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On August 15th a corporately-owned athlete by the name of Michael Phelps participated in a 100-meter Butterfly finals race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He was heavy favorite to win this race, despite losing the same race in qualifying session against someone who is, in an ignorant world we live in today, commonly refered to as 'some guy', but who in the world of competitive swimming is actually the 'big fish' by the name of Milorad Cavic. The world's media attention turned toward Phelps expecting him to tie Mark Spitz' 36-year-old record. The world's biggest stage was set. The show had to go on.
As it turned out, Michael Phelps did not start this race as expected. At the 50-meter mark he was only 7th out of 8th participants. Milorad Cavic led the race from start to finish, including at the 50-meter mark. Toward the end of the race, it appeared that Phelps closed on Cavic's lead, but still could not manage to beat him. The eyes of all the spectators in the aquatic center in Beijing, as well as those millions around the world, clearly saw that Milorad Cavic has won the race. Televised replays from all the different angles, including the one from underwater cameras, clearly showed that Cavic was the fist one to touch the wall. Television replays also showed Michael Phelps' coach Bob Bowman disappointedly muttering: "He's got him." (meaning that Cavic beat Phelps). Phelps' own mother sitting in the audience in all her confusion raised two fingers in the air as if accepting that her son came in second. Even Phelps himself, in the fist couple of seconds after the finish, appeared to be subdued knowing/believing that he lost the race. But, something happened there, and the official timekeeper of the event OMEGA showed that Phelps supposedly won by 0.01 of a second. That is 100th part of one second, and the lowest margin of difference allowed in the official swimming contests.
100TH OF A SECOND?
Yes, the underwater sensors of the official timekeeper of the event, the watchmaker OMEGA, have determined that Michael Phelps, has won this race by 0.01 of a second.
0.01 OF A SECOND?
Was this an ad for OMEGA or what?


But the devil is indeed in the detail.
How is it that the official timekeeper of the event is the same company that sponsors Phelps since 2004? Isn't there a clear conflict of interest here? You know how deligthtfully messed up that is?? That's like having Tim Donaghy officiating in NBA games, and also placing bets on them. And why are leading FINA officials unashamedly and brazenly the biggest cheerleaders of Michael Phelps? We are not talking about NBC and other American-broadcasters who have clear interest in weaving the mythical narrative in their sickening quest for the largest share of ratings, and for purposes of appeasing (read: licking asses of) their advertisers (and therefore for their economical ends) who buy such ridiculously overpriced ad slots. We are not talking about millions of average American fans who are being assaulted by some of the biggest sport-related media hype in history (Hi Bob!). We are not talking about millions of biased American fans that only care that Phelps is an American who "kicks ***". We are not talking about millions of white Americans who rejoice and cherish the success and worldwide fame of an all-white athlete in a sport where speed, stamina and physical contributions are of outmost importance. Instead, we are talking about the officials of FINA, the supposedly neutral governing and regulating body of this sport. Think of the possibilities of inbreeding my friends. Considering that Milorad Cavic did beat Phelps head-to-head in qualifying session, and since Milorad Cavic posted better time than Phelps and everbody else in the semifinals, OMEGA & FINA had plenty of time to make sure that Phelps wins the final session, even if it had to be by the narrowest of allowed margins. Shame on you FINA! Shame on you OMEGA! Shame on you IOC for allowing this charade to unfold in front of our very own eyes!
And if you think this is just about one race in some stupid sport that nobody cares about, think again.
This is the end my friend. Dumbing down of America before the marketing and media and political gods is long complete. Knowingly or not we are in it just for the sake of chasing our own tails. Eating our own young. We are part of the societal and global loop structure that is larger than the capability of our individual comprehension of the matters that concern us and our well-beings. We are pre-wired, pre-programmed, and our basic emotions and life experiences are pre-determined. We are intellectual cyborgs that have inbred and self-mutated. Worst of all -- we come with no expiration date.
So rejoice away my friends, and look forward to another manufactured spectacle brought to you by the masters of the global loop whose unwitting part you are. No amount of Bob Costas-induced stupor will change that.
But until that time, WE DEMAND that IOC cease this downright wrong practice of allowing athletes' sponsors, in individual sports, to also be the timekeepers of the events where those athletes appear. Just like people, electronics can be tinkered with. Similarly, we demand that OMEGA employs a third party that will certify their results. Not that that would make it a fool proof, but it would ad an extra layer of assurance. At the moment the certification is done by OMEGA itself. In other words, OMEGA certifies that OMEGA is reliable. If that is not a 'self-fellatio' we don't know what is. So as it stands, not only is the potential abuse always present, but the whole thing is completely in contravention of the original aim of the Olympic games; which was a celebration of human spirit via achievements of the human body; as opposed to today's Olympic 'spirit' which is nothing but a celebration of corporate greed and commercial excess by way of contemporary drugged-up gladiators in their pursuit of hefty endorsements and 5 minutes of fame. As late as 20 years ago the Olympics featured only amateur athletes. Since the IOC has gotten in cahoots with the greedy American and international corporations who saw a potential in planetary profits and their brand promoting and positioning on a global scale, nothing was ever the same again. Do we really believe that Usain Bolt superbly and effortlessly dominated his field because he ate sugar cereal this morning? In an age where designer steroids are being synthesized by thousands so as to avoid detection methods, is anything real any more? We now have obscenely professional U.S. athletes that are not reliably tested in their own leagues (read NBA) dominating the Olympic competition without any 'checks and balances' that are required of other Olympic athletes. You're not gonna tell us that Kobe Bryant will be required to **** in a small bottle to satisfy some test? You're not gonna tell us that a billion-dollar man-beast LeBron James will be denied his gold medal just because he was probably using human growth hormons since the time he was in a kindergarten (HGH, by the way, can't be detected by any tests). In the contemporary Olympic spectacle even horses are not safe from doping. What's next, Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro lining up to get their Olympic gold with a needle hanging up their ***??
But we digress...
Finally, WE also DEMAND that somebody in the U.S. organizes a swimmimg event which would feature another race just between Michael Phelps and Milorad Cavic. But with a catch. That Phelps and Cavic be strictly forbidden for being personally paid for this event. Instead, their share of the proceeds should go to the charities of their choice. This race between the two swimmers would not only be a commercial success for its organizers and pay-per-view broadcasters (and it's all about $ isn't it,) but will also, perhaps, clear some doubt that was obviously raised in connection with the way how Phelps obtained his 7th gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Most importantly, by donating their fees from this event to the charities of their choice these athletes would contribute to the greater cause, which is probably something that is lacking from their me-me-me agenda at the moment.
Facts:
• Milorad Cavic beats everybody, including Michael Phelps head-to-head (QUALIFYING SESSION) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Source: Yahoo Olympics)
• Milorad Cavic beats everybody, including Michael Phelps (SEMIFINAL SESSION) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Source: Yahoo Olympics)
• Milorad Cavic beats everybody, including* Michael Phelps (MEDALS SESSION) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Source: NBC)
• Photo finish freeze frame at the finals session speaks volumes. (Photo: Heinz Kluetmeier/SI)
• OMEGA is the official sponsor of Michael Phelps since 2004. (Source: OmegaWatches.com)
• What is that mysterious OMEGA "BLACK BOX"? And why does OMEGA use the word "compromising" in the same sentence? (Source: OmegaWatches.com)
• Michael Phelps in an OMEGA sponsored lane at the finish line next to Milorad Cavic. (Source: Michael Kappeler/AFP/Getty Images, August 16)
• Global head of sponsorship management for VISA Inc.: "The objective of Phelps' sponsors is to expand Michael's presence in other markets." (Source: Washington Post, August 18)
• The greatest whatever athlete of all-time can't bear to look the truth in the eyes. (Source: unknown)
• "To the naked eye it appeared to be either a dead heat or a Cavic victory." (Source: San Jose Mercury News, August 16)
• "Replays of Phelps's finish compared with Cavic's appeared to show Cavic reached the wall ahead of his American rival." (Source: Globe and Mail, August 16)
• "To the naked eye, Phelps surely lost." (Source: AOL Sports, August 16)
• FINA official cheers for Phelps and promises: "(Phelps) would have won the race no matter what." ("No matter what"!? I mean WHAT THE HECK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN???)(Source: San Francisco Chronicle, August 16)
• FINA official swimming rules for Butterfly races state the requirement of both hands simultaneously touching the pad (Source: FINA.org, August 16)
• As per those same FINA rules, Phelps' hands are clearly NOT touching the pad simultaneously. (Source: Michael Kappeler/AFP/Getty Images, August 16)
• FINA official refuses to release the conclusive evidence of Phelps' win, and states the following: "We are not going to distribute footage. We are not doing these kinds of things. Everything is good." (Source: New York Times, August 16)
• FINA Vice President, Dale Neuburger: "I've worked with his (Phelps') agent, Peter Carlisle, from Octagon on numerous occasions. We're working right now in trying to help Michael have a post-Olympic tour. I've known him, his family." (Source: Indianapolis Star, August 17)
• Jay Mariotti: "Let's make something clear: It wouldn't have been good for sport, swimming or anyone but Cavic had Phelps lost. Losing his final individual race would have been one of the great letdowns in sports history." (Source: Chicago Sun-Times, August 16)
• Cavic: "If we got to do this again, I would win it." (Source: LA Times, August 16)
F.A.Q. (updated August 21)
- We've received hundreds of emails in the past two days. In order to clear at least some confusion about this site and our motives for creating it we decided to put up this section and answer some of your comments and questions:
1. Couple of you commented that 001ofasecond.com name is a misleading since 001 represents 1000th of a second, and not one 100th as implied. We registered 001ofasecond.com on August 16, just a few hours after that charade in the Water Cube. Our original aim was for 001 to represent 0.01 of a second, since it's impossible to register a domain name with a dot (.) in it. We could have used subdomain and make it 0.01ofasecond.com, but that would have been confusing for others even more. For the sake of pedantic clarity we have now decided to register and also run 100thofasecond.com and clear any and all confusion. So as of August 20, 001ofasecond.com will forward to 100thofasecond.com, and therefore we ask you to visit and link to 100thofasecond.com as a main source for the 2008 Michael Phelps' Beijing Olympic conspiracy theory. So please adjust your habits and links accordingly.
2. Too many Phelps' fans emailed us and offered us the same Sports Illustrated sequence photos as a definitive proof of Phelps' win, YET none of you commented about that simultaneous two-hands touchpad FINA rule? In any case, we are aware of those Sports Illustrated sequence photos, but we feel that they are inconclusive other than the fact that Phelps' left hand was nowhere near the touchpad. In addition to that, you may or may not know but Sports Illustrated magazine last issue (August 18) featured Michael Phelps on its cover, using dreamy superlatives like 'AMAZING' and 'KING' to describe him. Not surprisingly, Sports Illustrated next issue (August 21) will also feature Michael Phelps on its cover. For that reason please forgive us if we don't take Sports Illustrated sequence photos as a 'foolproof' evidence of anything other than Sports Illustrated reliance on the worship of Michael Phelps for their own financial gains. Again, we are coming back to the conflict of interest issue. We can't in our good conscience, and as a matter of moral and philosophical principle, believe in the set of photos that are published in the source that makes so much money off of Michael Phelps' name, fame and likeness. That would be akin to unquestionably believing the vice-president ***** Chainy and his version of the events in Iraq, while knowing that his company Haliburton was given billions worth of U.S. government contracts in Iraq without any normal bidding process whatsoever. I hope you understand and accept that point.
3. Many of you commented that we shouldn't have posted Cavic's result from qualifying and semifinal races, because those races 'don't mean a thing'. The only race that means is a final race. Well, we disagree. By posting that Cavic was superior to everyone in two races prior to the final race we have established a pattern of his success. We have established that, in fact, Cavic was the favorite in the final race, despite the fact that very few people ever heard of him. By establishing that he was a favorite, we have also established that him leading the whole final race was not a surprise. He was not just some guy who unexpectedly run the race of his life, but somebody who was just doing his job, by being the best, even when having the ever mighty Phelps next to him.
4. We put that particular freeze frame photo in order to highlight the difference in hands' position of the two swimmers. Cavic's hands are perhaps about 10 inches (25 cm) away from the sensor, while Phelps' hands are perhaps about six feet away (180 cm). Even if we account for the fact that Cavic was gliding, and Phelps was 'flying' through the air, the difference, particularly at the finish, was huge. Should have been huge. Should have been enough. But apparently it wasn't. Why?
5. Cavic graciously admitted defeat? We don't know why Cavic chose to remain quiet. He knew that under those circumstances nobody was about to question and/or strip Phelps' off of his gold medal. Knowing that Cavic lives and trains in the U.S. we are probably not far off if we say that he was afraid of being labeled 'ungracious looser' by the U.S. swimming community, and the U.S. public at large. Cavic is not stupid. He also knows that his future livelihood is tied to those two. He also knows that FINA, if they wanted to, can make him 'disappear' by disqualifying him for any number of made-up reasons. He also knows that Phelps', with his rich sponsors, money and fame, is an all-powerful beast that is not to be messed around with. Why ruin the NBC Olympic saga, why deflate American kids' dreams (that they too one day can win nine, or even 19 gold medals) why spoil the good life and Phelps' moment in the historic spotlight for some gold medal that wouldn't have been nearly worth it, as much as silver medal is. Cavic is a smart man. For him silver shines brighter than gold, if you know what we mean.
Finally, we would also like to offer the following commentary:
We can debate who really won in Beijing that day until we are blue in the face but in the absence of conclusive proof from FINA that will get us nowhere. But we can't debate the following facts, because these are known facts that can't be disputed:
Counting all three races, Milorad Cavic was the fastest 100-meter Butterfly swimmer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The 'naked eyes' of the whole world (including Phelps' coach and Phelps' mother) saw and thought that Cavic won the final 100-meter Butterfly race. Only OMEGA sensors 'saw' Phelps' win. OMEGA the official timekeeper of the event is the main corporate sponsor of Michael Phelps. FINA officials cheered for Phelps, wanted him to win. FINA officials refused to provide high-speed video evidence of Phelps' win (what are they hiding?) Too many rich and powerful U.S. corporations had interest in seeing (and perhaps making sure?) that Phelps' broke Spitz' record. Too many people worldwide wanted Phelps' to win. Michael Phelps' is a fat golden goose whose diamond-encrusted egg$ are tickled and fondled by the whole world.
Milorad Cavic never stood a chance.

Michael Phelps: The Greatest Amphibian of All Time* - Or Just Another Corporate Frankenstein?

Michael Phelps: The Greatest Amphibian of All Time* - Or Just Another Corporate Frankenstein?