BBC Radio 4 reports this morning that Michael Phelps has been banned for 6 months and will miss the World Championships next year.
It seems that the pressures of being World and Olympic Champion have been too great for him.
I hope that he will be able to return to swimming even if he retires as a competitor.
While he has some spare time maybe he should read Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas, about a young swimmer who breaks in the Commonwealth Games and falls into alcoholism and crime, or maybe he should watch the 2nd TV series of Waterboys in which a banned and disgraced coach is pushed into helping a non competitive boys synchronised swimming team; the experience renewing his will to live.
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