Michael Phelps at Winter National Championships 2015: Saturday Results, Reaction

Swimming superstar Michael Phelps won the 200-meter butterfly Saturday to claim a clean sweep at the AT&T Winter National Championships in Federal Way, Washington.

Phelps won Saturday’s event in one minute, 56.11 seconds, finishing a comfortable 1.08 seconds ahead of second-place Chase Kalisz.

Yet despite claiming another convincing victory, the incredibly competitive Phelps wasn't fully satisfied with his performance.

"I’m happy with the time but unhappy with how I swam the race," Phelps said after the race. "I think I probably could’ve gone 30.5 [seconds] in the third 50 [meters] and still come home in the same and been [one minute, 55 seconds], and that would’ve been very good for right now."

Phelps also finished first in the 200-meter individual medley Thursday and the 100-meter fly Friday, claiming all three of the events in which he competed at the final major competition of the calendar year.

He also won the individual high-point honor at the Winter Nationals with 60 points and led his North Baltimore bunch to the team title, per USA Swimming. Phelps shared a photo of his championship crew following the event:

Phelps commended the "loud" crowd on hand for the weekend's events, which he said gave him an added boost of confidence.

"We were able to put some good people in the stands," Phelps said. "It was loud, and it’s always more exciting when you have a full crowd of people cheering because it really does make a difference, and you can hear them."

USA Swimming shared a photo of the spectators on hand:

Phelps will next compete in the Arena Pro Series event in Austin, Texas, in mid-January as he continues to chip away:

"

These are just stepping stones. … I know that I’m ahead of where I was last year and I know that I’m doing the right things and making steps forward to being able to get to the end result, where I want to be. It was a struggle in-season last year—I can remember a couple of meets where I was beyond frustrated, and I’ll leave it at that.

"

This has been a monumental year for the most decorated Olympian in history—in and out of the pool.

He got engaged, was reinstated from a six-month suspension for a DUI arrest in October 2014, announced he would return for his fifth Olympics next summer in Rio de Janeiro and overcame struggles throughout the summer to gain momentum for his final run at international glory.

John Lohn of SwimVortex.com added context to show how pivotal 2015 has been for Phelps and how rewarding his performances this weekend were:

"

As the 22-time Olympic medalist gets set to welcome the Olympic year, 2015 will go down as a key year in Phelps’ comeback. After trudging through the majority of the campaign with lackluster results, there were questions whether he was going to rekindle the fire of yesteryear. As it turned out, Phelps and coach Bob Bowman had established a well-designed plan and the summer proved as much, with Phelps notching a trio of No. 1 world-ranked times.

"

Phelps' return to prominence has been one of the most refreshing stories in swimming this year. His sideshows away from the pool went from pesky distractions to becoming an alarming concern about his overall well-being, and seeing his determination manifest itself through adversity has rejuvenated fans' excitement for his career and the upcoming Olympics.

And, as Phelps noted Saturday, the Rio Games are right around the corner.

"It seems like a long time before trials," Phelps said. "But it’ll be here before you know it."

All quotes courtesy Kara Raney, communications coordinator at USA Swimming, unless otherwise noted.