Interview with recordbreaking Olympic swimmer after his ban is lifted

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(6 May 2009) SHOTLIST • 1. US swimmer Michael Phelps diving into pool and swimming a length • 2. Various of Phelps swimming • 3. Phelps during interview • 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Phelps, swimmer: • It's shown (suspension from competitive swimming) to me it's shown who my real friends are, but it's also given me a lot of time to really think, and since pretty much Beijing ended, I've just haven't really thought about what I want to do, if I do want to go another four years. • 5. Phelps in pool, coach giving instructions • 6. Phelps in pool UPSOUND: (English) Phelps: Paul was saying today is my first day off my suspension, from USA Swimming. • 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Phelps, swimmer: • You know there were times where you know I'd sit down with a piece of paper and I'd write the pros and cons of swimming and quitting and retiring. There were days where I'd come in and work out, and if I came in just for warm up. I'd get out after warm up and just be like, well I'm not really feeling it today, I'll just go home. Or, if I want to swim slow, I'll swim slow. If I don't want to come, I wouldn't come. It was, you know if I'd wake up and be like, ehhh, I don't feel like really going to work out, I'm just going to stay in bed or watch tv or hang out. I just wouldn't come in. • 8. Various of Phelps swimming length of pool • 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Phelps, swimmer: • That random Sunday when I woke up and I have no idea what was, what changed from the night before, but something was back, and I felt something in my heart that I felt before Beijing, that I want to do this, and I want to go another four years. • 10. Various of Phelps swimming • 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Phelps, swimmer: • I was like what am I doing even thinking about quitting or retiring. I'm 23, I'm not retiring at 23. I have four more years left in my career, and there are still things that I want to accomplish. Ever since then, we still have had a day or so here and there where I haven't been perfectly on, but for the most part, when I come in, it's, you know it's the old me, you know, it's the normal me. Come in and work hard, take steps toward my goals. • 12. Phelps swimming • STORYLINE: • US swimming sensation Michael Phelps on Tuesday returned to competitive swimming after after finishing a three-month suspension. • The suspension was doled out by USA Swimming after a picture surfaced in a British tabloid showing the Olympic record holder inhaling from a marijuana pipe. • Tuesday was the final day of his suspension. • Phelps admitted the fallout from the infamous photo made him think twice about whether he wanted to stay in the public eye. • At his lowest, unsure if he wanted to return to swimming, he sat down with a pen and a piece of paper. • I wrote out the pros and cons of swimming, he said, and quitting. • In the end, swimming won out and Phelps returned to what he does best. • What am I doing even thinking about quitting? he asked himself. I'm 23 years old. I'm not retiring at 23. I have four more years to my career. I still have things I want to accomplish. • Phelps called long time coach Bob Bowman on March 1. • He'll return to competition next week at an event in Charlotte, North Carolina. • It will be his first time swimming competitively since winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. • Phelps, who's lost almost 20 pounds in last two months, said he's happy to be getting back into shape and to have some structure in his life. • In Beijing, Phelps broke Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record of seven gold medals and became the most successful Olympian ever with 14 golds. • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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