Meet referee Ben Ekumbo reiterated what USA Swimming had said about the timing system and video and added that Phelps was "stroking and the other [Cavic] was gliding."
It was that final stroke that made the ultimate and historical difference. Phelps, as they say in the sport, finished with a short stroke and Cavic lost it with a longer one into the wall.
"I was starting to hurt for the last 10 meters, it was my last individual race and I just wanted to finish as strong as I could," Phelps said. "I actually thought when I did take that half stroke I thought I had lost the race right there, but I guess that was the difference in the end."
Cavic, who goes by Mike, won the first medal for Serbia in swimming.
The ultra-confident Cavic, who was born in Anaheim, grew up in Tustin and swam for the California Golden Bears, has Serbian and U.S. passports.
Going into the race, some experts thought he might defeat Phelps, who had set a world record in each of his six previous gold-medal performances.
"I think Mike can beat Michael," U.S. swimmer Gary Hall Jr. wrote in a blog posting on latimes.com Friday. "An upset would be the upset of all upsets, it's true, but I think Mike can beat Michael."
Cavic had worked extraordinarily hard over the past year, Hall wrote.
"He endured taunt and torment from his teammates, myself included, for being overzealous with his training," Hall wrote. "We caught him sneaking in extra workouts. Can you imagine? We were training six to eight hours a day, six days a week, and he's got the gall, and energy, to do an extra? Without telling anyone about it?"
Cavic was asked if the timing system could have failed.
"It's possible," he said. "Everything is possible. The hand is quicker than the eye."
He managed to fire up Phelps on Friday with his rhetoric.
Said Phelps: "When you see quotes in the paper saying no one will ever ever tie or break this record, it shows you anything's possible. When you put your mind to something, anything is possible."
His other six gold medals were in the 400 individual medley, the 200 freestyle, the 200 butterfly, the 200 individual medley, the 400 freestyle relay and the 800 freestyle relay.
His chance to pass Spitz will come on Sunday morning in the 400 medley relay. Spitz was in Detroit and used the word "epic" to describe Phelps, telling the Associated Press that Phelps was "the greatest racer who ever walked the planet."
For Phelps, the 100 butterfly was the first of his seven gold medals here that did not come in a world-record time.
Just the same, he will receive a $1-million bonus from Speedo.
His seventh gold also moved him ahead of Spitz in one sense, considering Phelps' seven golds came with five wins in individual events and two relays. Spitz got to seven on the basis of four individual events and three relays, all achieved in record times.
But the debate over this race will linger for years. Cavic was asked if Phelps was, indeed, the gold-medal winner.
Said Cavic: "Is Michael Phelps the gold-medal winner? If we got to do this again, I would win it."
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lisa.dillman@latimes.com
