Michael phelps retiring why

According to Olympic Channel , Phelps holds the all-time record for most Olympic medals, with He also has the most Olympic gold medals all-time, with His performance in the Beijing Olympics was still more impressive. That year, Phelps went undefeated, capturing a total of eight gold medals. According to AP News , that feat broke the previous record of seven gold medals won in a single Olympics.

Phelps repeated leading into, during and after the Rio Games that he would retire and stick to it. Technically, he waited until a month after the Closing Ceremony to make it official — taking his name out of the drug-testing pool. Last December, a deadline passed for Phelps to re-enter a drug-testing pool to become eligible for the Tokyo Games. But , with the one-year Olympic postponement, Phelps, who turns 35 on June 30, now has until December to change his mind.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us! Phelps continued to set new marks at the U. Summer Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, establishing a new world record for the meter individual medley, and U. The following year, at the same event, he broke his own world record in the meter individual medley with a time of Shortly after graduating from Towson in , year-old Phelps set five world records, including the meter individual medley at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, with a time of Then during the U.

Michael Phelps competing in the final heat for the Men's Meter Butterfly during day seven of the U. Phelps became a superstar at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, winning eight medals including six gold , tying with Soviet gymnast Aleksandr Dityatin for the most medals in a single Olympic Games.

Phelps scored the first of six gold medals on August 14, when he broke his own world record in the meter individual medley, shaving 0.

He also won gold in the meter butterfly, meter butterfly, meter individual medley, 4-bymeter freestyle relay and 4-bymeter medley relay. The two events in Athens, in which Phelps took bronze medals, were meter freestyle and the 4-bymeter freestyle relay. At the Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Phelps won his 14th career gold medal, the most gold won by any Olympian — surpassing swimmer Mark Spitz's record of seven golds. He also set the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics by winning eight gold medals, in the 4-bymeter medley relay, 4-bymeter freestyle relay, meter freestyle, meter butterfly, 4-bymeter freestyle relay, meter individual medley and meter butterfly.

Every gold medal performance set a new world record, except the meter butterfly, which set an Olympic record. At the Olympic Games, held in London, Phelps' Olympic medal count increased to 22, setting a new record for most Olympic medals beating gymnast Larisa Latynina's prior record of He won four gold medals, in the 4-bymeter freestyle relay, meter individual medley, meter butterfly and 4-bymeter medley relay; and two silver medals, in the 4-bymeter freestyle relay and meter butterfly.

After the London Olympics in , Phelps announced he was retiring from swimming. However, he gave some indication of a possible return in July and would not rule out a possible Olympic bid for the summer games. In April , Phelps put the retirement rumors to rest and announced plans to compete at the Mesa Grand Prix in Arizona.

Meanwhile, the sports world continued to speculate whether Phelps would compete in the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. His longtime coach Bowman told the Washington Post :.

While Phelps did compete at the Mesa Grand Prix, he made a more impressive showing at the Pan Pacific Championships held that summer in Australia, winning three golds and two silvers. On June 29, , Phelps celebrated a huge comeback when he became the first American male swimmer to earn a spot on five Olympic teams.

His then-girlfriend Nicole Johnson, their baby, Boomer, and Phelps' mother Debbie watched the Olympic legend break history from the stands in Rio. On August 7, , Phelps clinched his 19th Olympic gold medal in Rio swimming the second leg of the men's freestyle relay. He went on to win gold in both the meter butterfly and in the 4xmeter freestyle relay along with Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas and Ryan Lochte.

Phelps went on to compete in the meter individual medley, an event dubbed "the Duel in the Pool" because he faced off against friend, teammate and rival Ryan Lochte, the world record holder in the race. Phelps dominated the race, winning gold in over a body-length at Lochte failed to medal. Undoubtedly, Michael Phelps left a void in the pool, when he drew the curtain on his illustrious career.

In his prime, Phelps was beyond an extraordinary swimmer, but regardless, chose to retire in Article continues below this ad. The Olympic legend has clinched a record-breaking 28 medals in his career, notably, 23 are gold. Interestingly, Phelps has retired two times in his Olympics career, having made a comeback after the first.