Talking to media Phelps said “Even though I am retiring and the competitive side of my career is over, there's a lot of things I want to do around the sport,” adding, “I'm going to be able to put more time and effort into that, and also my summer schools. Being able to teach children how to swim and live healthily is something that's very important to me.”

The American swimming star holds the record of winning 18 Olympic gold medals, along with two silver and two bronze medals, an unprecedented total in the history of Olympics.

The Baltimore-based superstar wants to see the sport, he has dominated in the past decade, grow into even a greater sport.

”I would like to take it to a higher level than it is right now, and continue to grow the sport more and more,” he concluded.