At the behest of a sponsor, Michael Phelps has recorded a video apology to the people of China, expressing his remorse over the recently published photograph showing him using a marijuana pipe. He thanked them for their support and forgiveness.

The 52-second video has been posted on several Web sites in China, and one major Chinese newspaper said the video had been sent directly from the Japanese auto company Mazda, which last month signed Phelps to an endorsement deal believed to be worth more than $1 million. Phelps was signed to promote Mazda cars in China after his record-breaking eight-gold-medal performance at the Beijing Olympics last summer.

In the video, Phelps begins by saying, “To my Chinese friends,” and goes on to apologize for behavior that was “regrettable and not what people have come to expect from me.” Phelps’s words are subtitled in Mandarin.

Phelps, 23, never specifically addresses what the picture captured: he was at a house party in South Carolina, appearing to inhale from a marijuana pipe. After the photo was published in a British tabloid, the fallout included a three-month suspension by USA Swimming. Another of Phelps’s sponsors, Kellogg, said that it would not renew his contract.