While most Mainers watched Michael Phelps win eight gold medals from their living rooms, Saco native Marissa Gagnon watched him make history at the Beijing National Aquatics Center.

Gagnon, a 27-year-old 1999 Thornton Academy graduate, is a senior athlete manager with Octagon, a worldwide sports agency with offices in Portland. She works with Olympians Phelps, Ian Crocker, Katie Hoff and Seth Wescott, among others. Gagnon has traveled to three Olympics with Octagon — the 2004 summer games in Athens, Greece, 2006 winter games in Torino, Italy, and this year’s summer games in Beijing.

Gagnon said her high school guidance counselor recommended she pursue sports management as a career, though didn’t know much about the field before enrolling in the sports management program at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass. Gagnon said she was required to complete an internship and went to work for Octagon in 2003.

“I fell into the job and fell in love with it right away,” she said.

As a senior athlete manager, Gagnon helps handle public appearances, media requests and sponsorships for athletes. She focuses mainly on swimmers during the summer Olympics, but she assisted Westcott’s agents during the 2006 Torino winter games. She said her job allows athletes to focus more on the sport than the professional side of the business. 

Gagnon arrived in Beijing Aug. 7 and left Sunday to return to Maine for “maybe 24 hours” before leaving on a month-long national media tour with Phelps. While the Beijing trip may sound glamorous, she said she and the rest of the seven-member Octagon team worked 18-hour days. 

“We’ve seen the pool, hotel and computers,” she said.

Though she didn’t have time to tour Beijing this summer, Gagnon traveled to China with Phelps, Crocker and Hoff last summer for the Visa Friendship Lanes Tour. The group visited the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and ate a traditional eight-course meal.

Gagnon was able to attend Beijing swimming finals because they took place in the morning. Following the races, she would work late into the night. 

“We were really fortunate to be able to go to all the finals while we were here,” she said. “It was super exciting.”

Gagnon said it was “incredible” to watch the United States men’s win a gold medal in the 4 by 100 relay, which they won after coming from behind in the last leg. 

“To see all those guys come together was probably the most exciting,” she said. “When [Phelps] got his seventh gold medal I was breathless. I didn’t really react because I was in shock. For his eighth medal, it was pure joy for what he did.”

Gagnon said she also enjoyed seeing Crocker, a Portland native, swim in his events. Crocker, a world record holder in the 100m butterfly, missed the medal podium by 1/100 of a second. 

“I was kind of bummed for him,” Gagnon said of the near miss. “I think he is at peace with it. Fortunately, [Crocker] is such a balanced person and has great perspective.”

Gagnon said her clients have become good friends. She loves spending time with Crocker, considers Hoff a little sister and said Phelps is fun to be around. Phelps even tried to give Gagnon swimming lessons, though she said she still sinks in the pool. 

“I’ve been able to do incredible things, but that doesn’t compare to the relationships with these athletes,” she said. “The time we spend with them is limited, but they are always understanding and respectful of what we do. They work extremely hard.”