Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps on Sunday admitted that he had engaged in “regrettable” behavior and “demonstrated bad judgment” after a photo was published that appeared to show him smoking cannabis.
A British newspaper, the News of the World, published the photo allegedly showing the multiple Olympic gold medal-winner inhaling from a glass pipe which is generally used to smoke the drug.
The News of the World said the photograph of Phelps was taken at a house party being held by students at the University of South Carolina in Columbia last November.
PHOTO: AP
The newspaper did not say Phelps was smoking marijuana but said the glass pipe the swimmer was photographed using generally was used to smoke the weed.
Phelps, who has never failed a doping test, promised in his statement there would be no repeat of his behavior.
“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment,” Phelps said in the statement.
“I’m 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me,” he said. “For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public — it will not happen again.”
Bob Bowman, Phelps’ longtime coach and mentor, had little to add.
“Michael has issued his statement. He regrets his behavior and I’m sure he’ll learn from this experience,” Bowman said in a statement of his own. “I’m glad to have him back in training.”
The newspaper said the picture was taken on Nov. 6, almost three months after Phelps won an historic eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.
The News of the World said Phelps was visiting Jordan Matthews, a girl he was secretly dating who was a student at the university, and threw himself into a series of parties in houses and bars.
The photograph shows Phelps, wearing a white T-shirt and a baseball cap back to front, holding the pipe — known as a bong — to his lips and apparently inhaling.
The tabloid quoted a partygoer as saying: “You could tell Michael had smoked before. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do.”
USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport, said it was disappointed by Phelps’ admission.
“We are certainly disappointed in Michael’s behavior. Our Olympic champions are role models who are looked up to by people of all ages, especially young athletes who have their own aspirations and dreams,” USA Swimming said in a statement. “That said, we realize that none among us is perfect. We hope that Michael can learn from this incident and move forward in a positive way.”
The US Olympic Committee (USOC) also expressed disappointment in the swimmer, who on Jan. 22 was named the USOC’s Sportsman of the Year for making Olympic history in Beijing by collecting the most golds won by any athlete at a single Games, giving him a career total of 14 golds.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
FINAL WEEK LOOMS: PSG rose to 22nd place to set up another tense challenge against 24th-placed Stuttgart, while Man City require victory against Club Brugge Manchester City are on the brink of a humiliating UEFA Champions League exit after a stunning loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, while Real Madrid is no longer at risk after routing Salzburg. Man City blew a two-goal lead in a high-stakes clash of super-wealthy underachievers that PSG won 4-2 in Paris, who could still be eliminated alongside the English champions after the final round of games next week. Only the top 24 in the 36-team standings are to advance. Man City, the 2023 champions, are in 25th place, but could squeeze into the knockout playoffs round by beating Club Brugge. “We will
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
RSS