RIO DE JANEIRO —Chase Kalisz kept his cell phone in airplane mode Saturday, hoping to avoid distractions as he prepared for the race of his life — the 400-meter individual medley final in the Olympics.

When he finally turned it on, in the middle of a press conference with his Japanese rivals, Kosuke Hagino and Daiya Seto, it rang over and over.

Such is the life of an Olympic silver medalist.

“It's a dream come true,” he said Sunday afternoon, about 18 hours after he swam the fastest 400 IM of his life in finishing second to Hagino.

Kalisz also had to wear makeup on Sunday morning when he appeared on NBC, another new experience.

The first-time Olympian from Bel Air took his parents, Cathy and Mike, to each of his media appearances, where he received questions about everything from doping to Katie Ledecky's medal chances.

He traded messages with each of his three siblings, including his older sister, Courtney, the first swimmer he aspired to beat.

“I was very proud of all her success, but I wanted some of it too,” he recalled. “I wanted to be like her and then I wanted to get past her.”

His next target was the biggest of all, his club teammate and eventual mentor, Michael Phelps.

Phelps sent Kalisz a text message saying how proud he was after Saturday night's race. Then he wrapped him in a congratulatory hug when Kalisz finally got back to the suite they're sharing in the Olympic Village.

“He knows I gave my best effort,” Kalisz said.

Bob Bowman, the coach they share, offered similar sentiments.

“He told me how proud he was of me,” Kalisz said. “It was very meaningful to see him after the race. I have him a big hug. We've had a long journey. There have been ups and downs, but we always kind of believed in each other.”

Kalisz, who will return to the University of Georgia for his senior year, plans to swim four more years with an eye on competing in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020

If form holds, he'll also continue his friendly rivalry with Seto and Hagino, which began back at Junior World Championships in Peru.

Though Kalisz doesn't speak Japanese, he can count on hugs from his contemporaries, whether he beats them or they beat him.

“They're good guys,” he said.

Russia banned from Paralympics: After escaping a blanket ban from the Olympics, Russia was kicked out of the upcoming Paralympics on Sunday as the ultimate punishment for the state running a doping operation that polluted sports by prioritizing “medals over morals.”

Paralympic leaders expelled one of its most significant members as the IOC announced that 278 Russians have been given clearance to compete at the Olympics after their eligibility in Rio de Janeiro was left to individual sports.

Russia's years of doping deception, including tampering with samples at the 2014 Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi, were outlined last month by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren.

“The facts really do hurt,” IPC President Philip Craven said. “They are an unprecedented attack on every clean athlete who competes in sport. The anti-doping system in Russia is broken, corrupted and entirely compromised.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.