UNIVERSAL SPORTS

Best of 2009: Phelps vs. Cavic in the 100m fly

At the 2007 World Championships, Phelps once again squeezed by Crocker in the last few strokes of the 100m butterfly and left the pool in Melbourne, Australia with another narrow victory.

In Beijing for the 2008 Olympics, Phelps forged a new rivalry, this time with Serbian Milorad Cavic when the American famously beat Cavic by 0.01 seconds in the 100m butterfly final. To claim one of eight his goal medals, Phelps had to storm back from three quarters of a body length in the last 50 meters to win.

But just last summer at the 2009 World Championships in Rome, there was some added drama surrounding Phelps' 100m butterfly race with Cavic. The Serb, who set the world record during the semifinals of the event, tried to get under Phelps' skin with some pre-race chatter. His efforts motivated Phelps even more, and the Baltimore native finished the final in a world-record time of 49.82 seconds to Cavic's 49.95.

With all the hype surrounding the 100m butterfly final at the 2009 Worlds, and then Phelps' come-from-behind victory at the Foro Italico, Universal Sports has given its Most Dramatic Performance of 2009 award to Phelps.

"You can always tell how the race went and how happy I am just after a race just because of my reaction after it," Phelps told Universal Sports recently. "I went absolutely crazy after that race. I've never celebrated like that before. I took six months off, and being able to be the first person to break 50 [seconds], there was a lot of emotion in that race."

Cavic jumped ahead halfway through the race and still had Phelps at his hip with 25 meters left. But suddenly Phelps' overdrive system kicked in, and he overtook the Serbian in the last four strokes.

In the days leading up to the race, Cavic kept carping that he actually won the final in Beijing. Television replays showed that Cavic may have gotten to the wall first, but Phelps applied the proper amount of pressure on his timing system pad to stop the clock before Cavic was able to do so in his lane. An underwater photo of the finish later proved Phelps indeed touched first.

Cavic also brought up the swimsuit issue before the race in Rome. He used an Arena X-Glide, one of the high-tech suits that hit the market earlier this year. It is completely covered in polyurethane, which critics claimed aided in buoyancy. Phelps stuck with his "old" Speedo LZR, circa 2008.

Cavic offered to buy Phelps an Arena. Phelps said no. He declined to respond to any of Cavic's comments, deciding to let his swimming speak for him.

"That stuff makes me more excited than anything," Phelps said of Cavic's pre-race efforts to rattle him. "When people are talking, little side comments here and there, that just makes me even hungrier."

Phelps' coach Bob Bowman echoed that thought.

"I don't think it hurts him," Bowman said. "Michael gets ready the best way he knows how. He gives his best effort and the results speak for themselves.

"I think it was a tremendous race just for swimming in general, particularly after Beijing and the way things had gone there," Bowman added. "There was a lot of hype created for it, and once again Michael came through and lived up to expectations. But it was a great race, and both guys did really good times."

Both swimmers finished below Cavic's world record of 50.01 from the semifinals.

Phelps and Cavic appeared to jump out of a cannon at the start of the race, but Cavic expectedly had a lead that almost measured three quarters of a body length after the first 50 meters. During the ensuing underwater portion coming off the wall, however, Phelps kept an eye on Cavic, who was one lane over, the whole time. And when Cavic came out of the water and resumed his strokes, Phelps followed.

Seventy-five meters in, Phelps still trailed by a half length. But he was quickly gaining ground.

In the final 7-8 meters, it appeared, as race commentator Rowdy Gaines pointed out, that Cavic was moving up and down a lot in the water. Phelps, a pure butterflier, kept all of his momentum going toward the wall, lurched forward and passed Cavic with around four meters left.

After the race, Cavic reached over and offered his hand to Phelps, who quickly shook it and swam away. Then Phelps perched himself on the lane divider, pulled at his "outdated" swimsuit and pounded his chest in celebration.

It was a dramatic finish to a dramatic week, and Phelps had emerged victorious once again.

"From all the lead-up and the race that Cavic and I had the year before at the Olympics ... having all that combined, it was cool," Phelps said. "That's been one of the coolest races I've been a part of."