Despite saying the same thing after London, he told Matt he felt differently competing during Rio.
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Michael Phelps says he is positive this time, his retirement from Olympic swimming is going to stick.
“This is the part of my life where I get to start this whole new chapter …” I knew this was the last race that I ever had, the last Olympics that I ever had. And to do that, I had to remain an amateur, and I’ve really enjoyed it and embraced it. “I was able to come back and able to do things that I wanted to accomplish”.
“It’s wild”, said Phelps. And now that he’s found a different objective in the sport of swimming, I think he’s gonna come back, because he wants that challenge. “He’s helped me through some of the worst times in my life and he’s been there every step of the way and I’m forever thankful”.
It might not be the most common question you ask a new parent but it’s one U.S.A swimmer Michael Phelps knows the answer to.
“It’s really special and the fact that I could do it with the relay is fantastic”, said the 20-year-old, who leaves Rio with two golds and two silvers after winning the 100 freestyle in a dead-heat with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak on Thursday. But just like his record-breaking swims, his career is pretty stunning when you put it in context.
“It was hard – the Olympic final – so it was really hard to go out and give your best”, said Paltrinieri.
“Obviously having a great relay split [in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay, his first event in Rio].I was like, ‘OK, we’re gonna have a good meet, ‘” he explained.
“The memories we’ve built in this Olympics are much more meaningful than anything we’ve ever built”, he explained.
Phelps swam the butterfly third leg of a tight race, pushing the United States from second behind Great Britain up to first before freestyle specialist Nathan Adrian saw it home for gold in an Olympic record time of three minutes 27.95 seconds. “I started watching him when I was 6 years old when I was first starting to get in the sport and to be on the team with him has been such an honor”.
“When I chose to come back I wanted to do it the right way. That is, hands down, the best way to finish a career”.
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Also on Day 8 of the games, Usain Bolt thrilled the crowd at Olympic Stadium in his first appearance of the games and Rafael Nadal’s bid for an unprecedented second Olympic singles gold medal ended with a thrill-a-minute semifinal loss to Juan Martin del Potro. “Being able to play catch with him in the backyard, or take him to a sporting event, or if he’s into music …”
