It's never easy to compete and to win and it gets more difficult with the passage of time but it is worth all of the effort to compete at the Olympic Games was the message of Olympic legend Michael Phelps this Thursday.

Phelps will put an end to his career after the London 2012, but he is looking to go out in style and add to the total of 14 gold medals he has won in his three previous Olympics.

Eight of those medals came in Beijing, but given that he is 'only' swimming in seven events in London, Phelps won't be able to repeat those feats, not that he is worried by that.

"It's hard to compare now and then, the goals are different," he explained to a packed press conference.

"We tried to conquer everything in Beijing, but now (coach) Bob (Bowman) and I are more relaxed, we're having fun. This is closure," said Phelps, who said he had no problems in psyching himself up for his last competition.

"My goals keep me motivated. It is exciting to be back at the Olympics, I have never said anything about medal count. I'm here to swim as fast as I can and if I do that nothing else matters and things will fall into place,"he said.

"I want to be the first Michael Phelps,"said the swimmer, emphasizing he focuses merely on his own performances.

However, the man who has written his name into the record books admitted it has got harder to maintain his level of performance.

"I find that recovery is more important now that my body is older," said Phelps. "There will be ice tubs, sleep, I'll cram calories, massages and try to sleep as much and I have to try and stay on top of it. I know how important it is to recover,"he added, before discussing the problem of having to swim a semi-final after qualifying heats.

"You know you have to weigh out your energy. You have to get to final so you have to put enough (effort) in, but save some for final. The big thing is knowing how much to put into every race,"he explained.

Although it will be his last competition and he admitted he had to work to control his emotional energy, Phelps insisted there was no major change to his routine.

"I prepare for everything the same as I have in the past. This is a meet just like others: there is a pool with lanes and a scoreboard and we do what we have trained to do. There are other things of course, but when we are on the blocks, we do what we practiced for all our lives. We stick with what works,"commented the swimmer.

So Phelps will say goodbye to the Olympics after competing in four different Games and is better qualified than most to explain just what it means to compete in the most important sporting event there is.

"People from all the world come together and they are the best of the best. We all get to compete for our country, not everyone gets to do that. People get behind you and you can feel the energy that comes from home. We are all cheering and trying to support our countries. I have been to four and I know," he concluded.