BREAKING NEWS

Most decorated Olympian, Michael Phelps, ready to retire

By REUTERS

AUGUST 13, 2016 06:48

RIO DE JANEIRO - No means no. No amount of cajoling, arm-twisting and pleading by his team mates and swimming fans around the world will make Michel Phelps change his mind about retiring after the Rio Olympics.

The great American swimmer made that abundantly clear on Friday after winning the 27th Olympic medal of his career, a three-way dead-heat silver in the men's 100 meters butterfly.

"No," he said as the question was still leaving the journalist's lips, a succession of further 'no's following in close succession.

"And I'm standing by that," he insisted.

"I've been able to do everything I've ever put my mind to in this sport. And 24 years in the sport. I'm happy with how things finished."

Phelps said in 2012 he was retiring but he came back for one last hurrah after feeling he wanted to bow out on his own terms.

That meant winning back the men's 200m butterfly title that Le Clos took from him four years ago, and he declared 'mission achieved' on that last Wednesday.

He has won four golds and a silver in Rio so far, taking his tally to 22 golds, and is not finished completely yet even if Friday was his last individual race. The 4x100 medley relay on Saturday will be his final farewell.

After that, Phelps will hang up his cap -- not the one he ripped in half before the 4x200 freestyle relay -- and spend more time with his loved ones.

"I'm ready to retire. I'm happy about it. I'm in a better state of mind this time than I was four years ago. And yeah. I'm ready to spend some time with (baby son) Boomer and (fiancee) Nicole."

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