"My only hopes for Michael are that he stay motivated long term," said Mark Schubert, head coach of the U.S. national team. "I'm looking forward to the world championships to see what he can do. He seems to be motivated and happy, moving forward in the sport with new challenges. Just his presence, what he brings out [in] the crowd, and [the] atmosphere he creates, is good for the sport. I don't think Michael needs to win eight gold medals every time out. But he looks at every event as a challenge."
Phelps might even have more time to rest in this meet than in any other major meet he has entered in years. He dropped both grueling individual medley events from his program after the Olympics and decided not to swim in either backstroke event, even though he is one of the best in the world in that stroke.
"He really hasn't done any training at all for the 200 backstroke, so I felt like it would be disingenuous to ask him to go out there and swim it," Bowman said.
There's also a good chance Phelps will drop one of his four events, choosing between the 100-meter freestyle and the 200-meter butterfly at the world championships because the schedule would make swimming both almost impossible.
It could be a difficult decision. He's the world-record holder in the 200-meter butterfly, and not one of the world's elite in the 100-meter freestyle, but his main goal this year is to transition to sprinting.
"As long as we have Michael on the relays, I'm a happy camper," Schubert said.
Swimming, in general, is certainly happy to have Phelps back and on center stage. For the first time, there will be live television coverage of the U.S. nationals, with the event scheduled to appear each night on Universal Sports. (It will be edited down and shown on NBC on July 11 and 12.) NBC will also televise the world championships for the first time.
And Phelps has apparently suffered minimal fallout from the bong photo and suspension. Subway announced last week that he will appear in TV commercials promoting the sandwich chain. Phelps signed an endorsement deal with Subway shortly before the photo surfaced, and the company decided to delay using him as a pitchman until now.
"In many ways, Michael breaks the mold," Tony Pace, the company's chief marketing officer, told the Associated Press. "Based on all the tracking we do, he's still incredibly highly regarded and his performance is still something people talk about."
Towson's Katie Hoff will also be competing at the U.S. nationals (100-, 200-, 400- and 800-meter freestyle), although her training has been hampered somewhat by a respiratory infection that forced her to withdraw from a meet in Santa Clara, Calif., last month.
U.S. national championships
When: Tuesday-Saturday
Where: Indiana University Natatorium, Indianapolis
TV: 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Universal Sports; 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, NBC
