SO, PHELPS IS HUMAN

Michael Phelps' achievements in the swimming pool at the Beijing
Olympics seemed superhuman. It comes as a relief, then, to find that
he is human after all.

The most winning Olympian in history, Mr. Phelps is at the centre of
a controversy surrounding a photograph of him taking a haul off a
bong. The 23-year-old released a statement acknowledging he had
"engaged in behaviour which was regrettable and demonstrated bad
judgment," and speculation followed that he might lose millions in
sponsorship deals as a result of the behaviour.

Is that the fate of a superhero who turns out to be imperfect?

Maybe not. It seems that not all sponsors feel that Mr. Phelps is no
longer the kind of face they want to sell their products. And that is
a good thing.

Omega, maker of watches, and Speedo have both confirmed that they
will continue to work with Mr. Phelps. No word yet how such wholesome
sponsors as Kellogg will react. But one photograph of Mr. Phelps
behaving in a way that may not make him an ideal role model, but is
hardly unusual behaviour for a man his age, should not sink his
sponsorship career.

It is the human aspect of Mr. Phelps' story that makes it so compelling.

Far from finding life easy, Mr. Phelps had a difficult childhood
during which he struggled with attention deficit hyperactive
disorder. It was only when he discovered swimming, and his obvious
gift for going fast, that he began to cope better with the disorder.

Humans are not machines. People sometimes make bad judgment calls and
struggle to get things right.

For those reasons, Mr. Phelps' achievements are all the more remarkable.