How Do You Prepare When The Competition Is “Unbeatable” Or The Odds Too High?
Remember the guy who lost to Michael Phelps in the 100-meter butterfly in the 2008 Beijing Olympics? If you don’t, you are not alone… lots of us never remember the runners-up. And how very sad! But for a major event like that you can bet the contenders must have had a really tough challenge... how do you prepare when the guy you want to dethrone is unbeatable?
Anyway, on that fateful day in Beijing, the runner-up, Milorad Čavić touched the wall first at the end of the race, but not hard enough to trigger the timing system. The people’s verdict was that Čavić was “cheated” that day – by the official timekeeper! By all appearances, it seems Milorad won the race that day. How did he prepare?
Here’s the story of Milorad Čavić and the gold-class success advice and inspiration we can get from this amazing silver medalist. It’s a story with twists and turns… and a bitter-sweet ending.
Before the final of the 100-meter butterfly, Serbian-American swimmer Milorad Čavić caused a minor stir when he said it would be "good" if Phelps lost.
"It'd be good for him if he loses,” he said. “It would be nice if historians talk about Michael Phelps winning seven gold medals and losing the eighth to 'some guy.' I'd like to be that guy."
Phelps responded, "When people say things like that, it fires me up more than anything."
The stage was set for an interesting encounter.
On August 16 2008 in the Beijing Summer Olympics, Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the Games in the Men's 100-meter butterfly, setting an Olympic record for the event with a time of 50.58 seconds and edging out his nearest competitor Čavić, by one one-hundredth (0.01) of a second.
Phelps's 0.01-second finish ahead of Čavić prompted the Serbian delegation to file a protest. Subsequent analysis of the video by the FINA panel, which required analyzing frames shot 1/10,000th of a second apart, was used to officially confirm Phelps's victory, but the images were not immediately released to the press.
The initial refusal by official timekeeper Omega to release underwater photos of the finish also raised questions due to Phelps's sponsorship relationship with Omega. Čavić later wrote in his blog, "People, this is the greatest moment of my life. If you ask me, it should be accepted and we should move on. I've accepted defeat, and there's nothing wrong with losing to the greatest swimmer there has ever been."
However, in August 2009, Omega officials stated that while Čavić "for sure" touched the wall first, "Phelps did it more forcefully," thus registering the time first. At the Beijing Olympics Michael Phelps became the first person to ever win eight gold medals at a single Olympics.
To win the 7th Gold, on August 16, 2008, Phelps came from behind and produced a riveting finish. This was the 100-meter butterfly final and Phelps had never won gold at this event. But that day in Beijing, when Phelps poked his head up from the water, his coach thought he had lost. His mother thought he lost. Phelps himself wasn't sure.
Eventually, Phelps was declared the winner by 0.01 of a second. Milorad Čavić of Serbia seemed to have touched the wall first. And, in fact, he did – just not hard enough to have the result registered on the touchpad of the Omega timing system.
Interviewed eight years later in August 2016 how he felt about his silver medal from Beijing, this is what Milorad “Mike” Čavić said:
“It's one of my most precious possessions. It's in the States in my safe. A couple times per year, I would look at it just for my own self, outside of appearances.”
Born in Anaheim California on May 31 1984, Čavić has dual American-Serbian citizenship. He has played on the national teams of Yugoslavia (2000-2003), Serbia and Montenegro (2003-2006), and Serbia (2006-20012). He also played on the University of California Berkeley team.
Had he won gold in Beijing, he would have retired from the sport that year, Čavić said in the interview. But he stuck around for London 2012.
“Was the Beijing race a factor,” he was asked.
“Yes. Had I won the Olympic gold, I believe I would have retired that year.”
“What were you still hungry for? Gold? Or the feeling of racing well after back surgery in 2010?”
His answer: “More so the hunger of proving that I was not washed up. Medical professionals and coaches told me I would never race again. So for me, it became less about winning Olympic gold and more about proving everyone wrong by winning an Olympic medal. Any medal would have sufficed.”
And so, down but not out after back surgery in 2010, Čavić stuck on for the London Olympics. The London Olympics, two short years later, were to give Milorad “Milo’ Čavić the opportunity for a rematch with Michael Phelps.
But first, even before the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps was already a sensation, the odds-on favorite to win the 100 meter butterfly. So, how did Čavić prepare for Beijing? How do you prepare when the competition is that “unbeaten guy?” How do you prepare when the competition is Michael Phelps… or Usain Bolt… or Floyd Mayweather… or your good old energy-sapping, mind-boggling, insurmountably-insurmountable challenge?
Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you. ~ Arnold Palmer
Most successful achievers understand the need to “give it everything you’ve got;” to make a total effort – but when the odds are stacked against you it becomes very tempting to just pack it in and go home. When the odds aren’t in your favor this is the time to give it as much effort as you possibly can if you hope to come out on top…
Čavić made a total effort, preparing for Beijing and the 100-meter butterfly. For one thing, although he had qualified for the 100-meter freestyle semi-final Čavić withdrew in order to prepare for the 100-meter butterfly. What do you learn from the story?
Only by contending with challenges that seem beyond your strength to handle at the moment you can grow more surely towards the stars. ~ Brian Tracy
A lot of the time we tend to over-estimate the problem and under-estimate our strengths. Are you guilty? Well, whatever problem or challenge you face, you can triumph through simply giving this game of life everything you’ve got! Čavić never lost sight of his dream to win a gold medal, even when the odds looked insurmountable; even when, recovering from back surgery, the challenge seemed beyond his strength to handle…
What are you still hungry for? Which of your cherished goals have you relegated to the back burner? Are you sure you have given it a total effort?
Milorad Čavić didn’t win a medal in London – he finished tied for fourth place in the 100-meter butterfly. But in my book he made his point and proved the medics wrong – and he’s a better person for having tried… and given it his best. He reached for the stars. I hope this story inspires you to do what it takes to succeed with all your goals, so you can live the life of your dreams.Put your plans in order, take action, improve consistency so you get the same results every time, and you'll be sure to win.
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