For Michael Phelps, the 5th Olympics may mean the most yet.

Michael Phelps cleared a major hurdle on the road to Rio on Wednesday, qualifying for a fifth Olympics with a victory that has paved the way to more Games glory.

Inspired, motivated and sober, Phelps heads to Rio thanks to his 200 meters butterfly win at the US Olympic trials with the goal of adding to his staggering record total of 22 medals, including 18 gold, and pen a happy ending to a brilliant career that he feels he denied himself at the 2012 London Olympics.

"Coming back and being able to have the opportunity to finish how I want," said Phelps, of his motivation. "I'm doing this because I wanted to."

For Phelps, this Olympic journey is more important than the destination, a trip into retirement that he is determined to share with his fiancee Nicole and infant son Boomer, who were among the sellout crowd of 14,000 at the CenturyLink Center.

While Phelps, who will celebrate his 31st birthday on Thursday, has turned his life around away from the pool, in the water he remains as demanding and critical as ever.

Aside from the result, very little in his 200m swim on Wednesday evening pleased Phelps, the winning time of 1:54.84 well off his world record mark of 1:51.51.

"I haven't felt great in the water but like I said, I'm checking a box off, being able to get on the team," said Phelps.

"Getting on the team was the most important thing and that was the only thing I had to do tonight," he added.

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