Swimming: Michael Phelps makes a clean dive back into competition. (April 24, 2014)

April 24, 2014 (Thurs - Written by Childs Walker, The Baltimore Sun
There was a time, before the 2012 Olympics, when swimming became a grim exercise for its greatest practitioner, Michael Phelps from USA.
The pool felt like a place of obligation, not joy, and thus Phelps walked away from the sport after bringing his record gold-medal total to 18 at London 2012 Olympics.

That dread was nowhere in evidence Thursday when Phelps made his triumphant return to competitive swimming after a 20-month retirement. Phelps beamed on the starting block before his first race, acknowledging the effusive roar he’d received from a sellout crowd at the Mesa Grand Prix in April 24.

Then, he showed he could still swim a little bit. In a performance that wiped away any doubts about his form, Phelps posted the day’s fastest qualifying time in the 100-meter butterfly at 52.84 seconds. He improved his time to 52.13 seconds in the evening final but finished just behind longtime rival Ryan Lochte, who won in 51.93 seconds.

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Source: The Baltimore Sun