Phelps says London will be his farewell Games

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON (Reuters) - Michael Phelps had some comforting news for demoralized rivals on Sunday when he declared the 2012 London Games would be his final Olympics.

"I told myself I would never compete past the age of 30," the 23-year-old American swimmer told a news conference after flying in from Beijing, where he won a record eight golds in the Water Cube pool.

"I'm not sure if I'll go a few more years after the (London) Olympics. I don't know why I picked 30 but I told (coach) Bob Bowman that I'm not swimming past the age of 30 so don't get any ideas.

"He said 'Well, that's good because I don't want to coach you past the age of 30.'"

Phelps surpassed compatriot Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven golds in a single Games in Beijing with victories in freestyle, butterfly, individual medley and relays.

The Baltimore swimmer has said he wants to take up new events, with the 100 freestyle a prime target along with individual backstroke.

However he assured Japan's Kosuke Kitajima, the double Olympic breaststroke gold medalist, that he would not be moving into his territory in the quest for new challenges.

"It's going to be no breastroke, no distance swimming and no open water, so at least those guys will still be my friends," he said.

SINGLE MEDAL

Mobbed by photographers as he held up just one of his Beijing medals at the appearance for sponsors Visa, Phelps was in London to kick off the countdown to 2012 as Beijing handed over the baton.

"I've no idea what I am really going to do over the next four years but I'm looking forward to trying some new events and swimming some events that I haven't really had the opportunity to swim," said the American.

"Bob said to me that he's going to put everything that he's done coaching me and just throw it out the door and do something completely different, just to see how it works.

"If it's successful then great, if not we can go back to what we've been doing."

Phelps has never competed in London, where he enjoyed behaving like a regular tourist on Sunday by standing in the summer rain outside Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard.

He said he hoped to catch a soccer game, preferably involving Manchester United or West Ham United, and looked forward to 2012 where he expected Britain to field an "amazing" team in the pool.