Phelps begins summer post-trials training

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michael Phelps began his post-trials training Tuesday with a series of easy practice swims while his coach considered which events he would enter in this summer's world championships in Montreal.\nPhelps, who won eight medals at the Athens Olympics last summer, swam in five individual events during the first four days of the U.S. team trials and won them all. Including three relays, he could swim in as many as eight events in the world meet July 24-31.\n"We're close to an announcement, but I'm not going to make it yet because there's one more thing we're going to check on with the people here," coach Bob Bowman said as Phelps, swimming alone, took some slow laps in the IU Natatorium's 50-meter pool between the morning and evening sessions of the trials.\nPhelps, who beat American record holder Jason Lezak in the 100 freestyle Monday night, withdrew from Tuesday's 200 backstroke, seeing no point in swimming another event on the next-to-last day of the six-day trials.\nInstead, he began his training for the rest of his 2005 schedule.\n"He took it pretty easy, about an hour this morning and an hour this afternoon," said Bowman, the coach at Michigan, where Phelps swims with Club Wolverine.\nPhelps, who spent some time away from swimming after the Olympics, said he is only now getting back to top form and learned all he needed to know about his progress during the first four days of trials.\n"We wanted to come here and give myself options. We wanted to swim events and see where we are in training," Phelps said. "I haven't been the normal self in training, but definitely more in the course of this meet I've felt like the normal Michael in training.\n"I was doing the yardage, I was doing the times, and things were there. So I'm starting to feel like the old me, I guess, again."\nThe trials, which end Wednesday, will determine the U.S. men's and women's teams for the world championships in Montreal and the World University Games in Turkey in August.