On Saturday of Ironman weekend in Lake Placid, New York, talk of an Olympian superstar began to rumble through the crowd. It wasn't just a particularly tall, chiseled triathlete who'd started rumors—the American swimmer really was roaming the streets of town, keeping a low profile as best he could.

No, Phelps isn't transitioning to triathlon as far as we know. And he wasn't just vacationing here either, unpleasantly surprised by the hoards of people gathered to watch the 2010 race. He was here for his sister Hilary, who was competeing for TeamCindy, a charitable orgnization that promotes public awareness of the dangers of a ruptured brain aneurysm.

In 2007, 33-year-old Cynthia Lynn Sherwin died while training for her first Ironman competition—Lake Placid of that year. The triathlon team was founded in 2008 with one athlete competing in Cindy’s name in the Ford Tempe Ironman. In 2009, five TeamCindy athletes participated in Ford Ironman Lake Placid. This year, ten TeamCindy athletes participated in the Ford Ironman Lake Placid, among them, 32-year-old Hilary Phelps.

We managed to meet briefly with Michael Phelps near the finish line as the last athletes crossed. He was here solely for his sister, but said that he wished to congratulate everybody who was participating in the race.

"It’s amazing to see how many people fought through their pain and really put their minds to something like this. I want to congratulate my sister, who was out here racing for a great cause. There are so many great causes out there these days and it was truly an honor to witness," he said.

Maybe we'll see Phelps in the water next to his sister next year. Who knows, every triathlete starts with one of the disciplines, right?