'Embarrassed' Phelps weighing whether to compete in 2012 Olympics

Michael Phelps has confessed that he's embarrassed by the marijuana incident, and is weighing whether to take part in 2012 Olympics.

The pictures published in Britain's News of the World, showing the eight times Olympic gold medallist using a bong, were taken in November at a University of South Carolina house party.

The 23-year-old star admits that he "clearly made a mistake," and the past week has been both embarrassing and uncomfortable for him.

"It's definitely not what I wanted, and it's clearly not what my mom wanted," The Baltimore Sun quoted Phelps, as saying.

The swimmer said that he's embarrassed by incident.

The intense scrutiny has forced him to think about whether he should compete in 2012 Olympics. He said he's going to discuss it over 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," Phelps said.

"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," he added.