Michael Phelps makes his first competitive appearance since the Beijing Olympics at the Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix meet on Friday, looking forward to the 2012 London Games and leaving behind a drug fiasco, Reuters reported.
Returning to the pool following the longest layoff of his career, Phelps is likely to be back to the form that carried him to a record eight gold medals in Beijing long before the same polish can be put on his image.
The 23-year-old American was left badly tarnished when he was photographed inhaling from a pipe used for smoking marijuana.
Although Phelps has never tested positive for any drugs, he was hit with a three-month suspension from USA Swimming for his colossal error of judgment.
A contrite Phelps offered numerous apologies for his behavior and briefly contemplated retiring from competitive swimming.
But, after some time to reflect, a motivated Phelps has re-dedicated himself to the sport and targeted more gold and glory at the London Olympics.
The first step toward that goal begins in Charlotte this weekend where Phelps is scheduled to compete in five events (50, 100 and 200 meters freestyle, 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke).
While Phelps has put his focus back on competing, some media remain fixated on the Olympic champion's life outside the pool with new tabloid claims about a party-boy lifestyle.
His exploits have generated unprecedented interest in the UltraSwim with six times the number of accreditation requests for the meet, which will be televised live for the first time.
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