Michael Phelps’ swimming suspension lifted Monday – Baltimore Sun

Michael Phelps is clear to return to competitive swimming Monday after serving a six-month suspension from USA Swimming as punishment for his drunken driving arrest in September.

The record-setting Olympian is expected to return to the pool in less than two weeks for the Arena Pro Swim Series event in Mesa, Ariz. The meet, which runs from April 15-18, is the same one at which Phelps returned to competition last year after a 20-month retirement.

Phelps tweeted about the end of his suspension on Monday afternoon.

The swimmer is still serving the 18 months of probation he received from a Baltimore District Court judge after he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in December. The drunken driving arrest was Phelps’ second in 10 years, and he responded by seeking treatment for alcohol abuse at an in-patient center in Arizona.

Phelps has offered few public comments since he returned to Baltimore, but he has been training with longtime coach Bob Bowman and swam impressively in a March exhibition race. He announced his engagement to girlfriend Nicole Johnson with a Twitter post in February.

As part of his punishment from USA Swimming, Phelps was also removed from the U.S. team for FINA World Championships in August. But last month, USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus said there was a chance Phelps could be restored to the team.

That possibility remains, a USA Swimming spokesman said last week.

Meanwhile, Phelps will resume racing on the Arena Pro circuit as he eyes a possible fifth Olympics in 2016.

Copyright © 2015, The Baltimore Sun