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"You can&amp;#x27;t think about all the amazing stories and triumphs that have come out of the London Olympic games without thinking about Michael Phelps. I don&amp;#x27;t know about you guys, but I genuinely feel lucky to be a part of the generation that was inspired by him and watched him make history. And now after breaking a 48 year old record to become the MOST decorated Olympian ever. He&amp;#x27;s earned a whopping 22 medals--18 of them gold. And now he&amp;#x27;s retiring at the age of 27! If you were like me and thought that maybe, just maybe, Michael would decide he couldn&amp;#x27;t walk away from the pool so fast and maybe, just maybe, would make a surprise announcement that he wanted to give it one more go at the 2016 games in Rio . . . I&amp;#x27;m so sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Michael sat down with Matt Lauer this morning on The Today Show and confirmed the inevitable. &amp;quot;I&amp;#x27;m finished. I&amp;#x27;m done. I&amp;#x27;m retired,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I can look back at my career and have done everything exactly the way I wanted to. If I can say that? I&amp;#x27;m happy.&amp;quot; You know our Matt, he pushed a little harder--maybe hoping to crack Michael or even convince him live on the air to reconsider but no suck luck. &amp;quot;I will not be coming back,&amp;quot; Michael responded without even a hesitation. &amp;quot;We can just leave it at that.&amp;quot; I got the chills during the rest of the interview as Michael talked about what the London games--and his coach/mentor Bob Bowman--have meant to him. This is one humble and grateful star athlete. Here are some highlights: On the high expectations set for himself in London: &amp;quot;It was a lot more relaxed than other Olympics. Bob and I were very laid back and ready to have some fun. I prepared myself for the last four years for this moment.&amp;quot; On wanting to leave people with the impression that he&amp;#x27;s &amp;quot;the greatest&amp;quot;: &amp;quot;It was a cool week. I literally can&amp;#x27;t say this enough. I&amp;#x27;ve had so much fun this week and being able to stand on the award podium and listen to the national anthem play and just enjoy myself--it was great.&amp;quot; On his special relationship with coach Bob Bowman: &amp;quot;When I was walking into the pool the last time, he was on the deck and he pretty much said, &amp;#x27;I&amp;#x27;m very proud of you and I love you.&amp;#x27; My whole career wouldn&amp;#x27;t be anywhere close to where it is without him. We worked great together and been able to do everything we wanted to do.&amp;quot; Ever the gentleman and good teammate, Michael wouldn&amp;#x27;t comment on the whole Ryan Lochte vs Michael Phelps &amp;quot;rivalry&amp;quot; but didn&amp;#x27;t hesitate to gush about the US swimming team overall. &amp;quot;I can&amp;#x27;t say enough how amazing our team was,&amp;quot; Michael said. And as for passing along advice to the new generation of swimmers like Missy Franklin who had their time to shine in these games? &amp;quot;They have great heads on their shoulders--I&amp;#x27;m not sure they need much advice!&amp;quot; Michael also said he&amp;#x27;s been keeping a journal of this whole experience and will put together some of his final thoughts on all the incredible moments and experiences when he gets back on the plane to head home! And, let&amp;#x27;s not forget that Michael also has his rumored girlfriend, aspiring model Megan Rossee (seems they&amp;#x27;ve been together since January) to give his attention to now that he&amp;#x27;s not quite as dedicated to his first love--the pool! How have you guys been inspired by Michael Phelps and his incredible journey? More Olympics: * The Most Breathtaking Pictures of Olympic Swimmers in Action, Seen From the Bottom of the Pool * How Cute Are These Olympic Couples? * GAB-BY! GAB-BY! Relive Gabby Douglas&amp;#x27;s Gold-Medal Moment, Cry (Obviously), And Find Out What Happened Afterwards P.S. Want more Obsessed? Sign up for our awesome daily newsletter that features the latest celebrity gossip, TV news, hilarious Internet sensations, and more! Photo: NBC "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2012/08/michael-phelps-confirms-the-ne>