Cindy Crawford

Even Cindy Crawford Is Rooting for Michael Phelps

08/15/2008 at 02:30 PM EDT

He may be wracking up the gold medals – but swimmer Michael Phelps is also earning plenty of phrase from his superstar fans.

"I'm rooting for Michael Phelps along with the rest of the world," supermodel Cindy Crawford told reporters Thursday during a press conference in Beijing.

There to check out the games, she also said she and Phelps, who's won six gold medals so far in Beijing, actually go way back.

"I'm friendly with Michael Phelps," she said. "We met four years ago when he was just trying out for his first Olympics. And to see how far he's come ... He was a kid and now he's just so much more poised and handling the pressure so well."