Michael Phelps was back in familiar waters and on top of the winner’s podium in his comeback to competitive swimming at the US Grand Prix in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday.
Competing for just the second time since retiring after the 2012 London Olympics, Phelps ticked off all the important boxes he needed to.
In the morning heats, he tested his stamina by entering two lung-sapping events – the 200 metres freestyle and 100m butterfly – then in the evening finals, he tested his speed by winning the 100m butterfly final.
He also qualified for the 200m freestyle final but scratched from the race after achieving his goal in the heats – qualifying for this year’s US national championships, which double as the selection event for next year’s world titles in Russia.
His time in the 200m free was one minute, 51.69 seconds, way below his best, but 0.2 seconds inside the US qualifying time.
His best times from previous years don’t count for future meetings because they happened outside the qualifying window but Phelps has now qualified for the nationals in the 100m butterfly and 200m freestyle.