Michael Phelps Wears All 23 Gold Medals On Sports Illustrated Cover – Huffington Post

Speaking of his final individual race, Phelps told Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden how he knew it was time for a change.

”I’m coming into my last four or five strokes, and I remember thinking, Whatever happens, this is how it’s supposed to end,” Phelps said. “Maybe I’m going 6-for-6 and that’s perfect, or maybe Joe [Schooling] is going to hang on and I’m O.K. with that. That’s when I knew I was ready to retire. Any other time, I would have been livid about finishing second.”

Phelps said he was retiring in 2012 but decided to come back in 2016. Head over to Sports Illustrated to read the story in its entirety, and check out more photos from the cover shoot below.