Teary Rice remorseful

Triple Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice has broken down twice in offering a public apology for her anti-homosexual comments on Twitter.

Rice tweeted "Suck on that faggots!" after Australia beat South Africa in a thrilling Tri-Nations match on Sunday morning, angering gay groups and leading homosexual ex-rugby league star Ian Roberts to label her an 'idiot'.

A remorseful Rice had to compose herself several times while fronting a press conference in Sydney on Wednesday to explain her comments were out of character and not intended to offend.

"I owe it to those who I have offended to publicly say I am sorry," she said.

"I am not a person who judges others or speaks in a way that hurts others."

"It is not me to give offence to other people no matter who they are."

"My comments were thoughtless and careless and I've learned a lot in the last couple of days."

"I've learned I must think before I speak and this has been a very important lesson."

Prestige motor company Jaguar ripped up Rice's sponsorship deal in the wake of the Twitter controversy, while a host of other sponsors are renewing their relationship with the headline-grabbing swimmer.

She hopes her public apology will go someway to repairing the damage she's caused in the eyes of the general public.

"I felt I've let a lot of people down," she said.

"I just want people to know how sorry I am. I'm here to gain people's trust back and show how out of character it was."