Michael Phelps is not going down without a fight.
The most decorated swimmer in Olympic history bounced back from a third-place finish in his first event, the 200-meter freestyle, at a Pro Series swim meet in Santa Clara, Calif., to win a pair of races and receive a much-needed confidence boost as the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro draw closer.
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Olympictalk.nbcsports.com reported Sunday that the 22-time Olympic medalist - and 18-time gold medal winner - captured the 200-meter individual medley after winning the 200-meter butterfly on Saturday to halt a six-race skid.
His time in the IM was 1 minute, 59.39 seconds, his fastest time of the year in that event and the 18th fastest time in the world for 2015. The three-time reigning Olympic 200m IM champion swam a 1:56.04 in 2014 to rank third in the world.
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His winning 200m butterfly time was 1:57.62, six seconds slower than his record time in 2009, the Denver Post reported, but three seconds faster than he swam the same event last month.
"I'm just happy to end the meet [with] the 200 free, 200 IM and 200 fly faster than I've been all year," Phelps said, according to reachforthewall.com. "That's kind of what we wanted to do, to be able to progress throughout the year."
To help his endurance, Phelps participated in the 200-meter backstroke right after his 200 IM win and said he feels he's on the right track.
"I'm happy I'm finishing races like I have," Phelps said, as reported by reachforthewall.com. "It's just good to push my body as hard as I can. It helps prepare me.
"This has been a great confidence booster for me. I look at this and feel like I'm doing something right."
Phelps, who is banned from competing in the World Championships in Russia in August, said he is traveling to Colorado Springs today to begin a three-week, high-altitude training session.
"You're locked in this compound for three weeks," he said to reachforthewall.com. "I can complain about going but I know it's what I need."
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