--- title: April Fools' Day 2017: Michael Phelps Faux Olympics 2020 Bid description: For April Fools' Day, Michael Phelps tweeted that he was returning to swimming and competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo canonical: https://time.com/4722001/michael-phelps-olympics-joke/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-01T18:29:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:42:27.833Z og:title: No, Michael Phelps Is Not Coming Out of Retirement (Yet) og:description: But he still could og:url: https://time.com/4722001/michael-phelps-olympics-joke/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt267619588c195073/6988c0de196cf441af03f796/gettyimages-589508260-11.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5001 og:image:height: 2813 og:image:alt: Around the Games - Olympics: Day 9 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: No, Michael Phelps Is Not Coming Out of Retirement (Yet) twitter:description: But he still could twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt267619588c195073/6988c0de196cf441af03f796/gettyimages-589508260-11.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # No, Michael Phelps Is Not Coming Out of Retirement (Yet) > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=e09fe5d6-b99a-4140-9a4c-18ea9b8cac38&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 1, 2017 6:29 PM UTC  Michael Phelps of the United States speaks during a press conference at the Main Press Centre on August 14, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Michael Phelps of the United States speaks during a press conference at the Main Press Centre on August 14, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Jamie Squire—Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 1, 2017 6:29 PM UTC Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, made waves Saturday after he[ tweeted](https://twitter.com/MichaelPhelps/status/848146735612526592) that he is going to return to professional swimming and start training for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. But the hype around Phelps returning to the pool was short-lived. [Team USA](https://www.instagram.com/p/BSWEjpsF37k/?taken-by=teamusa) posted on Instagram that the announcement was part of an April Fools’ Day joke. The prank tricked some people — especially after [his teammate](http://time.com/4448892/ryan-lochte-michael-phelps-rio-olympics/) and former roommate at the 2016 Olympics [Ryan Lochte](http://time.com/4450036/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-ryan-lochte-friendship/?iid=sr-link1) challenged Phelps to a re-match at the 2020 games. Even teammate Katie Ledecky has said she doesn’t believe he’ll sit out the 2020 Summer Games. TIME [reported](http://time.com/4452285/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-retirement/) last summer that “before arriving in Rio, Phelps [told reporters that](http://www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/story/%5F/id/17211467/swimmer-michael-phelps-opens-door-compete-tokyo-olympics) this would be his ‘potential’ final Olympic appearance. ‘Just so you guys don’t beat me to death if I come back.'” Phelps came out of “retirement” in April 2014, despite [vowing](http://www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/story/%5F/id/10780808/olympic-great-michael-phelps-ends-retirement-swim-april-meet) that he would not continue swimming professionally in his 30s. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, the 31-year-old ended up winning five more gold medals and a silver, bringing his medal count up to to [23 Olympic titles ](https://www.olympic.org/michael-phelps)and 28 medals. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4722001/michael-phelps-olympics-joke/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4722001/michael-phelps-olympics-joke/"},"headline":"No, Michael Phelps Is Not Coming Out of Retirement (Yet)","datePublished":"2017-04-01T18:29:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:42:27.833Z","description":"But he still could","url":"https://time.com/4722001/michael-phelps-olympics-joke/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt267619588c195073/6988c0de196cf441af03f796/gettyimages-589508260-11.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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