FanHouse Milorad Cavic

FINA, the governing body for swimming, apparently has video that helps reassure without a doubt that Michael Phelps edged Milorad Cavic at the wall in the 100 meter butterfly. But you won't get to see it.

In one of those moves that I'm sure makes sense to FINA and no one else, the fact that the video shows Phelps touches before Cavic is enough. There's no reason to reveal the video to anyone else. Why let everyone see, when you can go on FINA's word. The New York Times explained the exchange:

Christopher Clarey of The International Herald Tribune tracked down Cornel Marculescu, FINA's executive director, at the Water Cube to ask him about the decision to not release the images. Marculescu said it was a matter of policy, and that the Serbian team was satisfied with the ruling after seeing the images - so there is no need to share the images.

Christopher pressed, asking why FINA wouldn't distribute the footage if it showed the margin conclusively. Marculescu said: "We are not going to distribute footage. We are not doing these kinds of things. Everything is good. What are you going to do with the footage? See what the Serbians already saw? It is clarified for us beyond any doubt.

Marculescu forgets one big thing--there's no reason not to release the images. Why not let everyone see what you saw? Is there any harm in it?

Michael Phelps is a perfect 7-for-7, by one one-hundredth of a second.

If it had been a 95-meter butterfly, Milorad Cavic would have been the gold medalist. But even though he shorted the wall and actually took his final stroke into the wall, Phelps somehow figured out how to win his seventh gold. He was saved by the fact that Cavic's was actually a stroke short--he had to coast for way too long into the wall, which may explain the .01 second difference.

"That's usually when I can try to catch some ground if I need to. I had no idea the race was that close. I was lucky to get my hand in first," Phelps told Andrea Kremer right after the race. "I thought in perfect situations I could do it."

If there is one bit of bad news for Phelps, it's that he finally didn't manage to set a world record. Ian Crocker's world record still stands, although Crocker probably isn't going to get a whole lot of consolation from that--he missed the bronze medal by .01 of a second. Phelps had come into the race with a shot of going a perfect 8-for-8 on world records, he'll have to settle for swimming for a record-breaking eighth gold tomorrow night.

For most of this year's Olympics, Michael Phelps has just had to make sure he didn't mess up.

With the exception of the 4X100 meter freestyle relay, Phelps has come into every event as the clear favorite. But that's not necessarily the case when he faces off against Ian Crocker in the 100-meter butterfly tonight. Phelps has a very clear chance to win the gold, but this is one event where he doesn't hold the world record--Crocker does.

So it should be a very interesting night as Phelps goes to equal Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics.