Michael Phelps checks his time in the 200 freestyle in a preliminary race at the Arena Pro Swim Series meet in Charlotte, N.C, Friday, May 15, 2015. Phelps qualified fourteenth with a time of 1:51:44. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Michael Phelps turned in his worst performance since the 2000 Olympics over the weekend. He placed third, seventh, ninth, ninth, and 11th in his five events at a Pro Swim Series stop in Charlotte, North Carolina.

According to NBC, it was the first time Phelps has not placed first or second in any events at a single meet since the 2000 Olympics. Failing to make the final heats in the 100m free or 200m individual medley, he told media at the event that he missed swimming against his usual rivals.

“What I want most is to be racing the competition I need to be racing,” Phelps said. “Not taking away anything from the B heat, but I want to race Ryan [Lochte] and those guys.”

Phelps said he was frustrated, that he felt like his legs weren’t connected to his upper body, his dolphin kicks were “horrendous,” his freestyle stroke was “pretty garbage” and that he had to reassess “a bunch of stuff.”

“After seeing the performance of some of the people that we’ve seen this weekend, I think it’s probably a good thing that I’m not going to Worlds,” he added. "I have work to do."

He is ineligible for Worlds as part of his punishment for a September DUI arrest. He already missed six months as part of the punishment, too. Looking ahead to the 2016 Summer Olympics, which would be his fifth, he said, “There’s some time, but not much.

“Whatever it is I have to figure out, I have to figure out now.”

________________

Danielle Elliot is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact her at delliot@yahoo-inc.com or find her on Twitter and Facebook.