Michael Phelps won eight golds at the Beijing Olympics. Everyone also knows that the seventh gold in the 100m butterfly, was extraordinary, especially since Phelps was never leading but eventually won by 0.01 seconds over Milorad Cavic of Serbia.
The look on Phelps’ face immediately after the race said it all. He thought he had lost. Even his mother and coach thought so. In fact, the whole world watching in the stands and on television thought so too. Then Omega said he won. Cavic protested, but was not successful.
There is a website dedicated to peeling apart the layers of what happened. So I suggest you make a nice cup of coffee, find a comfortable chair and read away.
The requirement for a win is not merely touching the wall but actually pressing the pad in your lane with enough force to stop the clock. Looking at the frame-by-frame replay, it’s clear that Cavic made a rookie mistake and tried to coast to the finish line while Phelps gave it his all right to the end. It takes more than a gentle touch on the wall pad to stop the clock (this is to prevent water movement from tripping it) so while Cavic *may* have technically touched the wall first, he did not do so with enough force to stop the clock. Phelps, who was swimming strong right up until the end, had sufficient momentum to press his pad and stop the clock, thus legitimately winning the race in accordance with Olympic rules.
i dun think cavic protested.. his coach did but cavic himself dun wan to protest….anw whether cavic touch 1st or not is difficult to say. phelps move his hand above the water, he might have touched 1st instead.
I happened to watch this race “Live” on TV and in all honesty, I thought Milorad Cavic of Serbia had touched the pad first or a fraction before Phelps. Television replays appeared to confirm Cavic’s hands touching first.
But then, Phelps “winning” that event,…represents BIG MONEY and HUGE potential earnings for everyone involved, be they corporate sponsors, news media, FINA or IOC.
I wouldn’t at all be surprised that someone or some people had done their homework very well.