MESA - Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps suffered his first setback in his return to the pool after he failed to qualify for the 400 metres freestyle final Friday. Phelps, competing first time following a six-month ban for a drunk driving conviction, flashed his old form on Thursday when he won the 100 metres butterfly in the Arena Pro Swim Series meet. But on Friday, the 18-times Olympic gold medalist could only manage 17th in the 400 freestyle after a time of 4 minutes, 2.67 seconds kept him out of the main final. Phelps' time put him in the C final but he elected not to swim it and also pulled out of his scheduled 100 metres backstroke race in the evening. While it was not the result he was looking for, Phelps was swimming the freestyle for the first time since 2009.