KEY SPONSORS TO STICK WITH OLYMPIC HERO

Phelps' 'Bong' Shot

The marketability of record-breaking Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps could
suffer after a British newspaper published a photograph purportedly
showing him smoking marijuana.

While some major sponsors such as Speedo and Omega said they had no plans
to pull Mr. Phelps from their campaigns, analysts said the news had
tarnished the image of the 23-year-old and may cost him some marketing
dollars.

Britain's News of the World newspaper ran a picture of Mr. Phelps with a
glass pipe, saying it was taken at a student party at the University of
South Carolina in Columbia last November.

The newspaper did not say Mr. Phelps was smoking marijuana, but said the
glass pipe the swimmer was photographed with was generally used to smoke
the drug.

Mr. Phelps -- who has won more Olympic gold medals than anyone else after
his eight at the Beijing Olympics last year -- apologized for his
"regrettable" and "inappropriate" behaviour.

"It is absolutely damaged by this," Robert Boland, professor of sports
management at New York University, said of Mr. Phelps' marketability.

"Given the economy, a lot of companies have pulled back on sports
marketing deals."

While Mr. Phelps' agency, Octagon, said it has been in touch with his
sponsors and none have indicated any intention of opting out of their
deals, analysts noted this was not the swimmer's first transgression.

In 2004, a few months after winning six gold and two silver medals at the
Athens Olympics, Mr. Phelps, then 19, pleaded guilty to a drunk-driving
charge and publicly apologized. "This will make advertisers or sponsors
very cautious," said Tony Ponturo, chief executive of Ponturo Management
Group in New York. "Advertisers or any sponsor paying that kind of money
to have the rub-off of the talent, they're not paying a lot of money for
the downside," he said.