Bummer for Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps, who plead guilty to his September 30th DUI charge. Baltimore Judge Nathan Braverman placed Phelps on 18 month of probation, telling the star athlete that success overcoming alcohol misuse would not come overnight and that if he violated the terms of probation, “… the only option is jail.” That is one year of jail if Phelps slips up again.
Phelps will also be subjected to random drug and alcohol testing by his probation officer and will be required to attend self-help group meetings.
Police reported on September 30th that Phelps was pulled over for speeding at rates of 84 mph in a 45 mph zone. During the DUI investigation, police smelled odors of alcohol coming from Phelps’ car and breath. They noted, “mush-mouthed” speech and observed bloodshot watery eyes. Phelps registered a .14 BAC level, nearly twice the Baltimore legal BAC limit of .08.
The 18 time gold medalist told Judge Braverman, “I now have the tools to move past this. What I did was wrong, and I made a big mistake. I’m looking forward to having a much brighter future than I had in the past.”
As far as Michael Phelps’ swimming career, he is back to intensive training. The 6 month USA Swimming suspension, imposed because of the September DUI arrest, will be lifted in March 2015 allowing Phelps to compete in the final three events on the U.S. Grand Prix schedule.