By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

When Ryan Lochte beat out the field in the 400 individual medley, which included Olympic swimming Golden Boy Michael Phelps, he became The Guy. Essentially Lochte became a household name and not a commercial break goes by without seeing him swimming to London.

Sure, Phelps is the most popular and his sponsorships with Subway probably won’t go away anytime soon. However, Lochte won the first gold of the Olympics for the Americans. While Phelps took fourth in the same race.

Collectors looking to snag a couple of Lochte’s cards are in luck. Lochte is featured in 2012 Topps U.S. Olympic Team, but his first card came in 2007.

He appeared in 2007 Upper Deck Goudey Sport Royalty. He had a regular card and an autograph in the insert set. The autos from Goudey are a little tough to come by, but more of them have appeared on eBay over the last few days with his rise in popularity.

Cards of his also appeared in 2009 and 2010 Sports Illustrated for Kids.

However, his hottest cards right now are from the current Topps set, and there seems to be plenty to go around for everyone. His base card is plentiful and there are parallels of Gold, Silver and Bronze.

In addition to the base, Relics and autographs are available from the U.S. Olympic Team set. However, expect to shell out around $200 for an autograph.

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor for Beckett Sports Card Monthly. You can email Susan here with ideas, comments or questions. Follow her on Twitter here.