Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps has released an apology video on a website to his Chinese fans for his "regrettable" behavior after a photo showing him smoking a marijuana pipe was published recently.

He showed his great appreciation of Chinese fans' support during his difficult times. "My Chinese friends, as many of you know, I recently engaged in a behavior which was regrettable and not what people have come to expect from me."

"The past few days have been tough for me, but I've received support and encouragement online from so many Chinese friends. I will learn from these mistakes, train hard, and make you proud again."

Michael Phelps swims during his heat in the men's 200m butterfly at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Nebraska in this July 1, 2008

At the same time, Phelps expected the young Chinese to learn from his lesson. He said, "To the young people of China, please learn from this lesson. Be positive to life, and do the right things. I've had so many great experiences in China over the past few years and have enjoyed learning about your culture and your history."

Phelps also expressed his willingness to return China. "I look forward to returning to China soon."

Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, four years after he won six gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece

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