Greatest Olympian retires: Got all… Ready to be done

I dunno what Im feeling right now. Im just retiring, he earlier declared,minutes after hed wrapped up his London campaign with six medals,including the 4×100 freestyle gold,a prestige event that the Americans have never lost in Olympic history. That made it 22 medals for Phelps alone,including 18 gold in three Olympics.

Besides,today,he received another honour: a trophy rather than a medal,to sum up a career like no other. To Michael Phelps, it said,the greatest Olympic athlete of all time.

There are plenty of things Phelps wants to do with his life now. Staring at a black line (in the pool) for four hours every single day isnt one of them, he said,without a laugh.

I couldnt have asked to finish on a better note. Ive done everything I wanted to do,have been fortunate to accomplish it all. And I know Im ready to be done, he insisted,sounding and feeling far more relaxed than he thought he would,by his own admission.

His last competitive swim felt like a normal swim,Phelps added. And his last prepping ever was watched by 20 lifeguards and volunteers. It was weird when you think of it,there was nobody in that warm-up pool. Usually youre trying to make your way through the crowd. But I was the last to swim in the warm-up pool, Phelps said.

In fact,he was still fooling around on the podium with team-mate Brendan Hansen when the tears started rolling down. I tried to fight them back,but then I gave up, he said.

While he competed in several cities,he believes hell begin experiencing travel only now. Yeah sure,we travel a lot,but its just one hotel room after another. Now I want to experience those cities Ive only heard of, he added.

The face of American swimming which hell continue to remain,according to team-mate Missy Franklin Phelps would also like to teach kids to swim and work on his foundation. Our team has come a long way. And there are some great young swimmers out there who have goals,just as we had growing up. And should he take to golf,he said,he would remain as competitive as ever.

Would Phelps change anything about his career much or think back on the sacrifices? Im fine with all the sacrifice stuff, he said. I wouldnt change anything,I didnt miss anything.

Theres one thing though: the desserts,which he couldnt quite gorge on during his competing career. The last race,in his words,was like the cherry and the sprinklers on top of a nice sundae.