Michael’s quest continues. He has now tied Mark Spitz with 7 Gold medals in a single Olympics. All but one of them done in World Record time. Total Gold medals: 13.
If you were lucky enough to see tonight’s race, the 100m Butterfly, you were probably on the edge of your seat, just as I was. I honestly thought he was not going to make it, but once again, Michael’s body surpassed that of Milorad Cavic, out-touching him by 0.01 seconds. Um… wow? Yeah. Michael’s fingers just reach for that touchpad, his last stroke put him into position to hit the pad first. And his mother, watching in the stands as always, did not think he did it. She was holding up two fingers, as though to say “Second place”, and once the times were on the board, she just sat there stunned, shaking her head. It was one of the most amazing finishes in Swimming I’ve ever seen. Now, granted, I really don’t watch swimming like I do some of the other sports (until this year, that is), but I’ve watched several races over the decades, and I don’t remember ever being this amazed.
In a really poor move, the Serbian federation filed a written protest to FINA (swimming’s world governing body), contesting the result. How is that for poor sportsmanship? Talk about sour grapes! Good grief. First of all, this isn’t a matter of subjectivity. There are pads on the wall of the pool, tied into electronic timers, and they register who touches first, and they are highly accurate. Second, a representative from the company that makes the timers, and the touchpads, was on hand, and reviewed the data, and the replays, and underwater replays clearly show Phelps’ fingertips touching while Cavic’s were still inches from the wall. There was no question Phelps was the winner, and yet the Serbians were going to dispute such technology? Sorry, no. The FINA officials wouldn’t accept the protest, and rightly so.
Now, in Cavic’s defense, he disagreed with the protest. “If it was up to me, I would just drop the protest,” said Cavic, “I’m stoked with what happened. I don’t want to fight this.” So kudos to him.
Mark Spitz teleconferenced in to speak with Phelps, telling him, “What you did tonight was epic, I never thought you were out of that race. That is a tribute to your greatness. We’re so proud of you. I am happy to keep company with you.” Mighty powerful praise.
And the final test comes tomorrow night, Sunday in Beijing, when Michael participates in the 4x100m Medley Relay. While the US team is favored to win, it is a relay, and there is no controlling it for Phelps. He can only do his part. A false start on the part of any of the others, could disqualify the team, and there goes the 8th, and record-breaking Gold medal for Michael.
Let’s all cross our fingers. This is truly an historic time.
