Michael Phelps beat Milorad Cavic again. No doubt about it.
With a defiant performance in a supposedly inferior suit, Phelps stayed close over the outward lap and rallied on the return to become the first swimmer to break 50 seconds in the 100m butterfly, beating the Serb with a time of 49.82.
Cavic also broke 50 seconds, but 49.95 only got him a silver — and plenty of words to eat. He wasn’t nearly as close as last year’s Beijing Olympics, when Phelps famously won by 0.01 seconds and Cavic claimed he had touched first.
PHOTO : AP
“That satisfied me a little bit,” Phelps quipped with a crooked grin. “I set it up perfectly.”
When Phelps saw his time at the Foro Italico, he hopped up on the lane rope separating him and Cavic, threw up his arms and let out a scream toward his mother and sister in the stands.
Showing as much emotion as he ever has, Phelps also slapped the water and tugged at his Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit — no doubt in reference to Cavic offering to get Phelps one of those supposedly faster polyurethane suits so he wouldn’t have any excuses.
PHOTO :EPA
No need, Milorad. Phelps did just fine with his own attire.
“It doesn’t matter what suit you wear,” Phelps said. “It matters how you train.”
In one of the most memorable events of the Beijing Olympics, Phelps pulled out an improbable victory on his final half-stroke to beat Cavic by the narrowest possible margin. Without that win, Phelps would not have broken Mark Spitz’s record with eight gold medals in a single Games.
Cavic has stewed over the loss, believing he touched first but didn’t put as much pressure on the touchpad as Phelps, who crashed into the wall much harder. Even though all electronic and photographic evidence shows Phelps won, Cavic repeated his claims when he got to Rome.
He also tried to get into Phelps’ head, saying it was the American’s own fault for sticking with a Speedo suit that isn’t as fast as polyurethane models such as the Arena X-Glide, which Cavic wears.
The Serbian offered to get Phelps an X-Glide “within the hour” or buy him another of the rubberized suits out of his own pocket.
Cavic even said he would really prefer to race Phelps wearing nothing but briefs.
Phelps said he would do his talking in the pool.
Phelps set his second world record of the fastest meet in history and got back the mark Cavic snatched away a night earlier with a time of 51.01 in the semi-finals.
Phelps also won his fourth gold medal of the championships, to go along with the silver he grudgingly accepted after losing to Germany’s Paul Biedermann in the 200m free.
Three other world records were set on Saturday, bringing the total to 39 with one day left at the final meet for high-tech bodysuits.
Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe took down her own mark in the 200m backstroke, winning in 2 minutes, 4.81 seconds.
China claimed the record in the women’s 400m medley relay.
Li Zhesi finished it off in 3:52.19 to beat the mark set by Australia (3:52.69) at the Beijing Olympics. The winning team also included Zhao Jing, Chen Huijia and Jiao Liuyang.
In a semi-final heat of a non-Olympic event, Britain’s Liam Tancock set a world record of 24.08 in the 50m backstroke, eclipsing the mark of 24.33 held by American Randall Bal. Junya Koga of Japan also went under the previous record time to win the second heat at 24.29. The final was set for last night.
Cesar Cielo of Brazil completed a sweep of the freestyle sprints with the 50m title. Cielo added to his title in the 100m with a one-lap time of 21.08.
Australia’s Marieke Guehrer (women’s 50m fly) and Lotte Friis of Denmark (women’s 800m free) managed to win world titles without world records.
Phelps’ last individual event in Rome was a classic tortoise-versus-hare matchup, with Cavic knowing he would need a big lead at the turn, and Phelps aware he would have to be close enough to pull it out with his typically strong finish.
The day didn’t start well for Phelps. At the warmup pool, he collided with Australian teenager Cate Campbell and broke his goggles.
“We were all a little freaked out,” Phelps said. “I was kind of blurry in my left eye a little bit. But it ended up going away.”
The two rivals entered the deck with all the hype of a heavyweight fight. Cavic played right along — patting his heart, crossing himself twice and staring down Phelps as they waited to step up on the blocks. Then, they were off. Cavic knew he was in trouble when Phelps was right on his shoulder as they kicked away from the far wall, just 0.77 separating them.
“I was pretty sure I was going to be ahead at the first turn,” said Cavic, who wanted to be at least a second ahead. “When I saw him right there, uh oh.”
Phelps appeared to be sneaking underwater glances in Cavic’s direction all the way back, then finished in one last swoop of his arms.
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
RSS