At the world swimming championships, which begin July 26 in Rome, Michael Phelps won't tackle as ambitious a competition program as the one that gave him worldwide celebrity and a place in Olympic history in last year's Beijing Games.
Phelps' results still could be spectacular, based on his performance in the U.S. championships, which ended Saturday in Indianapolis.
That would be in stark contrast with the last time Phelps competed in worlds the year after winning a passel of Olympic medals. He won six gold and two bronze in the 2004 Athens Games, then, in the 2005 worlds, failed to qualify for the 400-meter freestyle final and finished seventh in the 100 freestyle.
Granted, those events were off Phelps' normal program. In Rome, Phelps will compete in events only in which he is heavily favored as the reigning Olympic and world champion — the 100 and 200 butterfly and the 200 freestyle. He won all three in nationals, breaking a 4-year-old world record in the 100 butterfly.
"I don't think it takes him as long to get back in good shape as when he was younger," national team coach Mark Schubert said of Phelps, 24, who returned to training in March after a post-Beijing break, "and I think it's a tribute to a lot of hard work, not just this year, but previous years."
Phelps is likely to swim in all three relays in Rome, giving him the potential for six golds. In Beijing, he won eight gold medals.
Phelps considered swimming in the 100 freestyle, an event that will become part of his routine as he focuses on shorter races. But he had to withdraw from the 100 freestyle in nationals because a sore neck affected his ability to properly breathe while racing.
The scheduling of the 100 freestyle in Rome also conflicted with the 200 butterfly. Phelps is eager to lower his world record in the 200 butterfly after a goggle problem in Beijing prevented him from posting the time he was aiming for there.
"My butterfly is probably a lot better than my freestyle is right now, so we were going to do the 200 no matter what," he said.
In the last worlds, in 2007, Phelps won seven golds, missing out on an eighth when the USA was disqualified in the final relay.
The worlds in Rome will be more understated for Phelps, and for the U.S. team overall. U.S. swimmers won 36 medals in the 2007 worlds, 20 of them gold.
"It's going to be real challenging to be close to our medal count in 2007," Schubert said. "This is more of a building year for us."
The U.S. men finished 1-2 in seven of the 17 events in 2007. Some of those men are retired or taking a break from swimming. Backstroker Aaron Peirsol still is in top form, though, setting two world records in nationals.
Like Phelps, Dana Vollmer, Ryan Lochte and Eric Shanteau all qualified for worlds in three individual events.
Two of the best in the 2007 worlds — Katie Hoff and Kate Ziegler — aren't on the women's team, and a third, Natalie Coughlin, is taking the year off.
Dara Torres is back, making the worlds team at 42 in the 50 freestyle. She will join young swimmers such as 15-year-old Elizabeth Pelton (who qualified for worlds in the 100 and 200 backstroke) and 16-year-old Elizabeth Beisel (who won the 200 backstroke and 400 individual medley in nationals) in Rome.
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