Updated: August 23, 2008, 2:15 PM ET

Omega releases official photos of 100-meter butterfly finish

Comment Print Share
Associated Press

BEIJING -- It really was that close between Michael Phelps and Milorad Cavic.

Official timekeeper Omega released a digital photo sequence of last week's riveting 100-meter butterfly finish at the Olympics -- and it's still not clear to the naked eye just who won.

However, according to Omega timer Silvio Chianese, the results are clear.

[+] Enlargephelps finish
AP Photo/OmegaOmega's official photos of the 100-meter butterlfy final show Michael Phelps, in the left-hand column, and Milorad Cavic, right. The photos were shot by reverse angle cameras above the pool looking down at the finish.
"In the third set of images, with Phelps on the left, it is clear he is really pushing hard, while Cavic, on the right, is just arriving," Chianese told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Last week's victory gave Phelps his seventh gold medal of the games, tying him with Mark Spitz for most golds in a single Olympics. A day later, Phelps won his eighth gold as a member of the United States' 400 medley relay squad.

Phelps' time of 50.58 seconds was confirmed after a review down to the 10-thousandth of a second; Cavic's time was 50.59.

Chianese explained that it requires 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) of pressure to activate the touchpad.

"Any less and waves would set it off," Chianese said. "You can't just put your fingertips on the pad, you really have to push it. We explained all this directly after the race to [Cavic] and his coach."

The photos were taken by Omega cameras placed directly above the finish line, slightly angled to include two lanes in each photo.

Chianese said the touchpad is the primary source to determine the race winner, while the photos can only be used as backup material.

"We mainly use the photos for relays, to determine disqualifications if someone dives in before a teammate touches," he said. "This is the only sport where athletes don't cross the finish line. The athlete stops.

"For us, it was clear five minutes after."

Serbia coach Kapor Mladen filed an appeal but accepted the results after reviewing the photos immediately after the race.

FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu had been pressing Omega, one of Phelps' sponsors, to release the images for several days.

"This is very simple. Our sport is about which athlete stops the time by pushing the touchpad," he said. "Omega can't stop the time.

"In our sport we don't have photo finishes like in athletics. In our sport, it's who touches first. Water is a different element."


Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

    PHELPS: THE GREAT 8

    Michael Phelps has become the most decorated gold medalist in history, winning eight gold medals in a single Games. Here's a review of what we saw from this super American swimmer in Beijing:

    • Coverage | Schedule | Results | Phelps news

    RACE BREAKDOWN

    • Pat Forde's breakdown: Phelps bettered Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medials, set at the 1972 Munich Games. Here is a review of Phelps' races at Beijing. Story

    • Race No. 1 -- 400-meter IM: Phelps kept pace with teammate Ryan Lochte and László Cseh in his weakest discipline, the breaststroke, before putting the hammer down in the freestyle to win his first gold of the Games. Story | Forde's take

    • Race No. 2 -- 4x100 free relay: Phelps almost saw his run end, but Jason Lezak came back in the final leg to help the U.S. men edge France to win gold in one of the most memorable relay races in Olympic history. Story | Forde's take

    • Race No. 3 -- 200 freestyle: Phelps easily won his third gold of the Games and ninth of his career in one of his strongest events. He also broke his own world record (1:42.96). Story | Caple's take

    • Race No. 4 -- 200 butterfly: It wasn't even close, folks. Phelps controlled the race from the beginning to win, breaking his own world record and becoming the most decorated gold medalist in Olympic history. Story | Forde's take

    • Race No. 5 -- 4x200 free relay: Phelps chose to swim the first leg of the relay and immediately set the tone. By the time Peter Vanderkaay swam the anchor leg, the Americans held a five-body-length lead. Story | Forde's take

    • Race No. 6 -- 200 individual medley: Phelps dominated right from the start of the 200 IM and powered away to win in 1:54.23, another world record. Less than an hour later, Phelps won his 100 butterfly qualifier. Story | Forde's take

    • Race No. 7 -- 100 butterfly: Just when you thought it couldn't get any better ... Phelps beat Milorad Cavic by a hundredth of a second to win the 100 fly and match Mark Spitz's record of seven golds in the same Games. Story | Forde's take

    • Race No. 8 -- 4x100 medley relay: The relay team of Aaron Peirsol (back), Brendan Hansen (breast), Phelps (fly) and Jason Lezak (free) won, helping Phelps pass Mark Spitz for an unprecedented eighth gold medal in the same Olympics. Story

    PREVIEW

    • Bowman on Phelps: What makes Phelps so good? ESPN.com asked his coach, Bob Bowman, to break him down by each discipline. Story

    • ZOOM gallery: A look at Michael Phelps, stroke by stroke. Launch

    • ESPN The Magazine: Once again, Michael Phelps is poised at a frontier of the impossible. Eric Adelson

    WATCH

    • SportsCenter: ESPN's Hannah Storm sits down with Phelps, who says this will be his last run at history. Watch

    • Outside The Lines: Eric Adelson gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Phelps' training regimen. Watch

    MORE OLYMPICS HEADLINES

    MOST SENT STORIES ON ESPN.COM

    Most Sent »