Bob Bowman

Bob Bowman, who coached Michael Phelps through his record-breaking Olympic career, won a title himself Friday when he was named Coach of the Year by his professional association. The American Swimming Coaches Association award, given at a banquet in Las Vegas Friday night, puts Bowman on track to break a record himself: It is his fifth time winning the annual award, voted on by fellow coaches, tying him with colleagues Mark Schubert and Eddie Reese. "It's special since it's the last time I'll be working with Michael," Bowman said of Phelps, who retired from competitive swimming after the London Games.

Someday, people will tell their grandchildren about this. How, under the swooping roof of the Aquatics Centre, on the final day of his final Olympics, they saw Michael Phelps race for the final time. They'll remember how they saw him, one more time, take a deficit and transform it into a lead. And they saw him win gold. “I did it,” Phelps said simply after an emotional day in which the 27-year-old Baltimore swimmer bade farewell to the sport he transformed. “Through the ups and down of my career, I've been able to do everything I've wanted to accomplish.

Michael Phelps added to one of the grandest performances in Olympic history, then unexpectedly pulled the plug on it and sent a thank-you gift to a rival who provided motivation. Two months past his 19th birthday, Phelps completed a Summer Olympics for the ages with a narrow victory over fellow American Ian Crocker in the 100-meter butterfly last night.Today, he could become the second athlete and first in a non-boycotted Summer Olympics to win eight medals, but it will be an odd end for Phelps.

Laurel Park Fabulous Strike among 37 De Francis Dash pre-entries Three of the nation's elite sprinters and the top two local speedsters are among the 37 pre-entries for the $300,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash on Oct. 24 at Laurel Park. Among the pre-entries for the six-furlong sprint are Fabulous Strike, who has been first or second in five starts (all Grade I or Grade II sprints) in his 6-year-old campaign; Kodiak Kowboy, who has defeated Fabulous Strike in two Grade I stakes this year; Vineyard Haven, who was disqualified from first and placed second in the Grade I King's Bishop Stakes on Aug. 29 at Saratoga; and Laurel Park-based Ravalo and Ah Day, who each have won 10 stakes races.

Michael Phelps and the 400-meter individual medley were supposed to be history. Not just yet. Phelps, who lives in Fells Point, said Monday that he will swim the event -- for the first time since winning Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008 -- at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. "Figure, why not give it a shot?" he said at a news conference in Irvine, Calif. "Like I said before, I'm probably not in the best shape I want to be to swim that race. We'll see if we can make worlds.

Michael Phelps won his second gold medal of the Columbus Grand Prix by cruising to victory in the 200-meter butterfly Saturday. His time of 1 minute, 55.17 seconds unofficially is the fastest in the world this year. "It's my second-fastest in-season time ever," said Phelps, of Baltimore. "I guess I can't complain too much, but I wanted to break [1:55]. There's some little, small stupid things that I shouldn't be making mistakes doing — a couple of walls I was long on and breathing off the first stroke the last two 50s. It wasn't very good.

CLOVIS, Calif. - Towson's Michael Phelps dived into uncharted waters last night at the USA Swimming National Championships, but he demonstrated that even in unfamiliar events he is a force to be reckoned with. The 16-year-old North Baltimore Aquatic Club phenom passed on the 200-meter butterfly - the event in which he twice lowered the world record this year, becoming the youngest American male ever to set a world swimming record. Instead, he entered the 200-meter backstroke, which he had swam only once before.

In the four years since he made history at the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps concedes losing his focus. But with the London Games looming, the Baltimore swimmer told "60 Minutes" in an interview that will air Sunday that he has gone all-out recently and says he is now approaching the shape he was in before Beijing, where he won an unprecedented eight gold medals. His coach, Bob Bowman, predicts Phelps will again win multiple gold medals for the United States this summer.

It was a swimmer's version of a busman's holiday: During some rare time off last week from her intense training at Baltimore's Meadowbrook pool, Allison Schmitt decided to visit ... the National Aquarium. “When I saw the dolphins,” Schmitt said with a laugh Thursday, “I wanted to jump in.” Such is the single-minded focus of swimmers such as Schmitt, a bronze medalist in the 2008 Olympics, and among those competing here this week in the Indianapolis Grand Prix. It's among the final tune-ups before the qualifying trials in June for the London games in July.

Michael Phelps will not chase eight gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. His coach Bob Bowman tweeted late Monday morning that the Olympian will not race in the 200-meter freestyle , giving him a slate of seven events in London. "I think it's just smarter," Phelps said Monday. "Sort of thinking of everything and thinking how things went here, I think it's just a better option for me to be able to swim as best I can. And it's going to give me the best opportunity to swim well.