updated 4:43 p.m. ET Aug. 22, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - Michael Phelps’ mother will always remember the first medal.

She was separated from her youngest child by a chain-link fence — athletes on one side, everyone else on the other — but they managed to hold hands through a gap in the wire, savoring an Olympic triumph together.

“He wanted me to hold his gold medal,” Debbie Phelps said, tears welling in her eyes as she remembered opening day at the Athens pool. “Michael had this look on his face that I’ll never forget. He was just so happy.”

He wasn’t done, though. Not by a long shot.

Within a week, Phelps had eight medals around his neck, as many as anyone from a single games.

From a world record in his first race to generously giving up a spot in the final relay, the rap-loving kid from Baltimore had an Olympics for the ages. He is destined to be immortalized alongside the likes of Mark Spitz and Nadia Comaneci, Carl Lewis and Paavo Nurmi.

From a front-row seat at the Olympic pool, Phelps watched his teammates do all the work in the 400-meter individual medley Saturday night. When they won with a world-record time, Phelps got a gold, too — his record-tying eighth medal of the Athens Games.

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“It felt like I was part of that race,” said Phelps, who earned his gold by swimming the event in the preliminaries.

Phelps led the U.S. contingent in cheers, pounded the side of an “Athens 2004” sign, waved an American flag and screamed “Go Jason!” as Jason Lezak completed the rout, easily retaining the lead built up by Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen and Ian Crocker.

When the scoreboard flashed “WR” — world record — Phelps threw up his arms to celebrate.

“I can’t tell you about how exciting it is to be on the other side of the sport,” he said.

Phelps earned a spot in the medley final by winning the 100 butterfly Friday night. But he ceded his place to Crocker, wanting to give the silver medalist a chance to make up for a poor showing in the 400 free relay.

The 19-year-old Phelps arrived in Athens to face enormous expectations and a grueling schedule. He wound up racing 17 times in seven days, raising questions about the wisdom of entering so many events in a sport that has become increasingly specialized.

No less an authority than Ian Thorpe wondered if Phelps was setting himself up for failure by trying to break Spitz’s record of seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Games.

No worries, mate. Phelps may have fallen short of the mark, but six golds and two bronzes later, there’s no way he’ll be remembered as a flop.

“I’ve said in the past that I want to become the first Michael Phelps, to do something that no one has ever done before,” he said. “That stuck with me the whole entire meet, and I was successful at it.”

It wasn’t an entirely smooth journey to stardom.

Phelps’ quest for seven golds was over on his third day in the water, doomed by a pair of bronze-medal finishes. He also was at the center of a spat when the American coaches put him on the 400-meter freestyle relay team, prompting three-time Olympian Gary Hall Jr. to complain that Phelps was getting special treatment in his pursuit of Spitz’s record.

In the end, Phelps even managed to win over Hall.

“I’m as impressed as anyone,” he said. “It’s incredible what he’s done.”

Phelps won gold in his last five events and proved to be the ultimate teammate, letting rival Ian Crocker take over in the 400-meter medley relay — the last swimming event of the Athens Games.

Phelps earned a spot in the final by winning the 100 butterfly with a stirring come-from-behind performance against Crocker. But Phelps was already was in line for a medal in the relay because he had competed with the team in the preliminaries. So he gave up his spot, allowing Crocker to redeem himself for a disappointing swim in an earlier relay.

On Saturday night, Phelps sat in a front-row seat on the pool deck, his tight-fitting swimsuit replaced by baggy shorts and flip-flops. He signed autographs, posed for pictures, yukked it up with teammates, and led the cheers as Crocker and the Americans set a world record.

After getting his gold, Crocker came over to hug Phelps.

“I thanked him because he was one of the main reasons I had the opportunity to do that,” Crocker said. “He gave me a gift.”

Phelps hopes his performance in Athens will raise swimming’s profile in the United States, where interest is sure to wane as soon as the Olympics are over. That may prove to be a more difficult challenge than the one he faced in the pool.

Spitz was set for life after Munich, but his sport faded back into obscurity once he got home. Phelps could be headed down a similar path — endorsements and fame for the man, not much publicity for the sport.

Phelps is undaunted.

“One of my biggest goals is to promote the sport of swimming in the States,” he said. “We don’t get enough coverage, in my opinion.”

But that’s for later. With swimming over, Phelps planned to check out of the Olympic Village and enjoy Athens during the last week of the games. He’d like to see other events, hang out with friends, and eat burgers, fries, whatever he wants.

Once he gets back to Baltimore, life will be different. The teenager who still lives at home wants a place of his own, and a dog, too. Maybe he’ll move to Michigan, where his coach, Bob Bowman, is taking a new job.

Phelps’ mother, a former teacher, is sure to nag him about getting started on a degree, although he’s already turned pro and can’t swim at the college level.

“He’ll definitely be going into school,” Debbie Phelps said. “He knows that’s very important. No matter what happens in life, they can never take away your educational experience.”

And they’ll never be able to take away those eight medals. He might get even more.

Phelps will certainly return for the 2008 Beijing Games, although it’s unlikely he’ll swim so many events. The 2012 Olympics are on a radar screen, too. He’ll be only 27 — younger than several members of this year’s American team.

“Maybe,” Bowman said, “this is just the first chapter.”

EIGHT MEDALS FOR MICHAEL PHELPS Medal date Event Result Sat, Aug 14 400 individual medley Gold (WR) Sun, Aug 15 400 freestyle relay Bronze Mon, Aug 16 200 freestyle Bronze Tue, Aug 17 200 butterfly Gold Tue, Aug 17 800 freestyle relay Gold Thur, Aug 19 200m individual medley Gold (OR) Fri, Aug 20 100 butterfly Gold (OR) Sat, Aug 21 400 medley relay Gold (WR)

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