We know that Michael Phelps is done swimming (for now anyway). Insisting that he will not return to the most elite competitive levels of swimming, citing a self-imposed promise to retire before the age of 30, we got our first sign that Phelps is serious about his retirement.
The USADA has released their testing numbers for the 4th Quarter of 2012, and for the first time in over a decade, Michael Phelps’ name was not on the list. The man who has been among the most tested in swimming by the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Association) at a rate of over once a month for the last ten years is out of the testing pool.
In swimming, that is significant because it’s the one true indicator that an athlete is retired. There’s no contracts, swimmers will often go for long stretches without racing, but when an athlete removes their name from the drug testing pool, then suddenly there’s a mess of hurdles they have to cross before returning to competition. Specifically, if Phelps wanted to come back to racing, he would have to go through a 9-month waiting period where he was tested. This ensures that athletes aren’t “retiring” to avoid testing rules, doping, and then returning to competition immediately thereafter.
Among those who were tested in the 4th quarter was Rebecca Soni: Olympic champion and World Record holder in the 200 breaststroke. She hasn’t raced since London, leading to some concerns that her career might be over. She told the LA Times two weeks ago that she was for sure taking this year off to do some travelling and recover from an excruciating back injury that she kept under wraps in the lead-up to the Games. She was tested three times in the last three months of the year 2012, however, so as of then at least she hadn’t filed her paperwork to officially retire.
The swimmer who was tested the most in the period? Another Olympic Champion Matt Grevers, who got 6 visits. His soon-to-be-bride Annie Chandler wasn’t tested at all as she too has retired. Missy Franklin was the most-tested female swimmer at 5 trials in three months.
Ilove you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michael Phelps
they should test him for golf though… technically he is a golf pro in that he has a sponsorship
He also has swimming sponsorships still. There’s no technicality that makes you in the testing pool because you have a sponsorship. Nothing he has to worry about until he tries to join a tour that is a signatory of the WADC. All he’s playing is pro-ams.
Soni was recovering from an excruciating back injury that she kept under wraps in the lead-up to the Olympics??! This is the first I’d heard of that. Makes her amazing times all the more incredible and may partly explain why she’s not retiring despite posting a seemingly unbeatable 2:19.5 2BR. Best wishes for good healing and hope she makes it back for a healthier shot at world competition and her amazing times.
Is there a website stating who remains on the list?