OMAHA, NEB. — Michael Phelps held five fingers high after his hand hit the wall, a sure sign he realized he'd done something much larger than win another race.
With his victory in the 200-meter butterfly on Wednesday evening, Phelps became the first American male swimmer to qualify for five Olympics. But the moment felt heavier than that even. He thought he never wanted to swim again in 2012 and in the four years since, he had plunged into an emotional abyss, been arrested, learned volumes about himself in therapy, found love and become a dad.
All of it seemed to wash over him as he processed the swim that guaranteed him a place in Rio de Janeiro.
"I think that means the most to me," he said in the moments after the race, pausing as tears welled in his eyes. "With everything that's happened to me, sort of being able to come back, that was probably harder than any swim I've had in my life. … Just being able to finish [my career] how I want to is so important to me."
Less than an hour later, he handed his 8-week-old son Boomer, who was sound asleep, his first post-victory stuffed animal — a shark.
Phelps had celebrated as his protege, Chase Kalisz, seized an Olympic spot, and he had watched as other stars of his generation faltered. But finally it was Phelps' turn to heft his old mantle as the most indomitable champion the sport has ever seen.
He was not at his best but still held off Tom Shields by almost a second. Shields shook his head when asked what it would take to beat Phelps.
"I'm still trying to figure out how so I can have that stop happening," he said, echoing the lament of so many world-class swimmers who've gone head to head with Phelps.