While many around the U.S. hold out hope that Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps will return for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, Phelps has warmed up to retirement life and has no regrets about walking away from the pool following the 2012 London Olympics.
Phelps told WCHS News' Bill Green at the development for his Michael Phelps Skill Center in Saco, M.E., that he is happy with his life as a retired swimmer.
"I've said nothing about a comeback," Phelps told the news station. "I have said nothing about a comeback. It's everybody else opening their mouths and saying comments that they think I'm going to do or think that I said. I've never said anything publicly."
Phelps added: "I'm retired. I love it. It's fun."
While the news will most likely shatter the hearts of many of his fans, the Olympic swimmer has plenty of plans for his future that involve swimming, while not actually getting back into the sport. His skill center will aim to teach people of all different levels about swimming technique, and Phelps also hopes to start a family soon.
"I think it's more tiring now than it was when I was training," Phelps told the news affiliate. "Just because I'm always on the road, I'm always traveling and I'm always doing something. Whether it's having appearances, coming [to the skill center], going to play golf...I'm constantly on the road. I don't spend much time at home, that's tough but it's fun. I am enjoying it."
Phelps said that he finds Maine ocean water too cold to swim in and that it was "brutal" when he put his feet in and that his whole body went numb when he jumped into the ocean and "his body shut down," so he prefers the warm pools in his facility.
After a rewarding yet hectic career that saw Phelps become the most decorated swimmer with 22 medals overall and 18 of them gold, the swimmer said it's nice for him to be able to relax in the confined warm pools in Maine.
"It's kind of relaxing because I get very little time to myself and very little time to kind of unwind and think about whatever I want to think about," Phelps told the news program. "It's kind of a place where my mind just really wanders."
While Phelps won't be returning to the pool, he's kept himself plenty busy out of it with all of his current endeavors, and despite the fact that he's never said anything publicly regarding a return, his fans will still hope that one day he will return to the Olympic Games as a lot can change in three years.
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