Michael Phelps 60 Minutes Video May 6, 2012: Full Interview with Anderson Cooper

By Shallow Nation on May 6, 2012 - Comments { 0 } - in Sports

Here is the Michael Phelps 60 Minutes video and transcript from Sun. May 6, 2012. Watch the full interview of the Olympic swimming champion by CNN’s Anderson Cooper for the CBS News magazine program. Phelps speaks candidly about the past four years since winning a record-setting eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and his prospects at the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

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Watch the replay video above. During the interview, Phelps admitted he had lost focus and interest in swimming, and reflected upon his missteps including the photo that surfaced in 2009 in which he was seen smoking marijuana with a bong pipe, leading to a three-month suspension from swimming competition.

But much has changed since then.

It’s 6:20 on a Saturday morning in March, virtually alone on the streets of his native Baltimore, a groggy Michael Phelps is off to another grueling daily practice in his 16th year of Olympic training. He hasn’t been this committed since the Beijing Games.

Michael Phelps: After Beijing, I mean, there’s countless times where I’ve just wanted to be like, “I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to go to the pool every day.”

Anderson Cooper: So now is it, is it hard getting out of bed in the morning?

Michael Phelps: No, because one, we’re so close. And two, because I’m actually enjoying it. I’m swimming well again.

With the London Olympics looming, Phelps has been rejuvenated. Physically over the last year, he’s become more powerful than he was in Beijing. He’s focused on weight training like never before. Gone is the grumpy, disinterested swimmer of the last few years who desperately wanted to trash his alarm clock. Back is a sense of urgency. Bob Bowman is Michael’s longtime coach.

Read the full story and transcript at CBSNews.com.

Watch the Web-only 60 Minutes Overtime video below. As he did four years ago, Anderson Cooper challenges Michael Phelps to compete against him inn a short swimming race.