Swimming legend Michael Phelps once traveled the world to win medal after medal - today he travels the world to raise awareness of the importance of athletes' mental health.
"I'd rather be able to save a life than win a new gold medal," he said in an interview with the AFP news agency in Paris.
Too many Olympians have committed suicide: "I don't want to lose any more members of my Olympic family."
For years, the former top athlete hid his depression.
Phelps first suffered from it during the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Despite this, he won eight medals at the time, including six gold medals.
His successful career lasted until the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Praise for Osaka and Biles
“Doing competitions was what I wanted.
I was a shark, I smelled blood in the water and I kept going," he said.
At that time he was afraid to admit his suffering.
He feared that his opponents would take this as a sign of weakness and take advantage of it.
"I went through a phase where I didn't want to live anymore," he admitted.
In an interview, Phelps, who also worked on a documentary about the mental health of athletes, praised the Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka and the US gymnast Simone Biles for their openness.
"I have to congratulate Naomi," he said.
She described in her own words what she was going through on online platforms.
"It's not easy." Simone Biles also retired from competitions at the peak of her career due to mental problems.
“It shows how unexpected a mental illness comes.
It can just show up," Phelps said.
His wife Nicole can confirm that there are days with him "when I wake up and I feel great, and the next day I wake up and I'm a completely different person".
For him it is now about finding his balance – and helping others.