By winning eight gold medals in Beijing, Michael Phelps didn't just make Olympic history -- he catapulted his mom, Debbie, to stardom. Ms. Phelps, 57, the principal of a middle school near Baltimore, has been approached about writing a book and will appear in a TV commercial for Johnson & Johnson. Chico's, a women's clothing retailer, is already advertising 'The Debbie Phelps Collection' on its Web site. She's not the only mother to get noticed during the Games. Here are four more proud moms of medalists who've gained a measure of celebrity.
Wu Hsiao-lin
The mother of Chinese weightlifter Chen Wei-ling became a national heroine after her daughter won the country's first medal of the Games. She brought up her three daughters alone after her husband died in a car crash, and still runs a sushi cart at a food market. Government officials presented her with a plaque.
Elaine Petch
Relatives had to take up a collection to get her to Beijing, but she proved to be a good-luck charm for her son, Louis Smith, who won bronze in pommel horse and collected England's first individual gymnastics medal since 1908. The only other time she traveled to an international meet, her son also won a medal.
Babli Bindra
She became a national celebrity in India after her son, rifle shooter Abinhav, won that country's first-ever gold medal in an individual event. Relatives and friends flocked to the family's home near the the town of Zirakpur. Mrs. Bindra told a TV reporter her son is 'the country's most eligible bachelor.'
Ondina Lopez
The matriarch of America's first family of taekwondo. Two of her sons, as well as a daughter, are medal hopefuls and a third son coaches the team. Mrs. Lopez has rarely watched her children compete but she'll be in Beijing when the taekwondo competiton concludes this weekend.