Omega Releases More Proof of Phelps 100m Butterfly Photo FinishFiled Under: Controversy

Phelps (left) and Cavic (right).

 There is no doubt that the finish in the 100m butterfly between Michael Phelps and Milorad Cavic of Serbia was ridiculously close.

Phelps edged out the Serbian by one one-hundreth of a second to clinch his seventh gold medal in the Beijing Games, tying Mark Spitz’ record of seven golds in a single Olympic Games.

But to the naked eye it was impossible to tell who won and even looked like Cavic might have touched first in the replay. Well a new digital photo sequence has been released by Omega that should help clear the air a little regarding the finish. Omega timer Silvio Chianese explained why he believes the results are clear.

Phelps (left) and Cavic (right).

“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.

I think thats what made the difference. Cavic was touching the pad first but Phelps was the first to actually apply enough pressure to push it in and activate the technology.

According to Chianese, it takes 6.6 pounds of pressure to activate the touchpad.

Phelps (left) and Cavic (right).

“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.”

Chianese went on the say that the result was clear minutes after the photo finish.

“For us, it was clear five minutes after.”

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Tags: Phelps Butterfly Finish, Phelps Omega Sequence