Michael Phelps on his legacy: 'Proud of what I've done'

LOS ANGELES – Michael Phelps began his Tuesday back home in Baltimore, and he began it the way he starts most mornings: with a swim. Then there was an appearance at Under Armour headquarters, part of the rollout of the apparel company's arresting new Phelps commercial. Then a long run of interviews. Then a condensed dry-land workout. And then a cross-country flight here, to appear at the U.S. Olympic Committee media summit.

When that appearance was over, it was time to head back late Tuesday to his new home in Arizona.

Hectic, in a word. And yet one of the things the greatest of all Olympians said in his 30 minutes with the media Tuesday night was that he is finally – for the first time – capable of slowing down enough to actually appreciate his unparalleled accomplishments.

"I literally went one event to the next, one medal to the next, one record to the next," he said. "It was kind of a blur."

That was life as an achieve-a-tron. There almost assuredly is more achieving to come this summer, at his fifth and final Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. But the blur of a career has slowed down enough to come into focus.

The opportunity for Phelps to actually soak in the totality of his swimming greatness presented itself last fall, when he and his fiancee, Nicole Johnson, packed up their Baltimore house and moved to Arizona. Part of that job was packing 22 Olympic medals (the most ever), including 16 gold medals (the most ever).

"I was able to look at all of them together," Phelps said. "I was able to remember every single thought I had on the medal stand after every single race."

Phelps has a steel-trap memory – but usually that manifests itself in his total recall of times, workout details and the numerical swimming minutiae he loves. This time, healthier after a 2014 rehab stint that has radically changed his outlook on life, he could reconnect with actual feelings and emotions.

He could stop and smell the chlorine. And revel in it.

"It felt pretty cool," he said. "For the first time I was able to look back at my career and be proud of what I've done."

The fact that it took this long for that reflection to happen, and that pride to surface, tells you that Michael Phelps wasn't always the healthiest guy. He can admit as much. And he can talk about it.

Having bottomed out with a second DUI arrest and a suspension from USA Swimming, he has rebuilt himself in impressive fashion – mentally, emotionally and physically. The 30-year-old Phelps is not just more open and honest – he also looks the best he's ever looked, leaner and stronger than ever, thanks in no small part to stopping drinking.

"I see a complete change in my body, how I am day to day," he said. "I have a completely clear head. … I'm actually happy every day. I'm productive."

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Sobriety and serenity have given Phelps the chance to go out in a final glorious flourish, after essentially cheating himself of that chance in London in 2012. His training was reluctant at best, with long stretches of simply not showing up for workouts. In a labor-intensive sport that offers no short cuts, this guaranteed that Phelps would underachieve at the Olympics.

Now, his underachievement still produced the biggest medal haul of any swimmer at those games: four golds and two silvers. Such is the level of his greatness that even while grossly under-trained, he could do things other swimmers could only dream of.

But after winning the record eight golds in 2008 in Beijing, Phelps left a lot on the table in London. He failed to medal in the 400-meter individual medley – an event he had dominated internationally for years, but also a merciless event that will expose anyone who isn't in absolute premium shape. He was out-touched at the finish of his signature event, the 200 butterfly, coasting into the wall. And even in the individual events he won – the 100 fly and the 200 IM – his times were just an echo of his peak years.

Phelps knew how much better London could have been if he'd approached it the right way. That has been a driving force in his more assiduous preparation this time around.

"I wanted to do it like I should have in 2012," he said.

He's doing it like he should have then, and like he did in 2004 and '08. Heading toward the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha in June, Phelps still looks like America's best male swimmer.

Of course, the one thing a more open and honest and approachable Phelps will not be open and honest and approachable about is his event schedule for Omaha. He will talk about drinking, talking about his improved relationship with his formerly estranged father, talk about shirking training four years ago – but he will not give away the game plan.

Still, we can make an educated guess. ("It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what I'm going to try," he said.) The likely events are the 100 and 200 fly, the 200 IM, plus a 200 freestyle solely to secure a spot on the 800 free relay. He certainly will swim the butterfly leg on the 400 medley relay. And he would seem a strong candidate to make the 400 free relay as well.

So that could be six events in Rio – all of them theoretically winnable, but none of them guaranteed. If Phelps swims like he did last summer at the U.S. national championships in San Antonio, after being left off the world championships team due to the suspension, he will win a bunch more medals.

And he will have the fresh, healthy perspective that allows him to savor those medal-stand moments. Especially since that will be it. There will be no next event, no next medal, no next record.

In retirement, Michael Phelps truly will be able to stop long enough to appreciate an unmatched career.