Chalk up another remarkable feat for Michael Phelps: somehow making swimming trading cards popular.

An autographed 2004 trading card of the record-shattering Olympian was trading for as much as $500 on Thursday, just two weeks after industry experts say the collectible could be easily had for $25.

The market value could rise to $750 to $1,000 if Phelps breaks Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at a single Olympics this weekend, said Tracy Hackler, an associate publisher with Beckett Media LLP, a Dallas-based memorabilia company.

Age ain't nothin' but a wrong number

Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week.

In its report Nov. 3, Xinhua identified He as one of ''10 big new stars'' who made a splash at China's Cities Games. on the uneven bars at those games.

Gymnasts have to be 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible for the games. He's birthday is listed as Jan. 1, 1992.

Over too soon for wrestler Byers

For eight years, Dremiel Byers dreamed of wearing Olympic gold, a fantasy that invariably was disrupted by one very sizable reality - Rulon Gardner.

Twice it was Gardner, the 2000 gold medalist, who represented the United States in wrestling's heavyweight Greco-Roman category. Twice Byers, who actually won a world championship in 2002, was left at home, wondering if he'd ever get the chance to stand on the Olympic podium.

Finally, on Thursday, the U.S. Army soldier reached the base of Mount Olympus, only to be expelled after a brief stay.

Byers won his opening two matches in Greco-Roman's single day of competition. However, in the quarterfinals he fell prey to the sport's quirky scoring system, losing to Sweden's Jalmar Sjoberg.

"I missed a couple of key opportunities to score and I'll never get them back, I'll never get them back," Byers said afterwards.