Michael Phelps said he gave up drinking alcohol after his Sept. 30 DUI arrest and may keep it that way for the rest of his life.
“Before I even went to court, I said to myself that I’m not going to drink until after Rio [2016 Olympics] — if I ever drink again,” Phelps said, according to The Associated Press, before he competes in the U.S. Swimming Championships in San Antonio this weekend. “That was a decision I made for myself. I’m being honest with myself. Going into 2008 and 2012, I didn’t do that. I didn’t say I was going to take a year off from drinking and not have a drink.”
Phelps, 30, is competing at Nationals while the top U.S. swimmers are at the World Championships because his punishment for the DUI arrest included being taken off the World Championships team.
He spent 45 days in a treatment program in Arizona, his attorney said, and enrolled in Alcoholics Anonymous, according to the AP.