Milorad "Milo" Čavić ( sr-Cyrl, Милорад "Мило" Чавић, ; born May 31, 1984) is a Serbian former professional swimmer. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2008 Summer Olympics in a historic race with American swimmer

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold med ...

. Čavić also was World and European champion, as well as world record holder. He is one of four swimmers who broke 50 seconds in the 100m butterfly.

Swimming career

Born in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

and a citizen of both

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, he attended

Tustin High School Tustin High School is a public high school in Tustin, California, United States. It is part of the Tustin Unified School District. It was established in 1921 as the Tustin Union High School. History Founded in 1921, Tustin High School was orig ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where he set four CIF records and a national high school mark in the 50 yd freestyle. While swimming for the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and training with

Mike Bottom Mike Bottom (c. 1956) is the ninth head coach of the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving program at the University of Michigan. His men's team finished as champions at the 2013 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. Swimming car ...

, Čavić set a new school and Pac-10 record in the 100 yd butterfly (45.44 s). Representing Serbia and Montenegro at the

European Short Course Swimming Championships The European Short Course Swimming Championships (variously referred to informally as the "Short Course Europeans" or "European 25m Championships") are a swimming meet, organized by LEN. The meet features swimmers from Europe, competing in events ...

in Dublin 2003, Čavić won the gold medal in 100 m butterfly and set a new world record in the short course. He also won a silver medal in 50 m freestyle. Čavić defended his European 100 m title on subsequent short-course championships in Helsinki 2006 (finishing 50.63), Debrecen 2007 (finishing at 50.53) and Rijeka 2008 (finishing at 49.19 and setting a new European record). He also took silver on 50 m butterfly in Rijeka. On December 14, 2007 Čavić defended his European championship in the 100 m butterfly in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, finishing at 50.63 seconds. On December 14, 2007, the sprinter defended his European championship again in the 100 m butterfly in

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and ...

, finishing at 50.53 seconds. In 2008, Čavić won the European championship in the 50 m butterfly, setting the new European record (23.11) in Eindhoven, Holland – a result briefly quashed when the European Swimming Federation (LEN) immediately disqualified the swimmer for wearing a T-shirt at the medals ceremony that read "

Kosovo is Serbia "Kosovo is Serbia" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косово је Србија, Kosovo je Srbija) is a slogan that has been used in Serbia since the 1980s, later popularised as a reaction to Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia. History The ...

". However, his disqualification was removed and his record was recognized. At the end of the year, he was declared the best Serbian athlete. At the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...

, Čavić won gold in the 50 m butterfly and broke the 100 m butterfly world record in the semifinals finishing in 50.01 seconds. In the finals Čavić won silver with time of 49.95. In that final, Both Cavic and winner Phelps became the first two swimmers to swim the 100 fly under 50 seconds. He missed competitions in 2010 due to spinal surgery. The

Olympic Committee of Serbia The Olympic Committee of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the National Olympic Committee representing Serbia. It organizes the country's representatives at the Olympic Games and other multisport events. Members of the committee are 47 sports federations, wh ...

proclaimed him sportsman of the year three times, 2003, 2008 and 2009. In 2012 (May 26, 2012), he won the gold medal at the

2012 European Aquatics Championships The 2012 European Aquatics Championships were held from 14 to 27 May 2012 in Debrecen, Hungary and Eindhoven, Netherlands. The 2012 European Swimming Championships were to take place in Antwerp, Belgium, but were reallocated to the City of Debrec ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, in the 100 meters butterfly, setting the best time in the world in 2012 and a new championship record – 51.45 seconds.

Olympic career

2000 Sydney Summer Olympics

' At the age of 16, Čavić represented

Yugoslavia at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. 109 competitors, 92 men and 17 women, took part in 50 events in 14 sports. These would be the last Summer Games in which athletes from M ...

in Sydney, Australia in the 100 m butterfly (disqualified) and 100 backstroke – 42nd – 58.25 s.

2004 Athens Summer Olympics

' Čavić represented

Serbia and Montenegro at the 2004 Summer Olympics Serbia and Montenegro competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. Previously known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, this was the nation's third and last joint appearance at the Summer Olympics before Se ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

in the 100 m butterfly, 50 m freestyle and the 100 m freestyle. Čavić was leading in a semifinal of the 100 metre butterfly, but right after the turn at the halfway point of the race, his suit opened at the neck and sucked in water, causing Čavić to finish last. In the heats of the 100 metre freestyle, Čavić finished 19th missing the semi-finals by 0.02 seconds. Čavić trained at The Race Club, a swimming club founded by Olympic swimmers

Gary Hall, Jr. Gary Wayne Hall Jr. (born September 26, 1974) is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics and won ten Olympic medals (five gold, three silver, two bronze). He is a former wor ...

and his father, Gary Hall, Sr. The Race Club, originally known as "The World Team," was designed to serve as a training group for elite swimmers across the world in preparation for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. To be able to train with the Race Club, one must either have been ranked in the top 20 in the world the past 3 calendar years or top 3 in their nation in the past year. The Race Club included such well known swimmers as

Roland Mark Schoeman Roland Mark Schoeman OIS (born 4 July 1980) is a South African American swimmer and was a member of the South African swimming team at the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. In May 2022, he officially became United States citizen. Ca ...

, Mark Foster,

Ryk Neethling Ryk Neethling Order of Ikhamanga, OIS (born 17 November 1977) is a South African businessman who rose to prominence as the three-times World Champion and four-times World Record Breaking Swimming at the Summer Olympics, Olympic swimming champion ...

, Ricky Busquet and Therese Alshammar.The World Team
The Race Club. Retrieved on 2014-07-24. The Race Club offers various swimming camps, swim clinics, and swimming technique video recording year round for young swimmers at their

Islamorada Islamorada (also sometimes Islas Morada) is an incorporated village in Monroe County, Florida. It is located directly between Miami and Key West on five islands— Tea Table Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Windley Key and Plant ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

based training center.

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

Čavić represented

Serbia at the 2008 Summer Olympics Serbia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The country returned under the name ''Serbia'' after 96 years, previously competing under the names ''Yugoslavia'' (1920–1988), ''Independent Olympic Participant ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in two swimming events. Even though he qualified for the 100 metre freestyle semi-final Čavić withdrew in order to prepare for the 100 metre butterfly. On August 14, 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, Čavić broke the 100 meter butterfly Olympic Record during the preliminary heats, finishing ahead of

and also recorded the fastest time in the semi-finals. Čavić came in second to Phelps by one hundredth of a second in the final, and became Serbia's inaugural Olympiad medalist. It was Phelps' seventh gold medal of the Olympiad. The Serbian team initially challenged the result but FINA later confirmed the finish. It was later confirmed by the FINA and Omega timekeeping officials that Čavić indeed arrived first but it was Phelps who, in the milliseconds after touching the wall, applied more force to trigger an electronic touchpad first. 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".Christopher Clarey, 'Cavic Finds a Personal Triumph in the Narrowest of Defeats'. ''New York Times''. August 16, 2008
/ref> Čavić continued training at The Race Club.

2012 London Summer Olympics

Čavić represented Serbia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, making it his sporting finale. He qualified for the 100 meter butterfly final and tied for fourth place.

Honours and awards

* OCS Sportsman of the Year Award (3): 2003, 2008, 2009 * Golden Badge of

DSL Sport ''Sport'' ( sr-Cyrl, Спорт) was a Serbian daily sports newspaper. The first edition was published on 5 May 1945 under the name ''Fiskultura'' and the last edition went out on 17 September 2016. Since the mid-2000s it was billed as "Dnevni s ...

(1): 2008

References

External links

* * * * *
archive
*
Arluck Promotions (Milorad Cavic's marketing agent)

Biography by The Orange County Register
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavic, Milorad 1984 births Living people Serbian male swimmers California Golden Bears men's swimmers American people of Serbian descent Olympic swimmers of Yugoslavia Olympic swimmers of Serbia and Montenegro Olympic swimmers of Serbia Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Serbia Male butterfly swimmers Serbian male freestyle swimmers Sportspeople from Anaheim, California World record setters in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics European champions for Serbia Yugoslav male swimmers Olympic silver medalists in swimming Yugoslav male freestyle swimmers