What else can you say about Michael Phelps? The man is simply not of this world. The Golden Boy of the Beijing Olympics made good on his vow to capture eight gold medals in swimming.

But it’s something I learned from one of his teammates that will stay with me.

I wrote about Brendan Hansen in my print column today. You can check it out here.

No one was pulling harder for the men’s relay team Saturday night than I was. Yes, I wanted to see Michael Phelps make history. But I also wanted to see Hansen capture a medal.

Hansen is one of our own. He’s a product of Karakung Swim Club and Haverford High School.

It’s not been the best of times for Hansen in recent weeks. First he failed to qualify for the Olympics in his specialty, the 200-meter breaststroke. The slump continued as he finished fourth in the 100-meter race at Beijing. That left him out of the medals. And he had to watch as his arch-rival, Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima, shattered his world record in capturing the hardware.

Then there was the talk leading up to Saturday night’s 4x100 medley relay.

The commentators made it pretty clear. Phelps had seven gold medals in his pocket to tie Mark Spitz for the most ever in a single Olympics. All that stood between him and history was this medley race.

And that meant, as good as Phelps has been, he was dependent on his teammates upholding their end of the bargain. The whispers were unmistakable. Would Hansen cost Phelps a shot at history?

My wife actually picked up on a key moment. And it goes to show the “mettle” of one Brendan Hansen. It occurred between the Delco swimmer and Phelps’ mother. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you down,” he said to her.

Hansen was good to his word, swimming the second leg of the medley, followed by Phelps, as the U.S. team set a new world record in the event. Along the way, Phelps was launched into immortality.

But I was overjoyed as I watched Hansen join his teammates on the medal stand, flashing that winning smile, displaying both his gold medal and an American flag.

That’s what I call a “gold mettle” performance.

Hansen is not Delco’s only link to the Games.

Lansdowne native Marcus McElhenny, a Lansdowne native and Monsignor Bonner grad, captured a bronze medal as the coxswain on the men’s eight boat in rowing.

Well done, gentlemen.