Ryan Lochte: I believe Michael Phelps will make a comeback for the Rio Olympics

Michael Phelps has won his last Olympic medal. The 27-year-old announced his retirement after becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time in London by winning his 22nd medal. He holds the all-time record for gold medals with 18, which is nine more than those who are trailing him. Phelps has little left to prove, but fellow U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte is not convinced he is done proving it.

The next Olympic Games aren’t until 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Lochte told The Telegraph he believes Phelps will have changed his mind about competing by then.

“Michael Phelps says he’s retired,” Lochte said. “The sport will miss him, he is one of my favorite rivals and I will miss him. But I think he will come back. When you do something for so long every day … He’s still young. I think he will be back for Rio.

”We’ll see, he’ll miss the sport.”

It doesn’t take long to get out of shape if you’re not training, but Lochte added that he believes Phelps is talented and physically gifted enough to catch up should he change his mind.

Phelps seems to be enjoying life after the Olympics, even if it has been rumored that he has a gambling problem and would benefit from not having as much free time on his hands. While a return to action wouldn’t shock us, Phelps seems genuine when he says he has put competitive swimming in his past. He wasn’t nearly as dominant in London as he was in Beijing, and it would stand to reason that he’d fall further behind in Rio if his heart isn’t fully in it. Simply adding to his personal records may not be worth a return.

H/T Game On!