Phelps will be racing himself in swimming comeback

United States' Michael Phelps swims in the men's 4 X 100-meter medley relay at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. [Photo/icpress.cn]

Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever, is coming out of retirement to swim next week at the Arena Grand Prix in Arizona.

The meet will be his first competitive meet since the 2012 London Olympics, where he won the last of his 18 golds and 22 medals overall - a staggering total no one else comes close to.

The swimmer's camp is remaining low-key about the comeback, refusing even to acknowledge it's the first step toward competing at the 2016 Rio Games although everyone knows Phelps wouldn't be going to all this trouble (drug testing, training five days a week) if he wasn't preparing for the only meet that really matters.

By taking that approach, Phelps has left himself with plenty of wiggle room should his comeback fail to meet his own incredibly high standards. Rest assured, he doesn't want to wash out like others who came out of retirement, including fellow swimmers Ian Thorpe and Janet Evans. Both attempted to qualify for the London Olympics and didn't make it past their national trials, a sad epitaph to their brilliant careers.

Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman, insisted nothing can take away from Phelps' impact on the sport, no matter what happens over the next week or month or two years.

"His legacy is sealed," Bowman told The Associated Press on Monday.

It should help that Phelps is planning to swim less-strenuous races and fewer events than he did in his prime. And he's still only 28, far from over the hill as an athlete.

"He wouldn't be doing this if he didn't think he could do it," said Dara Torres, who pulled off numerous comebacks and won three silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at age 41.

Phelps: If I feel like coming back, I could	Swimming worlds open post-Michael Phelps era	Phelps keeping coy about possible comeback plans