Michael Phelps is pushing back against a report that he’ll return to competitive swimming in time for the 2016 Rio Olympics. An NBC affiliate in Fort Myers, Florida, reported Friday that Phelps was considering a comeback. While not naming any sources, the story was posted by Peter Busch, the son of Frank Busch, director of the U.S. national swim team.
Phelps went to Twitter to downplay the news. “Why do I keep getting texts about coming back?” he wrote. “Do (people) really believe everything they hear or read? There are (too) many (people) in the world that think they have a `story.'”
Last weekend, Ryan Lochte hinted that Phelps would return to swimming, considering that many in the sport remain competitive well into their 30s. “I can’t really talk about it,” Lochte told the , while grinning during a Grand Prix meet in Charlotte, N.C. “Who knows?”