Michael Phelps flashes promising signs, times in return to competition
MESA, Ariz. — Sometime after his turn at the 50-meter mark and his touch at the end of the men's 100 freestyle final Saturday night, Michael Phelps flipped a switch and became Michael Phelps again.
He was in last place at the 50 wall, and in first place by the finish, overtaking a field in the final 50 meters that included Ryan Lochte and Conor Dwyer at the Arena Pro Series Swim event.
It was vintage Phelps. And it's a very good sign of what's to come in the year and a half leading up to the 2016 Olympics.
"I don't know what it was, coming off the 50 wall," Phelps said. "As soon as I was underwater, I just started kicking and it was like, one of the kicks I just felt something different that I hadn't felt before. I don't know if that was switching a gear into knowing how to race again or what, but it was something I hadn't felt before since I've been back in the water."
The 100 free final capped off a promising meet for Phelps, his first competition since the end of his six-month suspension handed down by USA Swimming following a drunken driving arrest in late September.
The 18-time Olympic gold medalist won his signature event, the 100 butterfly, on Thursday (52.38), before finishing third in the 200 individual medley on Saturday (2:00.01), followed by the 100 free comeback win (49.72). Phelps also swam the 400 free in prelims earlier in the week, but did not qualify for the championship final.
"It's a good starting point," Phelps said. "It doesn't really matter exactly where we are this given day. It just kind of really matters where we are a year from now."
Though none of the times Phelps posted were among the top 20 in the world in those events, he and his longtime coach, Bob Bowman, are pleased with his progress to date.
Bowman said he was particularly happy with Phelps' 200 IM. In that race, he noticed a spark in his swimmer that he hadn't yet seen in Mesa. Bowman wasn't surprised that, only a short while later, Phelps swam well enough to win the 100 freestyle. Swimming a double in itself seemed to be part of the rejuvenation process.
"I think he just needed to have the switch flipped," Bowman said. "These times are very good to start from. As we go along, we can compare off of this.
"Now, we have a starting point."
From here on, Phelps' schedule differs from what it normally would look like the year before an Olympics. When it levied its punishment on Phelps back in October, USA Swimming also removed Phelps from the U.S. national team for the 2015 world championships, in August in Kazan, Russia. That meet is one of the most important for elite swimmers across the world — simply because it allows them to gauge their progress against those they will likely be competing against for Olympic medals next year.
Phelps instead will prepare by using this season's Arena Pro Swim Series events (in Charlotte and Santa Clara) and the U.S. national championships in August. He knows, too, that if he gets to where he wants to be in his training, his best is certainly good enough to compete with anyone in the world. He doesn't need the measuring stick of worlds to know that.
For now, Phelps is focusing on being engaged each day with his training, maintaining his new mental approach post-suspension — he said a few times this week this is the happiest he's ever been — and making sure he's also just enjoying this ride. The fast times will come.
"Being back in the water racing is something that I love, something that I really do enjoy," Phelps said. "It does feel really good to be back."
Said Lochte, his longtime rival, after three races against him this week: "It feels like old times."
GALLERY: MICHAEL PHELPS THROUGH THE YEARS
