Return to competition: Michael Phelps at the Mesa Grand Prix

Some of the best swimmers in the world are in the valley right now, competing in the Mesa Grand Prix, and one of those swimmers is Michael Phelps.

He's returning to competition for the first time since being suspended for a DUI arrest.

"The last couple of months have probably been the hardest months that I know... I take full responsibility for all of my actions, and for me I know I've hurt a lot of people and it's terrible," said Michael Phelps.

"He had changed in a way that was really meaningful, it wasn't superficial. It wasn't like he was doing it because he knew he had to. He's completely different and it's been that way ever since he's been back," said Bob Bowman, Phelp's coach.

"You know the fire, the passion, and the excitement is coming back for me in the water," said Phelps.

"I of course would like to show everybody in the world that I am in a different place, and I am much better than I ever have been," he said.

"You know I think this is the time where I've probably never been as close to my family as I am now, and the people who really love me for actually who I am," said Phelps.

"Just getting up on the block and racing, what I used to do. I would just get up and swim as hard as I could, and that's what I'm going to do here. And I know I'm better prepared than I was this time las tyear. I know that for a fact," he said.