Swimming legend Phelps to take break after drunken driving arrest

US swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, said on Sunday he would take a break from swimming and undergo treatment after his recent arrest for drunken driving.

Olympic US swimming champion Phelps arrested for drunken driving

Phelps was arrested early on Tuesday after going 84 miles per hour (135 kph) in a 45-mph (72-kph) area, crossing the double-lane lines inside a Baltimore tunnel and subsequently failing a Breathalyzer test, according to police.

"The past few days have been extremely difficult," the 18-time Olympic gold medalist said on Twitter. "I’m going to take some time away to attend a program that will provide the help I need to better understand myself."

Phelps, 29, did not say how long a break he plans to take from swimming. A winner of 22 Olympic medals, he had appeared to be eyeing a spot on the US team for the 2016 Olympics.

Emerging recently from a two-year retirement, Phelps first tested the comeback waters in April at a low-key meet in Phoenix and his progress had been steady rather than his usual impressive.

The drunken-driving arrest was the second for Phelps, who has spent most his life in the pool but admits he likes to have a good time when not practising or competing.

Phelps was charged in Maryland in 2004 for drunken driving when he was 19. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired in exchange for 18 months' probation.

In 2009, British tabloids published a photo of Phelps smoking from a marijuana pipe while at a party at the University of South Carolina.