OMAHA, Neb. — When we first saw Michael Phelps years ago, he was a blank slate. He was swimming, swimming, swimming with one thought of one thing: winning gold. As time passed, things changed, and he kept winning gold. He lost interest, felt a void, turned to alcohol, suffered from depression. And he won gold.
Now we're seeing the Phelps who is cleaning himself up and carrying on. And on Tuesday at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials, a few days from Phelps' 31st birthday, we saw this generation of American swim stars struggle and look old.