Michael Phelps may be one of the greatest Olympic swimmers of his generation, but he's having a tough time getting back into champion mode after taking some time off following the 2012 Olympic Games. He came in 7th place at the 100 freestyle at the U.S. Nationals this week.

The former Olympic champ even missed the wall. You can see his look of shock and awe in a video of his performance. Maybe this is a sign that his glory days are gone and he's all washed up. But the question remains, can he make a return back to superstar status?

"No one wound up having much to fear from Phelps in the 100 free final Wednesday night. Losing all momentum when he barely touched the wall at 50 meters, he was a distant seventh in 49.17 seconds to winner Nathan Adrian (48.31).," reported the Chicago Tribune.

"It stinks I missed the first wall," Phelps said. "It's kind of frustrating. We'll never know where we are in the race right now. (And) I felt really good the first 50."

Still, it might not matter that swimmer didn't win this time around, his championship resume is still impressive, as the Tribune explains, "Phelps, 29, at his first major meet since the 2012 Olympics, has chosen to focus on shorter distances since returning to serious training late last year.

Phelps had won national titles in the 100 free from 2003 through 2005 but dropped it from his overloaded competitive program at nationals after that. He was still fast enough at the distance to earn places on U.S. 4 x 100 free relays at world and Olympic meets."

The website SwimSwan explains who was really worth watching in this swimming duel, since it wasn't Phelps:

"With 7 US Olympians in the final of the men's 100 freestyle, you knew it was going to be close. Flipping first at the 50 is Nathan Adrian at 22.8, with Ervin at 22.9. Nathan Adrian worked his way into the finish to win the race with a time of 48.31. Ryan Lochte reached in from Lane 8 to finish second with his time of 48.96. Jimmy Feigen was just behind Lochte at 48.98. Conor Dwyer secured the final Pan Pac roster spot with his time of 49.06."