Carly Totin isn’t sure if they made eye contact.
Clutching a beer in one hand and a sign reading “Make Me Mrs. Phelps” in the other, the Towson University student chased Michael Phelps‚ open-air camouflage Hummer for two blocks.
She stopped, gasping for air.
“He had to have seen me,” said Totin, 21. “I was hoping for a wink and a “I‚ll call you later.”
From girl scouts to sorority girls, screaming women showed up en mass Saturday to catch a homecoming parade for local Olympic gold-medalist Phelps, who captured more gold medals in Beijing than any other Olympic athlete in history
Two dozen streets were roped off at their intersection with York Road for 45 minutes in one of the largest events ever sponsored by Baltimore County. One organizer said it may come second only to the parade welcoming Phelps from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
During that parade, the 23-year-old whipped off his shirt and flung it into the crowd.
A fully-clothed Phelps appeared more reserved Saturday, pounding his fist in the air and grinning from ear to ear.
Those ears were a topic of conversation for Carey McDonald and Becca Lingafelter, both 13-year-olds from Ellicott City, who staked out their spots three hours before the parade began.
Holding posters that declared them “legal in four years,” they passed the time discussing Phelps‚ dreamy abs and ears.
“They stick out,” Lingafelter said. “It’s cute.”
A group of starry-eyed girls sat on a blanket repeating “oh my god” several minutes after Phelps’ Hummer passed them by. One girl exclaimed that she “got almost five feet” from him.
Later last night, organizers planned for 10,000 to show at a fireworks tribute at Fort McHenry. The celebration cost more than $300,000, funded mostly through corporate donations, they said.
Other honorees included Towson swimming medalist Katie Hoff and Paralympics swimming champion Jessica Long, who lives in Middle River.
Vendors added dolphin balloons to the usual parade novelties of American flags and T-shirts. Politicians in antique cars, marching bands, cheerleaders and the Orioles bird added to the festivities.
But for many – including 8-year-old Aria Janello – those only served as distractions to the main event. Michael Phelps.
“I want to live with him,” Janello said.
Organizers estimated between 30,000 and 40,000 attended the parade.
The Examiner’s Kaitlin Rayner contributed to this report.
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