Melbourne, Dec 8 : Amanda Beard has defended fellow Olympian Michael Phelps’ romance with Las Vegas cocktail waitress Caroline Pal, insisting that he deserves to ‘have fun’.

The 14-time gold medalist Phelps has been flooded with some lousy press lately for becoming not only a fixture in Las Vegas, but also for dating the Sin City’s cocktail waitress, reports Thehollywoodgossip. com.

Beard has admitted that it''s ‘definitely weird’ to see Phelps becoming a celebrity tabloid star, but she thinks he should be cut some slack.

"A swimmer''s life is extremely boring," the Daily Telegraph quoted Beard, as telling E! Online at the opening of the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills.

"We swim and we''re in the pool all day long. I know he trains his butt off, so I know it feels good for him to let loose and have a drink - and to have ladies underneath his arms. It''s good for him," she added. (ANI)