ARIZONA — (Scroll down for video) — The flight from Rio de Janeiro to Phoenix is long. It’s even longer with a newborn baby in tow. So perhaps it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, refused an interview with the local television news station that showed up at the airport on Wednesday morning to greet him.
“I’m not answering any questions, guys,” the 31-year-old swimmer says while walking with his fiancee, Nicole Johnson, who’s holding baby Boomer. “If you could give me that space while I try to get my family home and safe, I would appreciate that.”
He added: “If you guys want to do an interview, you can contact my agents.”
Yeah, this probably isn’t the way “Good Morning Arizona” thought this would go. . .
Phelps, maybe sensing things just got a bit awkward, eventually stops walking to address the news crew again.
“I appreciate you guys coming, but I’m trying to get my family home safe and that’s what matters the most,” he said. “Thank you for understanding.”
The “Good Morning Arizona” crew, which appears to be the only news station at the airport, takes the hint and stops following Phelps.
“Well, congratulations though, Michael,” the reporter says as Phelps walks off. “Great job.”
Phelps didn’t respond, but he did look back once, perhaps, to make sure the news crew stayed put. (They did.)
“Some people might say, ‘Well, that wasn’t very nice,’ but you gotta understand this guy gets mobbed probably everyday of his life, everywhere he goes,” anchor Scott Pasmore said in the studio. “So that’s really cool that he said, you know, ‘Let me be with my family,’ and you have to respect that.”
The scene in Arizona stood in stark contrast to Katie Ledecky’s homecoming to the Washington area at Dulles International Airport on Wednesday morning – the interaction between athlete and media members went much smoother.
The 19-year-old swimmer, who wasn’t traveling with a newborn, not only talked to members of the media upon arrival, but she paused to take selfies with friends and fans who came to greet her, too.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Ledecky said about the hullabaloo at the airport. “I’ll just go with the flow and enjoy everything.”
(c) 2016, The Washington Post ยท Marissa Payne
