Aquatic Center in Baltimore, teasing his teammates, sporting a new mustache and punishing his body. The winner of eight gold medals at last summer's Olympics in Beijing said a four-month hiatus left him convinced he must compete again.
"I literally just woke up on a Sunday and wanted to swim another four years," Phelps told the Washington Post. "I don't know what it was, but it switched on in my head.
"During the break, I was up in the air about everything I wanted to do. I was like, 'Where do I go from here?' "
Staying in the water is probably Phelps' best bet for staying out of trouble. In January, a British tabloid ran a photo of Phelps smoking pot at a party in South Carolina. The bong hit earned him a three-month suspension from USA Swimming, cost him endorsements and briefly threatened to see him prosecuted by a zealous sheriff.
Next week, Phelps will compete for the first time since the Olympics when he swims at the Charlotte Ultraswim, a four-day, pro event that will draw an international field. Phelps will swim the 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly, as well as three other races.
His coach, Bob Bowman, said the new Phelps is grown up.
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"He's different, he's really different," Bowman said. "I hate to use this word -- mature -- but the whole experience in Beijing has been eye-opening to say the least."
