He’s going to take some time off from swimming and enjoy the rewards his accomplishments have brought him, but in typical Michael Phelps fashion, he can’t avoid thoughts of his next Olympics.
Phelps did his 11th news conference in 12 days Sunday, but he perked up when the topic became the Beijing Olympics.
“I wouldn’t count anything out,” he said. “I would definitely keep all options open.”
The $1 million bonus in his Speedo contract for matching Mark Spitz’s seven golds carries over to 2008, so let speculation about Phelps’ program for Beijing begin.
Phelps will march in the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, then go home to Baltimore with six gold medals. No Summer Olympian has ever won 10 overall, although legends such as Paavo Nurmi, Carl Lewis and Spitz came close.
Phelps was one of only two teens on the American men’s swim team. He’d be 23 in Beijing and hardly an old man in 2012.
“It would be great to have the opportunity to possibly swim my last Olympics in the United States, if we get that bid,” Phelps said. “I hope to swim for another eight to 10 years.”
New York is among the 2012 finalists, a field headed by Paris and London.
When that decision is announced, Phelps will have established residence in Ann Arbor, Mich. He’s about to shift his allegiance from the North Baltimore Aquatic Club to Club Wolverine, but he’ll also be the volunteer assistant to Bob Bowman, who takes over Sept. 1 as the coach at the University of Michigan.
Phelps, who has been coached by Bowman since he was 12, will move to Ann Arbor in late October and study sports business or marketing when he finally gets around to enrolling at Michigan.
“I am looking forward to sort of starting a new beginning,” Phelps said.