MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, November 14. IN a move that has been coming for quite some time, Michael Phelps has re-entered the testing pool at USADA and has been tested twice in the last quarter by the organization according to the latest release of stats today.
Swimming World first got wind of the fact he was back in the testing pool earlier today when Phelps surprised everyone in attendance by taking a dip in the warmup pool at the Arena Grand Prix in Minneapolis this afternoon, and has been waiting for proof with the release of quarterly stats that were expected to drop.
Just minutes ago, USADA updated its website with the proof that Phelps more than made the November 6 mythical deadline to comeback and give the sport another go by actually having entered within the last quarter. Enough to induce a pair of tests.
As first broken by former Morning Swim Show host Peter Busch and rumored by Casey Barett of CapandGoggles.com back in May, Phelps has been taking all of the steps necessary for the Greatest of All Time to get back in the water.
During the summer, he had a visit to Colorado Springs aborted once it became public, but has since been putting in work at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Additionally, he’s been backing off most of his early comments saying he was never coming back. Now, he took the latest step, which is to be back in the drug testing pool.
That means he’ll have the chance to make a National Team next summer to prepare for the final two years before the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he can add to his already gaudy numbers.
He has the most Olympic medals of all time across any sports with 22, including 18 gold, two silver and two bronze. He also has an astonishing 26 world long course titles to his name as well as 13 Pan Pacific Championship crowns. Once Phelps makes the Pan Pacs team, look for that last tally to rise significantly in 2014.
The best part about Phelps being back in the testing pool is that all the “Will He or Won’t He” talk will now transition to “How Good Can He Still Be?”
