Rio is Phelps’s chance to bow out on own terms

It seems an odd aim for the owner of a record 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them gold. Four gold medals and two silver in London in 2012 seemed a fitting enough finale to a career that peaked with Phelps’s stunning eight gold performance in Beijing. 

But Phelps knew deep down that he could have done more four years ago, and that “haunted” feeling made it impossible for his post-London retirement to stick.

“I never wanted to have that ‘what if,’” Phelps said of his decision to mount a fifth Olympic campaign in Rio de Janeiro, at the age of 31. 

“This journey has been incredible. Being able to fall in love with the sport again is something that I’ve always wanted to do, and I did it on my terms,” he said.