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- May 29, 2008
if you followed phelps at beijing then you already know who milorad cavic is.. here are two espn articles about the recent stir Cavic caused in the media:
[h2]Cavic wins 50 fly and warns Phelps for 100[/h2]
ROME -- Michael Phelps already has a strong contender to deal with in Germany's Paul Biedermann. Now, Milorad Cavic is lurking, too.
Biedermann soundly beat Phelps in the 200-meter freestyle heats and semifinals Monday, and Cavic won the gold medal in the 50 butterfly, which Phelps didnot enter.
"It's great to be the world champion in the 50 fly, but I'm so completely focused on the 100 fly, it's tough to get excited about thisright now," Cavic said. "I have to keep going but this is a great confidence booster"
At last year's Beijing Olympics, Cavic came closer to beating Phelps than anyone.
The American-born Serb lost by a mere one-hundredth of a second, a finish so close that the Serbs filed a protest. Swimming's governing body had toreview the tape down to the 10-thousandth of a second.
Phelps won because he applied the necessary 6.6 pounds of pressure to activate the finish touchpad, while Cavic didn't.
"He thought it was enough to win, but now he knows that you need three kilograms of pressure," said Andrea Di Nino, Cavic's new coach."That's where he lost, but you can't really work just on that. He can't put all his focus on the finish. Milorad has to win in the first50."
The 100 fly heats and semifinals are scheduled for Friday. The final will be Saturday.
After the Olympics, Cavic ended a seven-year stretch of working with coach Mike Bottom in California, deciding he wanted to move to Serbia.
"I needed a change of environment. I was planning on training in Belgrade but the roof of our pool caved in," Cavic said.
Cavic then looked for the closest option to Serbia, and ended up with Di Nino in San Marino. Butterfly specialists from Slovenia, Russia and Venezuela alsowork with Di Nino.
"It's a little different than what I'm used to, but it's working," Cavic said. "There's more than one way to do somethingcorrectly, and I think I've been doing something positive."
Cavic joined Di Nino's program in October and won the 100 fly at the European short-course championships two months later.
"It doesn't take him long to get in form," Di Nino said. "But he can't go into the race thinking only about Phelps. This is one ofthe most competitive races in the pool."
Olympic bronze medalist Andrew Lauterstein is also in Rome, and both he and Cavic wear the new 100-percent polyurethane bodysuits that have been responsiblefor 11 world records in the first two days of pool events.
"I'm really looking forward to it. Cavic shows that he's swimming well at the moment," Lauterstein said. "That's my main event inthis meet."
Cavic dons the Arena X-Glide, Lauterstein has the Jaked 01, and Phelps is sticking with last year's LZR Racer from Speedo.
"Last year it was me and a lot of people blaming Omega for not having a better technology because I did touch the wall first," Cavic said."Now if I was to beat Phelps, they would say, 'Cavic beat Phelps because of the suit."
Phelps broke Ian Crocker's four-year-old world record at the U.S. Championships in Indianapolis earlier this month, clocking 50.22 seconds.
"I thought he was going to go under 50 seconds. He didn't, but I know that he will here," Cavic said. "But it's not about whathe's going to do. I'm going to do what I need to do, and hopefully it will be better.
"I'm not afraid of him. I've proven that I'm not someone who stands down. A lot of people have this mental block that Michael Phelps cannotbe beat. I think he can be beat."
[h2]Cavic: I'll buy Phelps new suit[/h2]
ROME -- Milorad Cavic is tired of hearing about Michael Phelps having to compete in a supposedly inferior swimsuit. The Serb even offered to buy hisAmerican rival one of the latest models if that's what it takes to even the playing field for their Saturday night rematch in the 100-meter butterfly.
Cavic's comments, coming after both swimmers easily advanced in Friday morning preliminaries, sets up a tantalizing rematch of their memorable race atthe Beijing Olympics, which Phelps won by a hundredth of a second on his way to capturing a record eight gold medals.
Cavic, who wears the Arena X-Glide, said the perception that Phelps has no choice except to stick with the Speedo LZR Racer because of sponsorshipcommitments is "a complete lie."
"I know he's making a lot of money from Speedo," Cavic said. "It's loyalty. But throughout all my experiences, I've learned this-- free will is a gift with a price tag, and whatever you choose to do you're going to pay, but how much you're going to pay is really dependent onyou."
Cavic said Arena would provide Phelps one of its polyurethane suits "within the hour." The X-Glide and a similar suit by Jaked are consideredfastest at these championships, where a staggering 29 world records were set through the first five days.
Phelps hustled through the mixed zone without stopping to speak to reporters. His coach, Bob Bowman, shrugged off Cavic's comments.
"He's a very good swimmer, a super-talented swimmer and he's free to say whatever he wants," Bowman said. "We know that Michaelusually lets his swimming do his talking, and we'll know by [Saturday] night what the deal is."
Speedo allowed its athletes to switch to another suit if they thought it would improve their chances in Rome. But Phelps, who has been sponsored by Speedosince he was a teenager and earns millions from the company, decided to stick with the LZR.
"If Mike wants an Arena, he just has to say it," Cavic said. "If he wants a Jaked and they don't want to give it to him free, I'llbuy it for him. He has options. I think in the media it's been portrayed that he has no option, he has to swim for [Speedo]. It's a completelie."
Cavic still believes he won the 100 fly at the Olympics, even though both timing devices and high-resolution photographs appear to show conclusively thatPhelps touched first. Cavic rekindled the issue this week, insisting that he was ahead at the wall but didn't put enough pressure on the timing touchpad,so it recorded Phelps as the winner.
The Serb has been yearning for a rematch ever since Beijing, and he doesn't want the suits to overshadow what happens in the water.
"I think there's three options for Michael," Cavic said. "The first option is to use the suit that he's wearing, the second option isto get one of these [polyurethane] suits, which I guarantee Arena will provide him within the hour, as soon as he wants. The third option would actually be adream of mine, to have the whole final everybody swimming in briefs. I swear to God, this is it, this is what I want, but this is the most unrealistic of allscenarios."
At the U.S. nationals in early July, Phelps lowered the world record in the 100 fly to 50.22 seconds. But nearly everyone believes it will take the firstsub-50 performance in history to have any chance of winning gold in Rome.
Cavic was fastest in morning prelims with a time of 50.56. Phelps won his heat with one of his patented late charges and tied for second overall withteammate Tyler McGill at 50.90.
Bowman was livid after his swimmer was beaten by Germany's Paul Biedermann in the 200 freestyle, saying the X-Glide gave the winner a huge technologicaledge. Bowman even threatened to pull Phelps from future international meets unless FINA speeds up its ban on all bodysuits, which goes into effect nextyear.
Cavic found Bowman's comments a bit hypocritical, especially since the whole swimsuit debate started with the introduction of the LZR Racer in early2008, which led American team leader Mark Schubert to declare that anyone who wanted to win gold at the Olympics should switch to Speedo -- even if they had adeal with another company.
At these world championships, Schubert led the fight to get bodysuits banned, a measure approved by the FINA congress just before the start of the swimmingcompetition.
"Last year at the height of the suit controversy, Mark Schubert said, 'Do you want the money or do you want the win?' " Cavic said."Michael Phelps has plenty of money. Who knows what it is? I think it's just loyalty and he's very gracious for everything Speedo has done forhim."
Phelps will skip a chance to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, preferring to rest up for his final individual race.
Benedict is scheduled to host about 100 swimmers Saturday at Castel Gandolfo, his summer residence. Phelps was among those invited, and at least one mediareport said he planned to attend, but Bowman said the swimmer will be resting after three races Friday and the final of the 100-meter butterfly Saturdaynight.
There was a bit of a stunner in the morning. Forty-two-year-old American Dara Torres and Australian star Libby Trickett failed to advance in thepreliminaries of the 50 butterfly. They tied for 17th at 26.41 -- one spot out of making the evening semifinals.
[h2]Cavic wins 50 fly and warns Phelps for 100[/h2]
ROME -- Michael Phelps already has a strong contender to deal with in Germany's Paul Biedermann. Now, Milorad Cavic is lurking, too.
Biedermann soundly beat Phelps in the 200-meter freestyle heats and semifinals Monday, and Cavic won the gold medal in the 50 butterfly, which Phelps didnot enter.
"It's great to be the world champion in the 50 fly, but I'm so completely focused on the 100 fly, it's tough to get excited about thisright now," Cavic said. "I have to keep going but this is a great confidence booster"
At last year's Beijing Olympics, Cavic came closer to beating Phelps than anyone.
The American-born Serb lost by a mere one-hundredth of a second, a finish so close that the Serbs filed a protest. Swimming's governing body had toreview the tape down to the 10-thousandth of a second.
Phelps won because he applied the necessary 6.6 pounds of pressure to activate the finish touchpad, while Cavic didn't.
"He thought it was enough to win, but now he knows that you need three kilograms of pressure," said Andrea Di Nino, Cavic's new coach."That's where he lost, but you can't really work just on that. He can't put all his focus on the finish. Milorad has to win in the first50."
The 100 fly heats and semifinals are scheduled for Friday. The final will be Saturday.
After the Olympics, Cavic ended a seven-year stretch of working with coach Mike Bottom in California, deciding he wanted to move to Serbia.
"I needed a change of environment. I was planning on training in Belgrade but the roof of our pool caved in," Cavic said.
Cavic then looked for the closest option to Serbia, and ended up with Di Nino in San Marino. Butterfly specialists from Slovenia, Russia and Venezuela alsowork with Di Nino.
"It's a little different than what I'm used to, but it's working," Cavic said. "There's more than one way to do somethingcorrectly, and I think I've been doing something positive."
Cavic joined Di Nino's program in October and won the 100 fly at the European short-course championships two months later.
"It doesn't take him long to get in form," Di Nino said. "But he can't go into the race thinking only about Phelps. This is one ofthe most competitive races in the pool."
Olympic bronze medalist Andrew Lauterstein is also in Rome, and both he and Cavic wear the new 100-percent polyurethane bodysuits that have been responsiblefor 11 world records in the first two days of pool events.
"I'm really looking forward to it. Cavic shows that he's swimming well at the moment," Lauterstein said. "That's my main event inthis meet."
Cavic dons the Arena X-Glide, Lauterstein has the Jaked 01, and Phelps is sticking with last year's LZR Racer from Speedo.
"Last year it was me and a lot of people blaming Omega for not having a better technology because I did touch the wall first," Cavic said."Now if I was to beat Phelps, they would say, 'Cavic beat Phelps because of the suit."
Phelps broke Ian Crocker's four-year-old world record at the U.S. Championships in Indianapolis earlier this month, clocking 50.22 seconds.
"I thought he was going to go under 50 seconds. He didn't, but I know that he will here," Cavic said. "But it's not about whathe's going to do. I'm going to do what I need to do, and hopefully it will be better.
"I'm not afraid of him. I've proven that I'm not someone who stands down. A lot of people have this mental block that Michael Phelps cannotbe beat. I think he can be beat."
[h2]Cavic: I'll buy Phelps new suit[/h2]
ROME -- Milorad Cavic is tired of hearing about Michael Phelps having to compete in a supposedly inferior swimsuit. The Serb even offered to buy hisAmerican rival one of the latest models if that's what it takes to even the playing field for their Saturday night rematch in the 100-meter butterfly.
Cavic's comments, coming after both swimmers easily advanced in Friday morning preliminaries, sets up a tantalizing rematch of their memorable race atthe Beijing Olympics, which Phelps won by a hundredth of a second on his way to capturing a record eight gold medals.
Cavic, who wears the Arena X-Glide, said the perception that Phelps has no choice except to stick with the Speedo LZR Racer because of sponsorshipcommitments is "a complete lie."
"I know he's making a lot of money from Speedo," Cavic said. "It's loyalty. But throughout all my experiences, I've learned this-- free will is a gift with a price tag, and whatever you choose to do you're going to pay, but how much you're going to pay is really dependent onyou."
Cavic said Arena would provide Phelps one of its polyurethane suits "within the hour." The X-Glide and a similar suit by Jaked are consideredfastest at these championships, where a staggering 29 world records were set through the first five days.
Phelps hustled through the mixed zone without stopping to speak to reporters. His coach, Bob Bowman, shrugged off Cavic's comments.
"He's a very good swimmer, a super-talented swimmer and he's free to say whatever he wants," Bowman said. "We know that Michaelusually lets his swimming do his talking, and we'll know by [Saturday] night what the deal is."
Speedo allowed its athletes to switch to another suit if they thought it would improve their chances in Rome. But Phelps, who has been sponsored by Speedosince he was a teenager and earns millions from the company, decided to stick with the LZR.
"If Mike wants an Arena, he just has to say it," Cavic said. "If he wants a Jaked and they don't want to give it to him free, I'llbuy it for him. He has options. I think in the media it's been portrayed that he has no option, he has to swim for [Speedo]. It's a completelie."
Cavic still believes he won the 100 fly at the Olympics, even though both timing devices and high-resolution photographs appear to show conclusively thatPhelps touched first. Cavic rekindled the issue this week, insisting that he was ahead at the wall but didn't put enough pressure on the timing touchpad,so it recorded Phelps as the winner.
The Serb has been yearning for a rematch ever since Beijing, and he doesn't want the suits to overshadow what happens in the water.
"I think there's three options for Michael," Cavic said. "The first option is to use the suit that he's wearing, the second option isto get one of these [polyurethane] suits, which I guarantee Arena will provide him within the hour, as soon as he wants. The third option would actually be adream of mine, to have the whole final everybody swimming in briefs. I swear to God, this is it, this is what I want, but this is the most unrealistic of allscenarios."
At the U.S. nationals in early July, Phelps lowered the world record in the 100 fly to 50.22 seconds. But nearly everyone believes it will take the firstsub-50 performance in history to have any chance of winning gold in Rome.
Cavic was fastest in morning prelims with a time of 50.56. Phelps won his heat with one of his patented late charges and tied for second overall withteammate Tyler McGill at 50.90.
Bowman was livid after his swimmer was beaten by Germany's Paul Biedermann in the 200 freestyle, saying the X-Glide gave the winner a huge technologicaledge. Bowman even threatened to pull Phelps from future international meets unless FINA speeds up its ban on all bodysuits, which goes into effect nextyear.
Cavic found Bowman's comments a bit hypocritical, especially since the whole swimsuit debate started with the introduction of the LZR Racer in early2008, which led American team leader Mark Schubert to declare that anyone who wanted to win gold at the Olympics should switch to Speedo -- even if they had adeal with another company.
At these world championships, Schubert led the fight to get bodysuits banned, a measure approved by the FINA congress just before the start of the swimmingcompetition.
"Last year at the height of the suit controversy, Mark Schubert said, 'Do you want the money or do you want the win?' " Cavic said."Michael Phelps has plenty of money. Who knows what it is? I think it's just loyalty and he's very gracious for everything Speedo has done forhim."
Phelps will skip a chance to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, preferring to rest up for his final individual race.
Benedict is scheduled to host about 100 swimmers Saturday at Castel Gandolfo, his summer residence. Phelps was among those invited, and at least one mediareport said he planned to attend, but Bowman said the swimmer will be resting after three races Friday and the final of the 100-meter butterfly Saturdaynight.
There was a bit of a stunner in the morning. Forty-two-year-old American Dara Torres and Australian star Libby Trickett failed to advance in thepreliminaries of the 50 butterfly. They tied for 17th at 26.41 -- one spot out of making the evening semifinals.
