Phelps denies Čavić in photo finish

Milorad Cavic came within a fingernail of upsetting Michael Phelps' hopes of winning a record 8 golds at the Olympics. Ultimately, he had to be content with silver in the 100m butterfly final, finishing just one one-hundredth of a second behind Phelps, who thus equalled Mark Spitz’s gold medal haul of seven set at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Phelps denies Cavic in photo finish Having defeated the U.S. swimming sensation in an earlier heat, setting a new Olympic record in the process, there was justified hope that the Los Angeles-based Serb could upset the form book. And it was Cavic who made the better start, establishing a half-length lead over Phelps at the turn. Indeed, at that stage of the race, the bigger threat seemed to come from Phelp’s fellow American Ryan Crocker. However, as Phelps has proven on a number of occasions at these Olympics already, he should never be written off, and he gradually began reeling Cavic in over the closing stretch. As Crocker tailed off, eventually finishing outside the medals, there was nothing to separate Phelps and Cavic. And, although TV replays after the race appeared to show the Cavic with the edge, it was nonetheless the American that got the final touch to secure his seventh Olympic gold medal at these games and his twelfth overall. Despite coming so close, Cavic remained upbeat afterwards: “I’m totally satisfied with second place. One day, I’ll probably regret that I didn’t finish better... I think I could beat him if I had another chance. I guess I’ll have it next year at the world championships."

Phelps denies Čavić in photo finish

Having defeated the U.S. swimming sensation in an earlier heat, setting a new Olympic record in the process, there was justified hope that the Los Angeles-based Serb could upset the form book.

And it was Čavić who made the better start, establishing a half-length lead over Phelps at the turn. Indeed, at that stage of the race, the bigger threat seemed to come from Phelp’s fellow American Ryan Crocker.

However, as Phelps has proven on a number of occasions at these Olympics already, he should never be written off, and he gradually began reeling Čavić in over the closing stretch.

As Crocker tailed off, eventually finishing outside the medals, there was nothing to separate Phelps and Čavić.

And, although TV replays after the race appeared to show the Čavić with the edge, it was nonetheless the American that got the final touch to secure his seventh Olympic gold medal at these games and his twelfth overall.

Despite coming so close, Čavić remained upbeat afterwards: “I’m totally satisfied with second place. One day, I’ll probably regret that I didn’t finish better... I think I could beat him if I had another chance. I guess I’ll have it next year at the world championships."