A Reservoir of Learning

Phelps house parties were advertised on Facebook, his trading card was listed on eBay for more than $17,000, and a cadre of reporters from international television stations continued to broadcast from Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, his home training facility in Baltimore.

An estimated 50,000 Baltimore Ravens fans stayed after the team's preseason loss to the Minnesota Vikings last night to see Phelps's winning race on M&T Bank Stadium's jumbo screens. They cheered wildly.

At home in Linthicum, his father, Fred Phelps, a retired Maryland State Police trooper, said he has watched each of his son's races on TV and "couldn't be prouder."

Phelps separated from Debbie Phelps when their children were young; she and the couple's two daughters have been a mainstay at poolside for every Michael Phelps race in Beijing. The family's split has been written about extensively.

Citing that, Fred Phelps declined to say more, adding that the attention should be on his son's achievements. "It's about Michael; not about me."

Staff writer Martin Weil contributed to this report.