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Michael Phelps: Golden Touch

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Michael Phelps exults after his narrow victory Friday night.

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A Tribune wire report

Published: August 16, 2008

BEIJING - Michael Phelps swam into history with a magnificent finish, tying Mark Spitz with his seventh gold medal by the narrowest of margins in the 100-meter butterfly.

His arms soaring across the water one last time, Phelps got his hand on the wall a hundredth of a second ahead of Serbia's Milorad Cavic. Phelps' time was 50.58 seconds, the only time in these Olympics that Phelps won an event without breaking the world record.

The 23-year-old from Baltimore has now pulled even with the greatest of Olympic records, matching Spitz's performance in the 1972 Munich Games.

Call this one the Great Haul of China - and it's not done yet.

Phelps will return today to swim in his final event of these games, taking the butterfly leg of the 4x100 medley relay. The Americans will be heavily favored to give him his eighth gold, leaving Spitz behind.

Phelps pounded his fist in the water and let out a scream after the astonishing finish. The crowd at the Water Cube gasped - it looked as though Cavic had won - then roared when the "1" popped up beside the American's name.

His time was 50.58 seconds

Cavic's was 50.59.

"I had no idea," Phelps said. "I was starting to hurt a little bit with probably the last 10 meters. That was my last individual race, so I was just trying to finish as strong as I could."

A notoriously slow starter - Phelps was seventh out of eight at the turn - he really turned it on with the return lap, his long arms windmilling through the water as he closed the gap on Cavic and fellow American Ian Crocker, the world record-holder.

As they approached the finish, Cavic took his final big stroke and reached for the gold. Phelps, his timing a bit off but fully aware of where he was, did another ministroke and actually slammed the wall with his hands on the follow-through.

That was the difference.

He wasn't necessarily the fastest, just first. "I actually thought when I did take that half-stroke, I thought I lost the race there, but I guess that was the difference in the race," Phelps said.

It was reminiscent of the 100 fly finish at Athens four years ago, where Crocker appeared to have the race won but Phelps got him at the wall by 0.04.

"My last two Olympics I've been able to nail my finishes, and it's been by four one-hundredths and one one-hundredths," he said. "I'm happy and kind of at a loss for words."

Cavic had no words. Clearly perturbed at losing by a fingertip, he stormed past reporters in the mixed zone without stopping.

USA Swimming spokeswoman Jamie Fabos-Olsen said judges needed to look at video and electronic records down to a margin of one ten-thousandth of a second to determine Phelps was the winner. She said there had been no formal protest and the results were final. Cavic later said he didn't want a protest.

Andrew Lauterstein of Australia won the bronze medal in 51.12. Crocker was again denied the first individual gold of his career; he didn't even win a medal, finishing fourth by a hundredth of a second in 51.13.

In other events:

•Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe defended her title in the 200 backstroke, winning in a world-record time. She led all the way, touching in 2 minutes, 5.24 seconds, lowering the mark of 2:06.09 set by Margaret Hoelzer at the U.S. trials last month.

•Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain won gold in the 800 free, breaking Janet Evans' 19-year-old world record. Adlington touched in 8:14.10, breaking the oldest record in swimming of 8:16.22 set by the American in Tokyo on Aug. 20, 1989. Alessia Filippi of Italy took the silver in 8:20.23.

•Cesar Cielo of Brazil sprinted to gold in the 50 free in an Olympic record time of 21.30, lowering his own mark of 21.34 set in the semis. It was Brazil's first ever Olympic swimming gold medal. Amaury Leveaux of France took the silver in 21.45. Alain Bernard of France earned the silver in 21.49.

•American Dara Torres qualified as the No. 1 seed for the 50 free. Torres produced a 24.27 swim in semifinal action after clocking a 24.58 third-place preliminary finish Friday morning.

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