Michael Phelps Returns to Swimming and His Winning Ways at Charlotte UltraSwim

American swimmer Michael Phelps, now 23 years old, returned to competitive swimming on Friday morning for the first time since winning a record eight gold medals and setting seven world records in the Beijing Olympics, nine months ago. Phelps plans to swim in five events (200-metre freestyle, 100-metre butterfly, 50-metre freestyle, 100-metre backstroke and 100-metre freestyle) at the Charlotte UltraSwim this weekend. The UltraSwim is his first step toward the London Games in 2012.

Phelps has come under heavy criticism and controversy for his actions after the Beijing Olympics. In early 2009, there was a picture that surfaced showing Phelps using a bong, a device used for smoking marijuana. Phelps admitted to behavior that was regrettable and showing bad judgment. He also now knows who his real friends are for who he is and not what he has accomplished. Phelps was not prosecuted because there was not enough evidence but Kellogg's did not renew his endorsement contract and he was suspended from swimming competitively for three months by USA Swimming. Phelps have also been partying heavily and has been rumored to be dating various female celebrities.

Phelps pondered about retirement from swimming when he was serving his three-month suspension but decided against it when Phelps' coach Bob Bowman talked him out of it.

Phelps swam in two preliminary heats (200-metre freestyle event, 100-metre butterfly event), advancing to the final in both events. He swam in the freestyle heat first, finishing third overall, and with a time of 1 min and 50.46 seconds, seven seconds slower than the world record he set in Beijing. Heat winner Darvis Tarwater beat Phelps by 0.25 of a second, and Peter Vanderkaay beat him by 0.20 of a second. An hour after Phelps swam the 200 freestyle, he returned to swim the 100 butterfly, winning his heat with a time of 53.41 seconds. Phelps beat his American teammate Aaron Piersol by 0.20 of a second and finished third overall behind Tyler McGill and Courtney Swanepoel.

Phelps set a meet record of 1 minute, 46.02 seconds in the final to win the 200-metre freestyle event and return to his winning ways on top of the medal stand. Phelps returned to the pool half-hour later and won his second consecutive event, the 100-metre butterfly, in a time of 51.72 seconds. Phelps wins two golds the first day of competition.

Phelps' next stop is to compete in the US and World Championships in July of this year and has said that he will compete in the 2012 Olympics in London but will not go after eight medals like he did in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.