Olympics legend Michael Phelps lifts the lid on his battle with depression and reaching ‘the edge of the cliff’

Swimming legend Michael Phelps has begun his battle against ‘post-Olympic depression’ which left him struggling with life after reaching ‘the edge of the cliff’.

Phelps won 28 Olympic medals, including 23 gold medals, across four Games. That loot – collected between 2004 and 2016 – makes him the most decorated Olympian of all time.

But the American faced a hidden battle with his mental health even as he trailed his rivals in the pool.

The Baltimore native has revealed how he began struggling with depression in 2004 after winning six gold and two bronze medals in Athens.

He told NBC: ‘2004 was my first encounter with post-Olympic depression. Coming down from a height like that when you’re actually starting to love the edge of the cliff, and you’re like, “Cool. What now? Oh, I guess I’ll have to wait another four years before I get a chance to do it again doing .”

The American won 28 Olympic medals between 2004 and 2016, including 23 gold.

‘And for those who are not successful Olympics., those four years can be an absolute eternity.’

The cycle repeated itself four years later, after Phelps had even more success, winning eight gold medals in Beijing.

‘2008 was my second encounter with post-Olympic depression. Because you come down from that high after doing something you’ve wanted to do your whole life,” he said.

‘My goal was to do something no one else had ever done before. I did it when I was 19, 20 years old or something.”

“I looked at it as weakness… I had to learn that vulnerability is a good thing,” Phelps admitted

The 38-year-old hid his struggles for fear of ‘giving an edge to his competitors’

The 38-year-old told NBC in an interview that will air in full on Meet the Press on May 19 that he kept his struggles hidden for fear of “giving an edge to his competitors.” Instead, he had to learn that depression was not a sign of weakness.

“I think at that moment, as a male athlete, I could tell that something was wrong. But I think I saw it as a sign of weakness and if I spoke about it, it would give my competitors an advantage,” he explained.

‘And I’m not trying to do that, am I? I don’t want to give my competitors an advantage. I’m trying to be better than anyone has ever been. So for me, I looked at it as weakness.

“So for me, I had to learn that vulnerability is a good thing. And it was scary at first, but I learned that vulnerability only means change. And for me it was a big change.’