The greater Olympian in history is feeling rusty. Bob Bowman is ready to sharpen and polish once more as Superfish returns to the fray in Baltimore today

Back in Beijing to film a car ad that wll make him even more wealthy, Michael Phelps (USA) is feeling a little out of shape after the longest break of his career.

"I'm far from being in shape, but I talked to my coach today, and Tuesday is the official day I start," Phelps told agency reporters at Beijing's Olympic water polo venue, the Yingdong Natatorium. "Four months has been the longest time I've been away from the pool ... I know it will be a lot of pain for the first few months."

Phelps, suggest some reports, struggled to swim butterfly for the car shoot that will earn him a seven-figure sum (US dollars). The financial rewards of 14 Olympic gold medals, eight of them won at one Games, keep flowing.

Phelps took the chance to pop back to the Water Cube to revisit the scene of the greatest Olympic performance in history. "It was pretty cool, a pretty special feeling. I'm glad to have the opportunity to relive some of he moments that I had four months ago," Phelps said.

On his time out of water, he said: "It's been fun but I really want to get back into a normal regime and get some kind of structure back into my life. There are times where I will wake up and say to myself 'I don't want to do this anymore.' But there are so many goals and times that I want to hit in events. I'm not going to retire until those are accomplished."

No goals revealed as yet, unsurprisingly. There's core fitness to regain before he and coach Bob Bowman settle on a programme for Rome 2009. Talk of a return to anything like the Barcelona 2003 to Beijing 2008 campaign is premature, if not inaccurate. 

"These four years are going to be much more relaxed than the last four years ... there will definitely be a lighter programme than what I did in Beijing," said Phelps.

He did, however, give a hint of where he is starting to look ahead of Rome 2009 world championships in July: "I think some backstroke is definitely in the mix, hopefully I can master the 100 free. I'm gonna try a few different events I haven't tried before."