Michael Phelps Explains To Pat McAfee Why He Retired From Competitive Swimming

Getty Image / Cristophe Simon

It’s somehow been eight years since Michael Phelps captivated America for the final time with his incredible Summer Olympics performances that spanned sixteen years and five Summer Olympics. The greatest Olympian of all time will be in Paris as part of NBC’s coverage, but that’s all we’ll get to see of him.

Phelps, now 39, would likely be too old to compete with the world’s best had he not have retired following the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. But, he would’ve been 36 three years ago in Tokyo, and would’ve been 35 when the Tokyo games were originally scheduled for, and he probably could’ve won some more medals.

So, why did Michael Phelps stop swimming after an Olympic Games in 2016 saw him win two individual golds, an individual silver, and three gold medals in relays?

Considering he thinks that he could still win medals, there had to be a good reason. On the Pat McAfee Show, McAfee asked Phelps, who still often swims for fun, if he could come back and compete.  Phelps said he think he could win the 200IM, but that it would take four years to do, and this is why he isn’t going to try.

“It’s kind of funny you say that. So, watching the Olympic trials, my son said, my four-year-old Maverick says, ‘Daddy, do you think you could still get in the water and compete with these guys?’ Yes. I said if I wanted to, yes, I could. And I said ‘I think I could still win. but that also means that you’re not going to see daddy very often, right? You’re not going to be able to spend time with me when you come home from school.’And he’s like, ‘I don’t want that.’ ‘I don’t want that either.’ So that’s the end of the conversation for us,” Phelps said.

Phelps has four sons with his wife, Nicole, and if you think back, you may remember seeing his oldest son, Boomer, in the crowd at the Rio Olympics when he was just three months old to support his dad at the final meet of his career.

While it’s great that he is focusing on his family, I think many of us will miss his incredible performances this summer in Paris. In fact, Michael Phelps was just named the best athlete of the 21st century by ESPN.

In his Olympic career, Phelps won 28 medals, ten more than any other Olympian in history. His 23 gold medals are five more than anyone else’s total medals and no one else even has double-digit gold medals. That could very well change in these Olympics, as American Swimmer Katie Ledecky sits on 7 gold medals with plenty of opportunities to win three more.