Michael Phelps is to take another step in his comeback at a Grand Prix meet in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday next week.
His coach, Bob Bowman, said on Monday night that Phelps had entered the 100m butterfly and 200m freestyle at the Charlotte Grand Prix, but he was not sure Phelps would compete in both.
The events are on the same day, keeping in line with the plan to build up Phelps’ endurance, but cut back on the sort of grueling, multiday programs he once swam.
Phelps returned to competition at a meet in Arizona less than two weeks ago, his first since retiring after the 2012 London Games as the most decorated athlete in Olympic history.
He competed in two events at the Mesa Grand Prix, finishing second to longtime rival Ryan Loche in the 100m fly and matching the fourth-fastest time in the world this year. Phelps also competed in the 50m freestyle, but used his preliminary heat to work on his butterfly and finished 42nd overall against swimmers who were using the much faster stroke.
“We were encouraged by his performances in Mesa and look forward to trying a 200 in Charlotte,” Bowman said in a text message.
Phelps also has put his name in for the final Grand Prix meet of the season in Santa Clara, California, next month, though he is taking the comeback one step at a time and not committing to any long-term goals.
Still, it is clear he would not be putting in the work if the 2016 Rio Olympics were not his primary focus. Phelps has already competed in four Summer Games, winning 18 golds and 22 medals overall.
The Grand Prix schedule provides tuneups for the US national championships in August, where teams will be chosen for the Pan Pacific Championships later that month and next year’s world championships in Kazan, Russia — an important stepping-stone for the Olympics.
Phelps is the three-time defending Olympic champion in the 100m fly, so it is obvious that race would be part of any Olympic plan. He won the 200m free at the 2008 Beijing Games — during his record eight-gold performance — but dropped the event in London.
After the Charlotte meet, Phelps will head to Colorado for high-altitude training on May 27.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but