Olympic champion Michael Phelps says it has been difficult coping with the fallout from a photo of him smoking from a marijuana pipe. “It's something I am going to have to live with and something I'll have to grow from,” Phelps told The Associated Press on Wednesday outside the pool where he trains. “I know with all of the mistakes I made, I learned from them and that is what I expect to do from this. By no means it is fun for me, by no means is it easy.” It was the first time Phelps publicly addressed the photo since issuing an apology on Sunday after it surfaced in a British tabloid over the weekend. Wearing a black sweat suit and shaking off the remaining drops of water in his hair after a workout at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, Phelps said the most important thing for him was that he was back in the pool training. “I'm back to my routine, the thing I love, the thing I care about most,” Phelps said. “To be able to get back in the water and get back to a normal schedule is what I am happy about most.” Phelps and his coach, Bob Bowman, in November took over the operation of Meadowbrook and the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, where the swimmer began training at age 7. Phelps declined to address the possibility of criminal charges and reiterated his desire to put the furor behind him. Phelps apologized to all after the News of the World published a picture that appeared to show the Olympic champion smoking marijuana during a November party at the University of South Carolina. After the 2004 Athens Games, an underage Phelps was arrested for drunken driving, pleaded guilty and apologized to his fans.
