crazy watching this right now. 4 years later and he has a child, finance, and is wrapping up Olympic Trials in Rio. Insane...

I kind of understand his attitude after '08. Not that I condone drugs or laziness even, but I can see how he would be dying to explore everything at his age. His talent locked him in a strict lifestyle for years and he's probably never had the chance to just have fun in his teenage years like the rest of us.

Even crazier watching this after he´s just finished with 28 medals in Rio...

Michael Phelps: 2000 Olympics in Sydney at 15, we notice your name 2004 Olympics in Athens at 19, we heard your name 2008 Olympics in Beijing at 23, we knew your name 2012 Olympics in London at 27, we remember your name 2016 Olympics in Rio at 31, we wont ever forget your name Cheers to one of the greatest Olympic athlete ever!!!

the moment Anderson Cooper said "his passion for swimming may have faded" broke my heart into a million pieces

I admire him and his mother so greatly. Not only for his success and all the medals he earned but for the person he is. The kind gentleman he is. How he adores his mother and his wife and new baby boy too. To the world he is an unstoppable decorated Olympic legend but when he sat down for an interview on ESPN he shared some of his most intimate struggles that no one ever knew. After all he is still a person, he is human. He feels pain just like others do. With all his success and his record breaking title, there is still a person behind all that achievement and had felt heartache in life just as you and I do. I admire him for that and his mother too. She raised him well with no credit to his father.

As a swimmer, I've always looked up to Michael Phelps. Nothing has changed! He is back on his game, and you know what? Celebrities have "drug problems" all the time and he's man enough to admit it was a one time mistake and that he can't have any regrets. He's a great swimmer, and great guy, and great mentor! Love you Phelps, and go kick some butt like we all know you can

I love how under that chlorine musk and that competitive brain, Micheal is just a super nerdy, shy, nice and gentle guy.

i saw all his historic moments since i was eight and now im 12 i watched him for 2 olympics and those moments were priceless

11 o'clock in the afternoon

i mean what do they want from him? he won 8 golds in beijing only. they are all too strict. guy needs a break sometimes so what? who wouldnt want a break after that?

"How was it posing" "Pretty nice"

Great interview.

11 O'clock in the afternoon?

I row competitively-nothing close to olympic level-but at the end of a really hardcore season all I want is a summer away from training. The strain on the body and the effect it has on your emotions and mental strength can really be enormous. Imagine what it's like not getting a break for years and years.

I can't wait to see Michael Phelps winning more gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London!!

Don't retire! We love you!

If this was in 2009 how did he manage to do so well in Rome?

Legend is an understatement!

GREATEST ATHLETE OF ALL TIME. NOBODY HAS DOMINATED ANY SPORT LIKE HIM. 'MERICA!

Losing your 'fire' after an accomplishment like Phelps' is expected and in fact even necessary. He has nothing more to prove. More importantly, it shows he is just human. I am glad he let himself go and took a few bong hits. You will always be an inspiration Michael, always.

"i want to go to Rio 2016 she says" "no chance im competing im retired he says" "total bullshit i say" -me 4 years ago "i knew it" -me today

Just watched him today at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN where the USA Olympic Swim Team is training. Michael swam great! He swam countless laps with varying strokes. His unique physical structure is perfect for swimming. He's ready. Watch out London!

Greatest athlete ever

He's coming back for more in RIO bitches!

i feel for em. hes been training all of his life so he hasnt been able to have a normal life and just chill. hope everything works out for him

I have the same thing and that is not necessarily slow, just room for improvement.

damn he was 23 when he smoked in that pic. give em a break!!!!

His mom is just amazing.

I hope he does well!

Mr. Cooper, it's not "two thousand AND eight," "two thousand AND nine," or "two thousand AND ten." When saying numbers, "and" is only used in place of the decimal. I love you, Michael!

I wonder if Bob (Michael's coach) has met Buck Showalter?? (manager of the Orioles) Both have that disciplinary "attitude" if u know what I mean but both are very nice men. I have met Buck and he's a very nice guy but I'm sure that he's got his "attitude" when he's with the guys.

lol at the exchange @5:30 He missed months Months? Maybe 6 weeks

Nate whats ups bro? Michaels the best swimmer in the world. He's dedicated his life to the sport. This was the natural progression, as it is in any professional sports arena when you're the best in your sport. He's the Michael Jorden of swimming ! He deserves every penny he gets period. Don't be a hater. Peace!

Now we know why he is going to rio. His mom bribed him to go so she can go on a real vacation LOL.

7:04 i like how michael is like "huh"

Michael Phelps' mom blinks like heck!!! LOL.

12:35 how do you do that?

You're the best swimmer ever I going to be just like I hope you come back for swimming

i can really relate to phelps and im sure most of you other swimmer do too. we practice like 6 days a week 3 hours a day or maybe even more and it really is a pain in the ass because you dont have time for anything else. Just experiencing the beginning of summer without swimming is the best feeling in the world.

Anderson Cooper is great, he should be in every episode.

idk either

Insane!

Very nice

Honestly, this made me respect him more. :/

yeah, on the weekend that is considered the break of dawn for me

it really pisses me off when people criticize him. before y'all talk try to reach his level, and that will probably never happen so quit yapping. whether you like him as a person or not, what he has accomplished is incredible and that alone is admirable and something to look as inspiration and motivation for whatever YOU want to achieve.

I hope he dominates again but it's going to be tough this time, especially with Ryan Lochte. He's fast as hell too. Should be entertaining none-the-less

His training regimen is insane.

short course or long course?

Boy I'm gonna miss him :(

Good that He came back for Rio

You have no idea how much 40 million dollars is. and soon to be probably around 100 million dollars. some people just don't get how much money that is.

he lost a lot of my respect when that happened. But now I was just recently thinking that he might do that stuff, but he still trains and works harder than anyone else. And training hard is probably more important than smoking/not smoking

It's amazing that he can just loss a gold medal and not even notice, especially when you think about all the Olympians who just want one gold. Kinda goes to show how great of an athlete his is that he has so many golds

Crazy

He is the greatest Olympian ever. Now one will EVER break his record of 8 golds and now all time medals. You can hate him or like him those facts will never change.

he's got such a push with every butterfly stroke jeesus

And also phelps is a really humble winner :)

adorei valeu!

Oh, your mama must be so proud!

lol i didn't know they're was an 11:00 in the afternoon....

You showed them..

GET IN GET IN!

It's amazing how different his build is to usain bolts. One a pure land animal, the other a human dolphin

7:57 - 7:59 Ripley's believe it or Not Phelps style

You the real mvp

WOOOHOOOOOOOOO ANOTHER WIN!!

The Greatest swimmer of all time. The Greatest in the World. Not bad for being only 27.

eventhough he didn't work that hard, he still got 6 gold medals,which is unbelievable

Mom's words are true, she said Rio and he went to become unbeatable.

12:32 that’s what he thinks

4:03 to 4:15 insane amount of blinking

Give him a break. Dude won 8 gold medals and got a taste of the media and an actual break he wanted it. I hope he wins some more medals before he gets that long break he deserves. Go Phelps!

looks like phelps is a 100% back on his game. I'm sure he didn't appreciate losing to Lochte and seeing some of his World Records get taken down. Should be a great rivalry in London. Go USA!

every hero has his downfall then they shine once again, what a legend

lol listening about michael phelps awesome weight training and daily workouts. me: i just had ice cream.

2 free yes, 2 im no his freestyle was bad last summer but i cant see him loosing based on how good he is traditionally in the 2 free hes talked abt the 4im i believe also and lochte has never traditionally had the endurance to have a gold medal 4im

Literally LOL'ed at your comment. Too funny.

His mom blinks so much...

"I'd wake up at like.......11 in the afternoon"

Oh Michael phelps is just too cute :DD

yep. that's exactly what I'm saying.

I hope he does awesome again in Rio, I'd hate to see things turn to shit for him. Not to mention us lol To be outdone by obviously lesser athletes? Our Michael, our Missy, our Katie..? NoOoOoOoo!!

I still believe in phelps he is my inspiration to get to the olympics I know he will pull through for the 200fly he's my inspiration that makes me train more hours than I did and now i'm starting to qualifly for things nobody should bash him if they haven't been in his shoes.

The thing is, he doesn't have to win 8 gold medals this time around and I think people will be disappointed when he doesn't. I expect him to take home 4 or 5. A couple of golds and a silver or three. That's all he has to do to be the all time medal winner

he hotboxxes his bead

I hope Michael can get those Gold Medals

all eyes on michael phelps

Yeah, don't smoke pot or you could be the most dominant Olympian in history. Anti-pot laws are almost as useless as smoking cigarettes.

he's sooo humble....unlike Usain Bolt lol...(i'm Caribbean i can diss him lol)

He has got 23 Gold medals...I mean insane

I kinda feel sorry for him. Phelps did say that Michael Jordan is his inspirational athlete. Well, Jordan didn't lose interest after one championship.

Its close enough! Seriously, who the heck sleeps that long?

he looked at his bank account and thought, i need to win more medals.

Awesome right

11 in the afternoon? lol

I see him winning 5 gold metals atleast

As much as I wanna see him compete in Rio 2016 . Can't blame the guy for wanting to live

Good for MP. He's made all that money, now after this summer he gets to go spend it the way he wants.