Michael Phelps won’t make any promises about 2016 Summer Olympics

Michael Phelps will launch his comeback from retirement on Thursday, but the 22-time Olympic medalist won’t make any promises about competing at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

“I’m doing this because I want to get back in the water,” he said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference. “I’m having fun.”

Phelps will compete in the Arena Grand Prix in Mesa, Ariz., this week. He is scheduled to swim in only one event Thursday morning, sticking with the 100-meter butterfly after announcing that he will skip the 100-meter freestyle.

At 28, Phelps has been working hard to regain form after spending almost two years away from competition. In the months after his last race, at the 2012 London Olympics, his weight increased from 187 pounds to 225 pounds.

Several months back in the pool in Baltimore have moved him closer to top shape.

It wouldn’t seem that he has anything left to prove, already ranking as the most decorated athlete in Olympic history. Asked about his expectations for this meet, Phelps replied: “Race. That’s really all I can say for now.”