Michael Phelps showed up in Beijing with a Fu Manchu.

It had our group here buzzing about whether the most high profile Olympic swimmer was really going to keep it throughout the games. It had me buzzing about whether there was a sponsorship deal -- can you say Gillette or Schick?

So I popped an e-mail to Phelps' agent Peter Carlisle.

CNBC.com Michael Phelps with a Fu Manchu.

"He'll definitely shave it before he swims," Carlisle said. "That thing's got some serious drag!"

Phelps has been known to grow facial hair in between meets, but does not have a razor deal on his immense endorsement roster.

Phelps is of course chasing the single Olympics seven gold record of Mark Spitz. Spitz won those golds in 1972 while sporting a mustache. At those games, Spitz said he told the Russian coach that the mustache would deflect water and would help him swim faster. The next year, Spitz says, all the russian swimmers were sporting mustaches.

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