At the end of the Rio Olympics, while several of his teammates were embroiled in postgame scandals, Michael Phelps packed up and headed home.
With 23 gold medals (28 Olympic medals altogether) to his name, a new baby, and a secret marriage he hadn't yet revealed, Phelps announced his retirement for the second time.
He had retired once before, after the 2012 Olympic Games in London, but struggled in the years that followed with depression and alcohol abuse that resulted in a DUI arrest in 2014.
But he credited his relationship with his now-wife Nicole, his son Boomer, and a return to training on his own terms with bringing him back from the edge — and after one more successful Olympic season, he stepped from the pool after the final relay and told his team, “I am done, boys.”
But ...
In April, a much cagier Phelps told the Associated Press about possibly attending July's World Championships in Budapest.
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