The US’ Michael Phelps on Saturday left the Olympic pool for the last time having fulfilled a childhood dream, but it is clear he will not be walking away from the sport that has turned him into a global household name.
Phelps’ swimming career ended with his 23rd gold medal in the 4x100 medley relay medal on Saturday, which extended his record as the most decorated Olympian of all time.
“This all started and began with one little dream as a kid that changed the sport of swimming and tried to do something nobody else has ever done,” Phelps said. “And it turned out pretty cool.”
Photo: AFP
It could have all ended four years ago, a little less cool, for the now 31-year-old American.
After the 2012 London Olympics, which he had declared to be his last, Phelps walked away with not only the regret that he simply went through the motions, but like many athletes in retirement, he appeared lost and unprepared.
In Rio de Janeiro, where he took his Olympic tally to a staggering 28 medals — he also won three silvers and two bronze — it was apparent he was not going through the motions at all.
Clearly exhausted, he shared every victory with the raucous crowd and was especially emotional whenever he caught sight of fiancee Nicole Johnson and infant son Boomer in the stands.
“Getting off the bus walking into the pool tonight I almost felt myself starting to cry,” Phelps said. “Last warmup, last time putting on a suit, last time walking out in front of thousands of people representing my country, it’s insane. A lot better than it was four years ago, this is how I wanted to finish my career. This was the cherry on top of the cake and [I’m] looking forward to starting a new chapter.”
Part of that new chapter now clearly lies outside the pool.
Since he first took the Olympic plunge at the 2000 Sydney Games he has had an ambition to take swimming into the mainstream and there is no doubt the sport has enjoyed a much higher profile during his tenure as its leading figure.
However, it is also apparent he has not been able to elevate it much beyond what it has been — something people only care about during Olympic years and he knows he has work to do.
“I’ve said this to some of you, it’s not done growing,” he told reporters when he qualified for Rio. “In my opinion, and if I have to die before — I’ll go down swinging to see this sport where I want it to be. It’s not done yet.”
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary