Michael Phelps Considering Dropping Out Of 2012 Olympics

 

In Michael Phelps, 23, first interview since the photo surfaced of him smoking from a marijuana pipe, he told The Baltimore Sun yesterday that the intense public scrutiny has him contemplating whether he will swim in the 2012 Olympics.

Phelps admits that he “clearly made a mistake” and that the past week has been both embarrassing and uncomfortable for him and he’s going to discuss the decision with his family and his coach, Bob Bowman.

“This is a decision of mine that I’m not going to make today and I’m not going to make tomorrow.  It’s going to require a lot of time and energy and a lot of thinking for myself - but also talking to Bob and talking to my family and just deciding what I want to do.

“Yeah, there are still goals that I have in the pool, 100 percent. But I’m not going to let anything stand in my way. If I decide to walk away, I’ll decide to walk away on my own terms. If it’s now, if it’s four years, who knows. But it is something I need to think about and decide what I want to do.”

Coach Bowman says he doesn’t foresee him retiring until after the 2012 London Olympics but that he understands how difficult it is for Phelps to live up to the public’s expectations.

Read the full interview HERE..

Photo by Wenn.com  of Michael Phelps filming an advertisement for the second generation Mazda 6 ‘Ruiji’ at the Yingdong National Olympic Sports Centre Natatorium in Beijing, China.