AFP, WASHINGTON: Michael Phelps is heading for the Rio Olympics next year a new man after coming through the toughest period of his life, he told American magazine Sports Illustrated.
In a cover feature entitled “The Rehabilitation of Michael Phelps”, the man who has won 18 Olympic titles, more than anyone else, give a frank account of his descent into alcoholism before turning his life around again.
Phelps reached rock bottom in September 2014 when he was arrested in Baltimore, Maryland, for drink-driving (DUI) after a night out at a local casino, the second time he had been found to be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
He pleaded guilty to drunk-driving and was given one-year suspended sentence and 18 months’ probation, but was spared jail.  It served as a wake-up call for the swimming superstar. “I was in a real dark place. Not wanting to be alive anymore,” he explained.
And he checked himself into rehab and is now ready to return to Olympic competition.
Phelps, 30, says after the arrest he spent four days in his Maryland home before realising he had to get his life back on track. “It’s probably the most afraid I’ve ever felt in my life,” he said.