Props to Persevering Michael Phelps

So, how serious was Michael Phelps about quitting the sport that made him famous -- and, um, infamous? Serious as a sheet of paper, a line dividing the page in half and headings with "pros" on one side and "cons" on the other. It was mid-March, not long after a photo surfaced of the American treasure and most decorated Olympian sucking on a bong, and Phelps was tired of celebrity, scandal and a world he no longer trusted beyond chlorine and water.

He was on the precipice: continue to endure the global spotlight or fade away as a 23-year-old retiree, which would give him plenty of time to party and lush out as he pleased. This was no insignificant decision for humankind, either. If a legendary athlete fled years before his time because he couldn't tolerate intense scrutiny, what would it say about Phelps, his priorities, the cruelty of society in 2009 and the peek-a-boo syndrome of advancing technology? Would his retreat down an escape hatch be a bigger commentary on his weariness or our obsession with gotcha tactics regarding celebs? How sad if Phelps was compelled to retire because some jerk in South Carolina sold the scandalous photo to a British tabloid, as his coach, Bob Bowman, said in an Associated Press interview.

"I was concerned that if he did quit, he did it for the right reasons," Bowman said. "Otherwise, it would just be a joke. I have told him, 'You've done all there is to do. If you quit today, you're the greatest of all time. You can walk away.' But I did think it would be bad if he walked away because of this thing. He should go on his own
terms."

Fortunately for Phelps -- and his legacy in sport and life -- he did not run from the problems he created. He woke up one spring day near the bay in Fells Point, his hip neighborhood in Baltimore, and realized that his love of swimming was overpowering his disdain for the public eye. "I don't know what it was, if it was something that happened that night during sleep or what," Phelps said the other day. "I don't even know if it was a change of heart. I remember the sunlight was coming into my room. It was the sun that woke me up. And I just realized that I still have a passion for this. I thought: 'Why am I even contemplating quitting? I want to swim another four years.' "

I'm pleased he was awakened by the sun.

We need Michael Phelps to keep swimming and competing in his twenties. We need him to spend the next three years and three months focusing on the London Games, where he should win a few more gold medals and then retire to a rich life as an ambassador for his country and sport. Assuming his 2012 Games include another gold rush, adding to the 14 he amassed in Beijing and Athens, Phelps can minimize the bong shot as a mistake in a young man's life -- forgivable in the grand scope, if not completely forgettable. "I might have a change of passion, a change of heart, and then I'll stop," he allowed. "But I think that now my heart is where I want it to be, which is in the pool.

"I feel like I have unfinished business. There are still things I want to accomplish before I'm finished in the sport. I'm not going to be done until I do that, and I think I can do it in the next four years."



With his rejuvenated attitude augmented by a new goatee, Phelps returned to competition and the media swarms this weekend at the Charlotte UltraSwim event in North Carolina. He blew away the field in the 200-meter freestyle and 100 butterfly, flopped in his attempt at a new challenge in the 50 freestyle, then lost to world-record holder Aaron Peirsol -- his first defeat in almost a year -- in the 100 backstroke Saturday night. But how he fared didn't seem nearly as important as the fact he was in the pool and racing for the first time since his epic Summer Games performance -- and three-month suspension by USA Swimming. Only family and friends knew how close Phelps was to chucking it all. To see him re-embracing his craft, only weeks after his decision, is an important story.

"I was real excited," Phelps said of his return. "It didn't matter how I felt, I was excited just to race. That's the most important thing. I still have that drive and that passion to race.

"I'm definitely ahead of where I thought I would be. After taking that much of a break, I didn't know what to expect or where to really put myself. So I'm very pleased. This is an excellent start to hopefully building off this and getting ready for the summer."

Said Bowman, who was thrilled at Phelps' times in his victories: "Mentally, he's the best ever. We make a big deal about his physical [attributes], and it's there. But it's the way he approaches the race, the way his brain works in competition. That's the way you would like every swimmer to think."

Phelps was shocked that almost 100 media members ventured to an event normally covered by a handful of swimming writers. Such is the star power of one of the planet's most viral celebrities. In a sport that matters to the masses only for two weeks every four years, he remains hyper-relevant because folks are intrigued in his private life, including rumors about strippers and reports that he is dating the controversial beauty queen, Miss California Carrie Prejean. They care about Phelps as much in Britain, France and Japan -- all represented by media at the meet -- as we do in the U.S. "It's kind of weird," he said. "I feel like there's more pressure than Beijing. I didn't even see this many cameras in Beijing."

Though he wondered at one point why five TV camera people were trailing him, Phelps handled the media onslaught with the same charm and thoughtfulness he generally exuded in China. The Charlotte crowd received him warmly, which Bowman said was significant. Gradually, Phelps wants to regain trust in the public and reach out to people as friends, but the process will take time. Admittedly, he feels scalded by fame and its pitfalls. "You always have to be aware of who your real friends are," he said. "Your guard always has to be up. Wherever I go, I am very aware of everything around me."

At least he laughed upon realizing there was a small hole in the back of his swimsuit Friday. If the hole was any larger, oh, would the Internet creeps have had a field day. "I was hoping it wasn't going to rip when I bent down at the start," Phelps said. "But it was all good. We got that all straightened out and fixed."

In his mind, any attention is good attention for swimming, which falls off the map like most Olympic sports in non-Games years. Phelps won't be seeking eight gold medals in London, but he is experimenting with the 50 and 100 free and 100 backstroke, three events that weren't part of his package last August. In the 50 free, which isn't part of the London plan at present, Phelps lacks the "explosive power" to dominate, according to Bowman. He barely qualified for the final, then chose to scratch, explaining that he's using the 50 to help prepare his stroke for the 100 free. "I don't even know how to swim the 50. I don't really know what to do," Phelps said. "My head position the first 25 was not too good. I was too deep. I had a giant wave over my head."

In the end, of course, everyone wants to know about the bong and how he has coped. He was asked at the press conference if he thinks the public is prepared to forgive him. "That's a question I should be asking you guys," Phelps said. "I don't know. As I said before, it was bad judgment and a very stupid mistake. It's something I've already learned from and something I'll continue to learn from. Hopefully, I can help people never make the same mistake."

One of his new friends from the music world, rap mogul Jay-Z, makes a good point about double standards. "You look at all these people who graduated from Princeton and Harvard, who are supposed to be pillars of the community -- every day, [they're] in the newspaper arrested for some kind of financial fraud," he said. "Then you look at someone like Michael Phelps. He's 23. What's he gonna do? He's a kid. He's going to experiment."

He experimented. He got caught. He paid a heavy price.

Now, it's back to work. "I wake up. I eat. Go to morning workout," he said. "I come back and take a nap. Wake up, eat some more."

Never has something so mundane sounded so mature, productive ... and important.