To be honest, do you believe that Michael phelps wins 8 golds in Beijing?

Dex · 08-16-2008

Here is the frame before either hand makes verifiable contact. Neither swimmers fingertips have started to flex from touching the wall at this point.

In the next frame, you can see Kazac's finger start to flex and make contact, but Phelp's is hand is making better contact and it is obvious, from the change in position relative to timing, that it was moving with much greater velocity.

I honestly don't see how they could find enough evidence to overturn it.

Crookshanks · 08-16-2008

Here's the latest - Phelps keeps the gold!

Serbian protest denied; Phelps keeps gold

BEIJING (TICKER) —A protest on behalf of Milorad Cavic was denied by FINA, swimming’s international governing body, after the Serbian swimmer finished .01 seconds behind American phenom Michael Phelps in the men’s 100-meter butterfly final on Saturday.

Phelps, who touched in with an Olympic-record time of 50.58, took home his seventh gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, tying him with countryman Mark Spitz for the most golds in a single Olympiad. Spitz earned his haul at the 1972 Games in Munich.

While the Baltimore native has trounced the compe ion in most races, he trailed for much of the 100 butterfly before lunging to the wall just ahead of Cavic, who claimed the silver with a European-record time of 50.59.

The victory by .01 was almost indiscernible, with television replays needing super-slow motion to capture affirmation that Phelps touched in ahead of Cavic, who easily finished in front of Australian bronze-medalist Andrew Lauterstein.

whottt · 08-16-2008

They ruled in favor of Phelps before he even got off the medal stand.

If you watch the slow-mo gif you can see pretty clearly that Phelps gets the touch first. It's fast but he does it. He's already got the palms of his hands on the sensor just as the other guys fingertips are touching.

Rapper · 08-16-2008

7 down~~~~

who can give him a loss?

Rapper · 08-16-2008

Phelps swims into history, winning 7th gold medal

By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP National Writer
22 minutes ago

Michael Phelps Gallery BEIJING (AP)—With history hanging in the balance, Michael Phelps decided to take one more stroke. His long arms soared above the water, windmilled past his ears and slammed into the wall.

In the next lane, Milorad Cavic was gliding to the finish, just inches from the gold, his arms no longer driving but just reaching for the end.

That’s all Phelps needed. He didn’t have to be the fastest. Just first.

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

He got his hands on the wall a hundredth of a second ahead of Cavic—a finish so close the Serbians filed a protest and swimming’s governing body had to review the tape down to the 10-thousandth of a second.

“I was starting to hurt a little bit with probably the last 10 meters,” Phelps said. “That was my last individual race, so I was just trying to finish as strong as I could.”

Phelps’ time was 50.58 seconds, the only time in these Olympics that he won an event without breaking the world record.

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Not to worry. 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.

“One word: epic,” Spitz told The Associated Press from Detroit. “It goes to show you that not only is this guy the greatest swimmer of all time and the greatest Olympian of all time, he’s maybe the greatest athlete of all time. He’s the greatest racer who ever walked the planet.”

Call it the Great Haul of China—and it’s not done yet.

Phelps will return on Sunday to swim in his final event of these games, taking the butterfly leg of the 400 medley relay. The Americans will be heavily favored to give him his eighth gold, leaving Spitz behind.

Phelps slapped his hands on 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.

Cavic’s time was 50.59.

The Serbian delegation filed a protest, but conceded that Phelps won after reviewing the tape provided by FINA, swimming’s governing body. USA Swimming spokeswoman Jamie Olson said the tape was slowed to one frame every 10-thousandth of a second to make sure Phelps actually touched first.

It was impossible to tell on regular-speed replays.

“We filed the protest but it is already over,” said Branislav Jevtic, Serbia’s chief of mission for all sports. “They examined the video and I think the case is closed. The video says (Phelps) finished first.

“In my opinion, it’s not right, but we must follow the rules. Everybody saw what happened.”

FINA referee Ben Ekumbo of Kenya said there was no doubt who won after a review of the super-slow replay.

“It was very clear that the Serbian swimmer touched second after Michael Phelps,” he said. “One was stroking and one was gliding.”

Cavic still wasn’t sure he actually lost, but said he would accept FINA’s ruling.

BEIJING - AUGUST 11: (L-R) Ma…

Getty Images - Aug 11, 1:25 am EDT
“I’m stoked with what happened,” Cavic said. “I don’t want to fight this. People will be bringing this up for years and saying you won that race. If we got to do this again, I would win it.”

Cavic watched the replay himself.

“It’s kind of hard to see,” he said. “I know I had a long finish and Michael Phelps had a short finish.”

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 gobbling up huge chunks of water as he closed the gap on Cavic and fellow American Ian Crocker, the world record-holder.

As they approached the finish, with Phelps’ head in line with Cavic’s shoulder, the Serb took his final big stroke and glided underwater toward the gold. Phelps, his timing a bit off but fully aware of where he was, did another mini-stroke, propelling his upper body out of the water, swooping his arms in a huge circular motion and slamming the wall with his hands on the follow-through.

BEIJING - AUGUST 11: Jason Lez…

Getty Images - Aug 11, 1:27 am EDT
“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.”

As if Phelps needed any extra motivation, his coach, Bob Bowman, took note of Cavic’s reported comments a day earlier that it would be best for the sport if the American lost.

On their way to breakfast, Bowman brought it up.

“I wasn’t going to at first, then I was saying to myself, ‘This race is going to be very tight and I’m going to use everything I got,’ so I put it out there,” Bowman said, chuckling. “Maybe it was worth a hundredth.”

Just enough.

“It fires me up more than anything,” Phelps said. “I always welcome comments. It definitely motivates me even more.”

He also collected a $1 million bonus that Speedo, one of his sponsors, first offered four years ago if he could tie or break Spitz’s record. Phelps failed to cash in at the Athens Games, where he won six golds and two bronzes, but he got it on his second try.

What’s left? Already the winningest Olympian ever with 13 golds and most likely a 14th before he leaves Beijing, Phelps will have another thing to shoot for at the 2012 London Games. Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina captured a record 18 medals in her career: nine golds, five silvers and four bronzes.

Phelps set world records in his first six events, some of them by ridiculously large margins. He merely settled for a personal best and Olympic record in the 100 fly, which will at least give Spitz’s supporters some reason to gloat: all seven of his wins in Munich were with world records.

But, like Spitz, Phelps is 7-for-7 with a chance for one more.

Or maybe that should be 6.99-for-7.

“I’m so proud of what he’s been able to do,” Spitz said. “I did what I did and it was in my day in those set of cir stances. For 36 years it stood as a benchmark. I’m just pleased that somebody was inspired by what I had done. He’s en led to every second of what’s occurring to him now.

“I feel a tremendous load off my back.”

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.

“It was a tight one,” Crocker said. “I saw my short differential between getting a medal or not, but then I realized Michael’s was pretty close, too. I’m really glad that he came out on top.

“It was everything that an Olympic final should be. It doesn’t matter who’s in the heats, you just got to get out and race and it’s anybody’s game. It was one of the more intense races that I’ve been in, which makes it a great way to end the meet.”

While the medley relay figures to be nothing more than a coronation, Phelps isn’t ready to talk about No. 8.

“It’s not over yet,” he said. “I really think the Australian team looks great for the relay. It’s going to be a race.”

Lauterstein was just thrilled to be part of history.

“It was an amazing final,” he said. “Every time you race Phelps, you’ll have a great race and a great time. Just hearing his arms slap on the block gets your heart racing, he’s amazing. I’m so happy to get the medal.”

Overshadowed by Phelps, two more world records fell on the next-to-last day of swimming—the 22nd and 23rd of a lightning-quick week.

Rebecca Adlington of Britain won gold in the 800 freestyle, breaking Janet Evans’ 19-year-old world record—the oldest in swimming.

Adlington touched in 8:14.10 to crush the mark of 8:16.22 set by the American in Tokyo on Aug. 20, 1989. Alessia Filippi of Italy took the silver and Lotte Friis of Denmark the bronze.

Adlington completed a sweep of the women’s distance events in Beijing, having upset American Katie Hoff to win the 400 freestyle. There were no Americans in the field after Hoff and Kate Ziegler were shockingly eliminated in the preliminaries.

Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe finally won a gold in Beijing, defending her Olympic le in the 200 backstroke with a world record of 2:05.24. She lowered the mark of 2:06.09 set by Margaret Hoelzer at the U.S. trials last month.

Hoelzer not only lost her record but had to settle for silver. Reiko Nakamura of Japan earned the bronze.

No one was happier that Cesar Cielo, who won Brazil’s first swimming gold with an upset in the 50 freestyle. He broke down crying on the medal stand and was mobbed by his teammates on deck.

He won in 21.30, lowering his own Olympic mark of 21.34 that he set in the semifinals. Amaury Leveaux of France took the silver in 21.45. Alain Bernard of France, the 100-meter champion, won bronze in 21.49.

World champion Ben Wildman-Tobriner of the United States was fifth and Aussie Eamon Sullivan, the world record-holder and silver medalist in the 100, could only manage sixth.

Also, 41-year-old Dara Torres of the U.S. cruised into the final of the 50 free with the fastest semifinal time, 24.27. Australian teenager Cate Campbell was second at 24.42.

The final is Sunday, the wrapup to a thrilling compe ion at the Water Cube.

But the legacy of these Olympics is already assured.

The Phelps Games.

AP Sports Writers Beth Harris, Andrew Dampf and Steve Wilson and AP National Writer David Crary contributed to this report.

whottt · 08-16-2008

I just watched the interview between Phelps and Mark Spitz.

I gotta give Spitz props...

First of all, he was a legit badass. Phelps has made what Spitz did seem commonplace, but prior to Phelps it was just freaking insane looking at what Spitz did compared to anyone else in any sport in Olympic History. Really any sport period. 7 events, 7 gold medals, 7 world records. That was the peak, the summit...it would never be matched by anyone in any sport again. And the way he did it...it was as much of a freak then that he had a mustache, longhair, and didn't wear a cap or have shorthair, as it would be now..

That said...he is one of the biggest egotistical asses in the history of the World. I've thought this every time I've ever seen him interviewed. This guy literally thinks he is the greatest thing ever. The reason no one has ever talked about how great he was, is because he was always busy pointing it himself.

Tonight however, he was as classy as it is humanly possible for a man who thinks he is god to be...he was really trying hard. The fact that he said he would tie Michael Phelps is a huge concession for him...I don't think he really believes it. Funny interview but he really put Phelps over...and I am sure it was for hard for him to do.

ploto · 08-16-2008

Originally Posted by whottt

He was arguably the reason Team USA was trailing in that relay that Lezak won.

Michael Phelps set an American record in the 100m freestyle in the first leg of the relay that he swam. The US was second at that point behind a guy who set the World Record in the 100m swimming the first leg of that relay.

whottt · 08-16-2008

Originally Posted by ploto

Michael Phelps set an American record in the 100m freestyle in the first leg of the relay that he swam. The US was second at that point behind a guy who set the World Record in the 100m swimming the first leg of that relay.

Even if he did set an American record, he was still one of the slowest guys going up against his man. He got outraced worse than anyone on his team by that Aussie except for Jones getting outraced by the French guy. Weber Gale and Lezak were the reason they won that race....they won their legs. Michael Phelps did not...he got smoked by that Aussie.

Observe ploto:

Code:

Rank   Lane   NOC   Names   Time   Notes
United States
Michael Phelps (47.51 )
Garrett Weber-Gale (47.02)
Cullen Jones (47.65)
Jason Lezak (46.06) 3:08.24 WR OR 

France
Amaury Leveaux (47.91)
Fabien Gilot (47.05)
Frederick Bousquet (46.63)
Alain Bernard (46.73)

Australia 
Eamon Sullivan (47.24 WR)
Andrew Lauterstein (47.87)
Ashley Callus (47.55)
Matt Targett (47.25)

FromWayDowntown · 08-16-2008

The medley relay is a very different creature than the freestyle relay. Almost no nation has the depth to compete with the Americans across the four strokes; that's not as true in the free relay.

The American team that swims the final will have the gold medalist in the 100 back, the gold medalist in the 100 fly, the bronze medalist in the 100 free, and Brendan Hansen, who was shockingly shut out of the medals in the 100 breast. Only the Australians can come close to that -- they have the 4th and 5th place swimmers in the 100 back; the 5th place swimmer in the 100 breast, the bronze medalist in the 100 fly, and the silver medalist in the 100 free.

And Phelps has no choice but to swim the final for the Americans if he's to win gold in the medley. The prelims were yesterday -- the Americans qualified 1st and will swim in lane 4 tonight -- and Phelps was not on the prelim team. If he's to get a gold in the medley, he has to swim in the final.

Finally, don't forget that Phelps swam a semifinal in the 200 free about an hour before his swim in the 4x100 free relay final. He won't have that double to deal with tonight, so I would expect that his butterfly leg of the medley will be a strong final swim for this meet.

FromWayDowntown · 08-16-2008

Originally Posted by whottt

Even if he did set an American record, he was still one of the slowest guys going up against his man. He got outraced worse than anyone on his team by that Aussie except for Jones getting outraced by the French guy. Weber Gale and Lezak were the reason they won that race....they won their legs. Michael Phelps did not...he got smoked by that Aussie.

Perhaps that explains why Phelps doesn't try to compete in the 100 free in meets like this one. He put up a time at the trials to prove his worthiness to compete in the relay at the Olympics, but didn't even swim the final of the 100 free at the trials because he knows (everyone knows) that he's not a 100 free specialist -- certainly not to the same extent that Eamon Sullivan (who won silver in the 100 free in Beijing) is.

Pistons < Spurs · 08-16-2008

Go Phelps Go!!!!!!!

MannyIsGod · 08-16-2008

Go go go !

Pistons < Spurs · 08-16-2008

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooo o!!!!

Pistons < Spurs · 08-16-2008

8.

Tippecanoe · 08-16-2008

he's done it. unbelievable.

MannyIsGod · 08-16-2008

awesome!

Wow - I actually yelled yes and did a fist pump lol

manufor3 · 08-16-2008

He did it!!!

marini martini · 08-16-2008

Oh? I think it's believable!

Too bad we didn't have a V-bookie on this!

Kriz-Maxima · 08-16-2008

Awesome!

8

IronMexican · 08-16-2008

Judging by your guys responses, he did it! wooooo

now back to the dodger game

DynastyBuilder · 08-16-2008

That mofo is unreal.

angel_luv · 08-16-2008

OMG- incredible. That was so cool!

LOL. Visa already had an 8 medal congrats commercial made for Phelps. It just aired. hehe