CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Michael Phelps is coming to swim in Charlotte.

Phelps, the most-decorated gold medal winner in Olympic swimming history, will swim in the Charlotte UltraSwim on May 14-17 at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center.

The meet, which will include other Olympic gold medalists, is a key tune-up for the FINA World Championships in Italy this summer.

Phelps, 23, won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

He is currently serving a three-month suspension from competition by USA Swimming (the sport’s national governing body), fallout from a photo in a British tabloid that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe. Phelps’ suspension is scheduled to end in early May.

Bob Bowman, Phelps’ coach, said in a statement: “Michael is focused on practicing and regaining the mental and physical momentum that he had achieved going into the Beijing Olympics. He is committed to a very demanding and rigorous training schedule as he prepares for upcoming meets and the FINA World Championships.”

Gathering of the finest

In the past 25 years, 122 Olympians have competed in the Charlotte UltraSwim.

Phelps will be joined by 2008 U.S. Olympic swimmers Mark Gangloff, Cullen Jones and Ryan Loethe, and several world-class swimmers and U.S. national team members.

The meet will be hosted by SwimMAC Carolina, a USA swim club in Charlotte.

David Marsh, SwimMac’s director of coaching and CEO, said “this is a wonderful and rare opportunity for Charlotte to experience world class swimming up close. Coming off of the unprecedented excitement of the 2008 Olympics, to be able to have so many recent gold medalists together again is simply outstanding.”

By Cliff Mehrtens / McClatchy Tribune