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Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps avoided jail Friday by pleading guilty to drunken driving charges in Baltimore. The 29-year-old gold medalist still faces 18 months of supervised probation but plans to compete again after his six-month suspension from USA Swimming ends in April. “The last three months of my life have been some of the hardest times I’ve ever gone through,” Phelps said from the courthouse steps. “Some of the biggest learning experiences that I’ve ever had, finding out a lot about myself. For this day, I’m happy to be moving forward, and I’ll continue to grow from this. I’ll continue on my path of recovery. The next couple years are going to be very challenging, and I’m very pleased and very happy that I have great support around me.”