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Michael Phelps: I can’t imagine what Tokyo Olympic hopefuls are going through

Michael Phelps has been open about his mental health struggles, even as he became the most decorated athlete in Olympic history.

Now, with the Tokyo Games on hold because of the coronavirus, the retired swimming great worries that some athletes may have trouble coping with this unprecedented postponement.

“It’s a total bamboozle,” Phelps told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “There’s such a wave of emotions. I can’t imagine what these athletes are going through right now.”

In an telephone interview from his Arizona home, where he is largely hunkered down like so many others around the globe, Phelps gave reluctant praise to the International Olympic Committee for putting off the games until 2021 while the world deals with the pandemic.