Michael Phelps ended his career with another gold as the United States won the medley relay at the London Olympics on Saturday.
When Michael Phelps left the swimming pool for the last time, he was carrying two things:
In his right hand was a statue from FINA, the international governing body of swimming. It had been presented to him earlier Sunday night, after winning his 22nd and final Olympic medal – 18 of them gold, including the last one as part of the United States' 400-meter medley relay. The inscription on the trophy declared Phelps, "The Greatest Olympic Athlete of All Time."
Phelps leaves the sport with a record 18 golds and 22 medals overall. At this Games he won four golds and two silvers.
For the third straight Olympics, he is the most decorated swimmer: eight medals in Athens – six gold, two bronze – at the age of 19 in 2004, his "Hello, World" moment; eight more in Beijing – all gold – in 2008, a master at the height of his powers; and now six more in London – four gold, two silver – in a display of both fallibility and resilience that ended with three straight golds.
Phelps could keep competing on a more limited scale and try for the next olympics at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, but no. There is nothing left to prove, no worlds left to conquer, no meaningful records left to break.
"I've been able to do everything I've wanted," he said.
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