Gold Medal Mom: Debbie Phelps

Three days after celebrating her son's record-breaking eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, Debbie Phelps is back in the US, with no signs of slowing down.

The single mother of three—whose cherubic face is almost as recognizable on TV as her Aquaboy son's—has just been crowned "Mom of the Olympic Games" by Johnson's Baby, and she's taking time out to meet the press and shoot a commercial in New York City. Still, in addition to her own three grown children, Hilary, 30, Whitney, 28, and Michael, 22, she's responsible for a whole slew of middle schoolers at Windsor Mill in Baltimore County, where she is the principal. (Imagine her paper on What I Did During My Summer Vacation?) Debbie sat down with Momtourage in her suite at Manhattan's Mandarin Hotel to give us some guidance counseling, as well as insight into her own epic journey of motherhood, which includes rearing a certain "über-Olympian," whom you may have heard of.

Momtourage: Here at Momtourage.com, we celebrate the people who help moms get the job of mothering done with grace, humor and practical grit. Who's in your Momtourage that helped you become such a great mom?

Debbie Phelps: It starts with my mom. She taught me my strength, my compassion. I lost my mom after the Athens games [in 2004], and it was very difficult, but the things she taught me I've passed on to my own children. Then there's my assistant principal at school. She's very spiritual. She's a mother to four children and multiple grandchildren. And there's also the school system itself. I've also worked with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, with the ADHD Moms online community, which I'm national spokesperson for. Not only do I help moms but they help me.