BEIJING — It was 1/100th of a second for the ages.
Michael Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the Beijing Games today in heart-stopping fashion, out-touching Serbia's Milorad Cavic in the 100-meter butterfly to equal Mark Spitz's legendary 36-year-old record.
Phelps, 23, can break the record for most gold medals in a single Olympics on Sunday morning (tonight Pacific time) if he and three teammates prevail in the 400-meter medley relay.
Phelps set an Olympic record, going 50.58 seconds to Cavic's 50.59. Andrew Lauterstein of Australia took the bronze in 51.12, and the reigning world-record holder, Ian Crocker of the United States, was fourth in 51.13.
But for several seconds after the race, big-event suspense hung in the air at the Water Cube for the spectators and swimmers alike. It wasn't clear who had won.
Video replays were equally confusing, and after the scoreboard showed that Phelps had won by the narrowest of margins, there was still this question:
Did Phelps touch first or didn't he?
Though that question might be debated for years to come, Serbian swim officials were asking it immediately. There was even confusion over whether an official protest had been filed. USA Swimming officials said no, but less than an hour later, FINA, the international governing body of swimming, said yes.
USA Swimming's Mark Schubert, the team's head coach, said FINA confirmed that the timing system and video system were in perfect working order. They even broke down the video replay frames to a 10,000th of a second with Serb officials and Schubert on hand, USA Swimming said.
But video does not determine winners in swimming. It can be used as a backup when there is a protest. But touchpads, the plastic sensors on the wall, are the determining factor down to a hundredth of a second.
Even Phelps didn't know he had won and tied Spitz's mark, which had long been regarded as untouchable. He, like the rest of the crowd, remained in suspense until the times flashed on the scoreboard.
"I had to take my goggles off first to make sure the one was next to my name," said Phelps, who was in seventh place at 50 meters.
Later, the view from the top of the Olympic podium was clear and sweet.
"I'm in sort of a dream world, sometimes you have to pinch yourself to see if it is real," Phelps said. "It's the smallest margin of victory in our sport. It was pretty cool."
