Smiling michael phelps after a destiny miracle victory thus equally Mark spitz's 7 Olmypic golds recordBEIJING - It must be destiny at work. There was no way, absolutely no way that Michael Phelps could have won his record-tying seventh Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in the 100-meter butterfly this morning. He was seventh at the turn, more than six-10ths of a second behind Serbia's Milorad Cavic. He was half a body length behind with 25 meters to go. He was still in midair when Cavic was at the finish.
And yet somehow, Phelps got his hand on the wall first to win by a hundredth of a second, setting an Olympic record (50.58), equaling the standard for most victories at one Games, which countryman Mark Spitz set in 1972 in Munich, and picking up a $1 million bonus from sponsor Speedo.
"When I took that last stroke, I thought I lost the race there, but it turns out that was the difference," said Phelps, who's almost certain to pick up his eighth gold in tomorrow's 4 x 100 medley relay (broadcast tonight at 10:58 EDT), which the Americans never have lost at Olympus. "I'm at a loss for words."
It was the closest finish imaginable. After Serbian team officials filed a written protest contesting the result, the Omega timing people slowed the video replay to a thousandth of a second and the freeze frame showed that Phelps had won. "The timing system was in perfect condition, perfect order," said race referee Ben Ekumbo. "There is no doubt."
It was an eerie replay of the same event in Athens four years ago, when Phelps trailed for the entire race before touching out countryman Ian Crocker by four-100ths. The difference was that Phelps already had missed his chance for seven golds by then. This time, he still was chasing history, and he seemed to be impossibly behind.
Cavic, a University of California graduate who'd come out of retirement more than a year ago, seemed an unlikely man to beat Phelps. He hadn't made the final in 2004 and was only sixth at last year's world meet. Yet he was a finger's length from pulling off the greatest upset in Olympic swimming history.
"A hundredth of a second is the most difficult loss you can have, especially at the Olympics," said the 24-year-old Cavic. "But it's a complete miracle to me that I'm here. I'm enjoying this moment, from my heart."
This was the individual race Phelps was most worried about, after swimming 15 heats, semis, and finals during a marathon week. What he needed, with his tank running low, was a fuel injection, which coach Bob Bowman impishly provided. "Beforehand, Bob said it would be good for me if I lost," said Phelps. "When he said that, I was fired up. I said, 'I'm going to go for it.' "
Phelps always has had a monster back half in the 100 fly, running down rivals over the final 50. As he had in Athens, Phelps went into overdrive, picking off rivals one at a time - Jason Dunford of Kenya, Ryan Pini of Papua New Guinea, Andrew Lauterstein of Australia (who won the bronze), Andrii Serdinov of Ukraine, and then Crocker. But this time, it appeared that he had too much ground to make up.
Phelps could see the Serb ahead of him, reaching for the wall. Though he's the master of the fingernail touch, the magic hand that comes out of nowhere, Phelps had never done it when he still had open water ahead of him. If he hadn't been in mid-surge, and if Cavic hadn't been gliding, Phelps would have had six golds and one silver.
As it was, he had no idea whether he'd won or lost. "I had to take my goggles off first to make sure the 1 was next to my name," he said. "When I saw the 50.58 and the 50.59 and I saw the 1 next to my name, that's when I sort of let my roar out."
It was a day of stunning accomplishments that otherwise would have made headlines. Great Britain's Rebecca Adlington wiped out the oldest record on the books - Janet Evans's 8:16.22 in the 800 freestyle, which had stood since 1989. "I knew when I touched the wall I was going to win the gold, but I didn't expect to get the record," said Adlington, who chopped more than two seconds off the mark in 8:14.10. "And by that much is unbelievable."
Brazil's Cesar Cielo Filho shocked everyone in the men's 50 free, winning his country's first swimming gold medal in an Olympic-record 21.30, as Australian world record-holder Eamon Sullivan finished sixth. "My dream was to be an Olympic champion," said Cielo Filho, "and that dream is now realized."
And Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, who'd won three silver medals here, finally collected a gold in the women's 200 backstroke in a world-record 2:05.24, ahead of US rival Margaret Hoelzer (2:06.23), with Rhode Island teenager Elizabeth Beisel fifth in 2:08.23.
"This was a great experience," said the 15-year-old from Saunderstown, who represents the Bluefish Swim Club in Attleboro, Mass., and who was fourth in the 400 individual medley. "I'm a little disappointed in my swim, because my best time would have been third, but it's my first Olympics and it's great to have it under my belt for the future."
Phelps also was 15 when he made his first appearance at the Games, finishing fifth in his only race. Now, he's the master of the pool, with only 100 meters between him and immortality. "I have seven out of seven so far," said Phelps, who'll swim the butterfly leg on the medley relay. "I don't know what to say."
And yet somehow, Phelps got his hand on the wall first to win by a hundredth of a second, setting an Olympic record (50.58), equaling the standard for most victories at one Games, which countryman Mark Spitz set in 1972 in Munich, and picking up a $1 million bonus from sponsor Speedo.
"When I took that last stroke, I thought I lost the race there, but it turns out that was the difference," said Phelps, who's almost certain to pick up his eighth gold in tomorrow's 4 x 100 medley relay (broadcast tonight at 10:58 EDT), which the Americans never have lost at Olympus. "I'm at a loss for words."
It was the closest finish imaginable. After Serbian team officials filed a written protest contesting the result, the Omega timing people slowed the video replay to a thousandth of a second and the freeze frame showed that Phelps had won. "The timing system was in perfect condition, perfect order," said race referee Ben Ekumbo. "There is no doubt."
It was an eerie replay of the same event in Athens four years ago, when Phelps trailed for the entire race before touching out countryman Ian Crocker by four-100ths. The difference was that Phelps already had missed his chance for seven golds by then. This time, he still was chasing history, and he seemed to be impossibly behind.
Cavic, a University of California graduate who'd come out of retirement more than a year ago, seemed an unlikely man to beat Phelps. He hadn't made the final in 2004 and was only sixth at last year's world meet. Yet he was a finger's length from pulling off the greatest upset in Olympic swimming history.
"A hundredth of a second is the most difficult loss you can have, especially at the Olympics," said the 24-year-old Cavic. "But it's a complete miracle to me that I'm here. I'm enjoying this moment, from my heart."
This was the individual race Phelps was most worried about, after swimming 15 heats, semis, and finals during a marathon week. What he needed, with his tank running low, was a fuel injection, which coach Bob Bowman impishly provided. "Beforehand, Bob said it would be good for me if I lost," said Phelps. "When he said that, I was fired up. I said, 'I'm going to go for it.' "
Phelps always has had a monster back half in the 100 fly, running down rivals over the final 50. As he had in Athens, Phelps went into overdrive, picking off rivals one at a time - Jason Dunford of Kenya, Ryan Pini of Papua New Guinea, Andrew Lauterstein of Australia (who won the bronze), Andrii Serdinov of Ukraine, and then Crocker. But this time, it appeared that he had too much ground to make up.
Phelps could see the Serb ahead of him, reaching for the wall. Though he's the master of the fingernail touch, the magic hand that comes out of nowhere, Phelps had never done it when he still had open water ahead of him. If he hadn't been in mid-surge, and if Cavic hadn't been gliding, Phelps would have had six golds and one silver.
As it was, he had no idea whether he'd won or lost. "I had to take my goggles off first to make sure the 1 was next to my name," he said. "When I saw the 50.58 and the 50.59 and I saw the 1 next to my name, that's when I sort of let my roar out."
It was a day of stunning accomplishments that otherwise would have made headlines. Great Britain's Rebecca Adlington wiped out the oldest record on the books - Janet Evans's 8:16.22 in the 800 freestyle, which had stood since 1989. "I knew when I touched the wall I was going to win the gold, but I didn't expect to get the record," said Adlington, who chopped more than two seconds off the mark in 8:14.10. "And by that much is unbelievable."
Brazil's Cesar Cielo Filho shocked everyone in the men's 50 free, winning his country's first swimming gold medal in an Olympic-record 21.30, as Australian world record-holder Eamon Sullivan finished sixth. "My dream was to be an Olympic champion," said Cielo Filho, "and that dream is now realized."
And Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, who'd won three silver medals here, finally collected a gold in the women's 200 backstroke in a world-record 2:05.24, ahead of US rival Margaret Hoelzer (2:06.23), with Rhode Island teenager Elizabeth Beisel fifth in 2:08.23.
"This was a great experience," said the 15-year-old from Saunderstown, who represents the Bluefish Swim Club in Attleboro, Mass., and who was fourth in the 400 individual medley. "I'm a little disappointed in my swim, because my best time would have been third, but it's my first Olympics and it's great to have it under my belt for the future."
Phelps also was 15 when he made his first appearance at the Games, finishing fifth in his only race. Now, he's the master of the pool, with only 100 meters between him and immortality. "I have seven out of seven so far," said Phelps, who'll swim the butterfly leg on the medley relay. "I don't know what to say."
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