Michael Phelps on peeing in the pool: Everybody does it

Michael Phelps competes in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay final during the swimming event at the London Olympic Games on Aug. 4, 2012, in London.

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(CBS News) Everybody's doing it, so why not?

That's apparently the mentality behind peeing in the pool at the Olympic Games. U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte made headlines last week when he told "Today" show special correspondent Ryan Seacrest that he pees in the pool sometimes.

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Pictures: Michael Phelps
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But clearly, Lochte isn't alone.

"I think everybody pees in the pool," swimming champ Michael Phelps told the Wall Street Journal. "It's kind of a normal thing to do for swimmers. When we're in the water for two hours, we don't really get out to pee ... Chlorine kills it so it's not bad."

Phelps, meanwhile, walks away from his Olympic career with a whopping 22 medals. This marked his final Olympic Games. So, relaxing and freedom are in his future, he says.

"The competitive side of me swimming is no longer there. That's finished," he told People. "Maybe when I go on vacation and I'm by the water, by the ocean, and feel like jumping in, I will. It won't be something on top of my to-do list."

Phelps said the biggest thing he's looking forward to is relaxing - and doing so on his own time.

"I think it's kind of cool to have that freedom," he said.

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Michael Phelps

[skeezix06]

I could have lived quite cheerfully for a long time without knowing they had so little class on a personal level. It sort of kills any interest I have had in watching swimming and diving.

[MIO42]

Uh , Michael ,We don't swim in yer toilet ,so how bout ya don't pee in our POOL !!..!!....?

[virgofromjersey]

You should be so luck to swim in the same pool as a bunch of Olympians. Anyone in competitive aquatics will tell you it's perfectly normal.