One year ago, swimmer Matt Grevers was helping teammate Michael Phelps win two of his eight gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

On Sept. 27, Grevers was offering tips to young swimmers and racing relays as part of the Fitter and Faster Tour swim clinic at the University of Louisville.

“Racing the world's best is cool,” Grevers said. “But racing a 9-year-old is still fun.”

Grevers, who left Beijing with two gold medals in relays and one silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke, was joined by Christine Magnuson, a two-time Olympic silver medalist; Ben Hesen, a Jeffersonville, Ind., native and NCAA national champion at Indiana University; and Vali Preda, a member of the 2008 Romanian Olympic team who was a senior at the University of Louisville last season.

The free touring clinic takes top swimmers all over the country to promote the sport and allow young swimmers to interact with elite ones, said Trevor Joelson, of Arluck Promotions, who coordinated the tour stop in Louisville.

The four swimmers were greeted by 104 swimmers ages 5 through 18 at U of L's Ralph Wright Natatorium. The clinic was free and the tour recruited participants from across the Louisville area by word of mouth.

The four taught them techniques and divided the swimmers into teams and held relay races, with each of the four elite swimmers taking part.

Racing young swimmers brings Grevers back to when he first splashed in a pool, he said.

“They swim without anxiety,” Grevers said. “This is swimming at its purest.”

Preda said the young swimmers treated them like celebrities. “If they're having fun, I'll have fun,” he said.

During breaks the swimmers could ask questions about techniques and movements, and Grevers and company dished out one-on-one advice. At one point Grevers stopped to talk to one swimmer about body position and how to skim through the water.

“Matt's cool,” said Cole Skinker, 17, a junior at Christian Academy of Louisville who lives in Buckner.

Nolan Smith, 14, of Indian Hills, said it was the first time he had met an Olympic swimmer.

Nolan started swimming in a summer league when he was 5 and joined a competitive team, Cardinal Aquatics, last year. He said he learned a few tips at the clinic on how to become a better swimmer.

“They worked on each stroke, told us a few drills to do for each one,” said Nolan, a freshman at Ballard High School. “They helped us a little bit with our streamlines — that's what you do when you push off the wall. It makes you aerodynamic.”

At the end of the two-hour session, the swimming quartet signed autographs and posed for pictures.

A few youngsters hung around after that and quizzed the swimmers on how they can get better. The swimmers obliged and kept on teaching.