Phelps sunk by Mandarin

2008-08-20 11:49

Beijing - Michael Phelps seems capable of achieving almost anything - except mastering Mandarin.

The American swimming star might have brushed aside anything before him in the pool, but picking up the notoriously difficult local language has proved beyond even him.

"Learning Mandarin is even harder than winning eight gold medals in the pool," the 23-year-old was quoted as saying by the China Daily.

"It's the hardest thing I've ever tried in my life."

Phelps studied French and German when he was at school, but Mandarin has proved a different ball game altogether.

"The language is so tough. I started taking some Chinese lessons soon after learning French and German. After a while I could speak a little and understand a little.

"But all the words, characters and pronunciations in Mandarin are so different."

Asked to speak some Mandarin by the newspaper, he laughed and replied: "My accent is not good. I don't want to embarrass myself."

- AFP