Phelps was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson. He attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and Towson High School. Phelps is the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue "Debbie" Phelps (nee Davisson), is a middle school principal.
Before the final of the 100-meter butterfly, US born Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic caused a minor stir when he said it would be "good" if Phelps lost. "It'd be good for him if he loses. It would be nice if historians talk about Michael Phelps winning seven gold medals and losing the eighth to 'some guy.' I'd like to be that guy", Cavic said. Phelps responded, "When people say things like that, it fires me up more than anything." On August 16, Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the Games in the men's 100-meter butterfly, setting an Olympic record for the event with a time of 50.58 seconds and edging out his nearest competitor Cavic, by one hundredth (0.01) of a second. Unlike all six of his previous events in the 2008 Games, Phelps did not set a new world record, leaving intact Ian Crocker's world-record time of 50.40 seconds, set in 2005. Phelps's 0.01-second finish ahead of Cavic prompted the Serbian delegation to file a protest. Subsequent analysis of the video by the FINA panel, which required analyzing frames shot 1/10,000th of a second apart, was used to officially confirm Phelps's victory, but the images were not immediately released to the press. The initial refusal by official timekeeper Omega to release underwater photos of the finish also raised questions due to Phelps's sponsorship relationship with Omega. Cavic later wrote in his blog, "People, this is the greatest moment of my life. If you ask me, it should be accepted and we should move on. I've accepted defeat, and there's nothing wrong with losing to the greatest swimmer there has ever been." Phelps's seventh gold medal of the Games tied Mark Spitz's record for gold medals won in a single Olympic Games, set in the 1972 Olympics. It was also his fifth individual gold medal in Beijing, tying the record for individual gold medals at a single Games originally set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Said Phelps upon setting his seventh-straight Olympic record of the Games in as many events, "Dream as big as you can dream, and anything is possible ... I am sort of in a dream world. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure it is real."

Q: What event did Phelps do to win his seventh gold metal?
A: men's 100-meter butterfly,

Q: who did he beat in that race?
A: Cavic,

Q: was there any other swimmers mentioned that he beat?
A: unknown

Q: What other interesting fact can you tell me about that race?
A: Phelps's seventh gold medal of the Games tied Mark Spitz's record for gold medals won in a single Olympic Games,

Q: How did he feel about that?
A: I am sort of in a dream world. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure it is real."
What other significant facts can you tell me about that race that you found interesting?
Phelps's 0.01-second finish ahead of Cavic prompted the Serbian delegation to file a protest. Phelps did not set a new world record, leaving intact Ian Crocker's world-record time of 50.40 seconds, set in 2005. The initial refusal by official timekeeper Omega to release underwater photos of the finish also raised questions due to Phelps's sponsorship relationship with Omega. Phelps's 0.01-second finish ahead of Cavic prompted the Serbian delegation to file a protest.
Phelps's 0.01-second finish ahead of Cavic prompted the Serbian delegation to file a protest.