"I have lost it"- When Michael Phelps opened up about making a comeback after retirement from swimming

Michael Phelps once opened up about coming out of retirement to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. The American swimmer shared that consistency in practice was a very important aspect in swimming, and that is something which he lacked after retiring from the sport.

Phelps made his final Olympic appearance in Rio, which was his fifth consecutive participation in the quadrennial games. He concluded his campaign in the Brazilian capital with five gold medals and one silver medal, taking his overall Olympic medal count to 28 and making him the most decorated Olympian in history.

There were several talks about Phelps returning to the pool once again after his retirement to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. Michael Phelps put an end to all the speculations and weighed in on coming out of retirement at an Under Armour event in 2019. The American athlete shared that he did not miss a single day of training for six years while he was preparing for the Olympics, and he had lost touch since his retirement from the sport.

Moreover, Michael Phelps stressed the importance of consistency in swimming and shared that missing one day of training is equivalent to going back by two days. Phelps shared that returning to the pool after such a long break would not feel the same, and he will not be making a professional comeback.

“In swimming, when you miss one day of training, it takes you two days to get back. In six years, I never missed a single day. It made me better than athletes who took a Sunday off. But now that I am out of the pool, if I go back again, I don’t feel the same. I have lost it. So no comebacks,” he said.

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Michael Phelps opens up about achieveing his dreams

Michael Phelps at the WM Phoenix Open 2025 - Previews - Source: Getty

Michael Phelps opened up about successfully achieving his goals in an interview with Olympics.com. The American athlete shared that he was often taunted for having big goals and aiming to achieve something that had never been done before in the sport.

However, having a goal that was very tough to achieve made him very excited and motivated to push himself to his limits.

“Growing up, people thought I was crazy wanting to do something different in the sport, do something that nobody else has ever done in the sport but I was excited. So, I would say, don't be afraid to dream as big as you possibly can. I mean, absolutely as big as you can,” said Phelps.

Phelps shared that having a strong mindset alongside a disciplined as well as rigorous training routine helped him achieve his goals in his swimming career.