Phelps happy to do it his way

Michael Phelps spent his last Olympic Opening Ceremony the same way he spent his first three.

The 14-time gold medallist told reporters he would not join his team-mates during celebration in order to rest for his first event today.

He will start his Olympic program with the 400 IM, hours after the Opening Ceremony is scheduled to end at Olympic Stadium. If all goes to plan, Phelps will swim a heat at 10am and the final later tonight. Standing for four hours and marching into the stadium isn’t believed to be a good training technique for the most rigorous swimming event of the Games. “That is one of the downfalls swimmers have of competing early in the Olympics,” he said, “but I kind of like going first.”