'I didn't know who he was then, but I could see that he had a lot of potential,' said Siti Farhana, 20, a non-swimmer and a student at the Millennia Institute.
Since then, she has turned into Phelps' No 1 fan in Singapore.
In January 2006, she was voted Fan of the Month on the now-defunct fan site MrPhelps.com
She earned the title by answering a questionnaire on the American swimmer.
She has newspaper clippings of the swimmer and tracks his progress in meets online and on sports channel ESPN.
When she found out last week that Phelps - who holds four world records - was coming here to train for the Beijing Olympics, she immediately contacted The Straits Times for his flight details.
Over the next few days, Farhana, who is waiting to get into university, said she will try to watch him train at the Singapore Island Country Club - though it is off-limits to the public.
'I don't know if it's possible. I'm not a member and don't know anyone who is,' she said.
Jamie Ee Wen Wei