| Phelps is involved in gold medal conspiracy! | |
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| Aug 23, 2008 02:40 | #11   |
 | "Here we are in the situation in which the finish is questionable and the ultimate judge of truth is refusing to make public information that ‘may’ be nothing short of catastrophic for Phelps, Omega, Phelps’s other sponsors and the Americans in general, who certainly do not want their wonder boy’s amazing feat tarnished,” David Malloy, a sports ethicist at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, said in an e-mail message. He added: “This issue may end up being very damaging to Phelps, Omega and the U.S.A. Sadly, it could have been avoided with careful thought and basic ethical advice.” Shortly after Saturday’s disputed race, Alina Ivanescu, a spokeswoman for Omega, told The New York Times that the company would soon forward the video images to the news media. Later Saturday, though, Ivanescu sent an e-mail message saying that FINA decided not to release any timekeeping images to the news media. "It is not up to us to decide,” Ivanescu said Wednesday. “It’s our job to provide the results. FINA decides what can be published or not. FINA said it was a no-go.” Omega, which has timed Olympic events since 1932, uses four digital cameras as a backup to its electronic timing system. Images from track events have routinely been released by Omega. Christophe Berthaud, Omega’s Olympic manager, said that there was no human intervention in the determining of race results and that there was “absolutely no doubt” that Phelps won. "Omega provides the most accurate and reliable measurement system in the world,” Berthaud said in an e-mail message. “The professionalism and independence of its teams are recognized by the highest authorities of sport.” Cornel Marculescu, executive director of FINA, could not be reached Wednesday. On Sunday, he told The Times that it was FINA’s policy not to release race images. He also noted that Serbian officials had seen the images and had withdrawn their protest of the butterfly race, satisfied that Phelps had indeed won. "We are not going to distribute footage,” Marculescu said. “Everything is good. What are you going to do with the footage? See what the Serbians already saw? It is clarified for us beyond any doubt.” The International Olympic Committee said Wednesday that it would not press FINA or Omega to release the images. "The result of the race as declared by the federation is final and the I.O.C. has no reason to question it,” said Giselle Davies, a spokeswoman for the I.O.C. |
| Aug 23, 2008 02:41 | #12 |
| Phelps was not made available for an interview. His agent, Peter Carlisle of Octagon, said he had no plans to ask for the release of the images. “That sort of stuff is an issue that FINA deals with,” he said. “We don’t get involved with what happens in the pool like that.” Carlisle said he did not see a conflict in Phelps’s arrangement with Omega. “I don’t see how the company decides the outcome of a race,” he added. The timing devices are operated and managed by Olympic officials at the Games, not by Omega, said Peter Roby, the athletic director at Northeastern in Boston and formerly the director of the university’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society. "Given that everyone participating in the swimming events was subject to the same timing technology, it seems to eliminate any impropriety,” Roby said. By standing on policy instead of openness, though, the I.O.C. and FINA seem to be trying to avoid having to defend themselves on every close decision at an Olympic event, said Kevin Wamsley, a historian at the International Center for Olympic Studies at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. "It creates a lot of controversy whether it’s necessary or not,” Wamsley said in a telephone interview. “Those of us who like to see transparency in all decision making would like to have all the photos released. It gets rid of all doubts and the conflict of interest sitting there like the elephant in the room with the corporate sponsor.” Despite reforms enacted after the bribery scandal connected to Salt Lake City’s bid to host the 2002 Winter Games, the Olympics remain awash in apparent conflicts of interest. James Easton, an I.O.C. member from the United States, runs a sporting goods manufacturing company that has provided equipment for such Olympic sports as softball, hockey, archery and cycling. Mark Schubert, director of the United States national swim team, has a contract with Speedo, whose suits have helped swimmers set numerous world records this year. And Phelps is on the payroll of Omega, which timed his way to eight gold medals, including a disputed one. "I think the stakes are high enough now that conflicts of interest are real,” said Jay Coakley, a sports sociologist at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the author of “Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies.” “They ought to be regulated in some way. I would just as soon not have the sponsor of a particular athlete providing me with the split-second result. That seems to be a no-brainer.” |
| Aug 23, 2008 21:55 | #13 |
| Omega finally releases Phelps photo sequence By ANDREW DAMPF, AP Sports Writer 8 hours, 17 minutes ago BEIJING (AP)—It really was that close between Michael Phelps and Milorad Cavic. Official timekeeper Omega released a digital photo sequence of last week’s riveting 100-meter butterfly finish at the Olympics—and it’s still not clear to the naked eye just who won. However, according to Omega timer Silvio Chianese, the results are clear. “In the third set of images, with Phelps on the left, it is clear he is really pushing hard, while Cavic, on the right, is just arriving,” Chianese told The Associated Press on Saturday. Last week’s victory gave Phelps his seventh gold medal of the games, tying him with Mark Spitz for most golds in a single Olympics. A day later, Phelps won his eighth gold as a member of the United States’ 400 medley relay squad. Phelps’ time of 50.58 seconds was confirmed after a review down to the 10-thousandth of a second; Cavic’s time was 50.59. Chianese explained that it requires 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) of pressure to activate the touchpad. “Any less and waves would set it off,” Chianese said. “You can’t just put your fingertips on the pad, you really have to push it. We explained all this directly after the race to (Cavic) and his coach.” The photos were taken by Omega cameras placed directly above the finish line, slightly angled to include two lanes in each photo. Chianese said the touchpad is the primary source to determine the race winner, while the photos can only be used as backup material. “We mainly use the photos for relays, to determine disqualifications if someone dives in before a teammate touches,” he said. “This is the only sport where athletes don’t cross the finish line. The athlete stops. "For us, it was clear five minutes after.” Serbia coach Kapor Mladen filed an appeal but accepted the results after reviewing the photos immediately after the race. FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu had been pressing Omega, one of Phelps’ sponsors, to release the images for several days. “This is very simple. Our sport is about which athlete stops the time by pushing the touchpad,” he said. “Omega can’t stop the time. “In our sport we don’t have photo finishes like in athletics. In our sport, it’s who touches first. Water is a different element.” Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/ |
| Aug 23, 2008 21:58 | #14 |
| From the website of Milorad Cavic: http://www.miloradcavic.com/ Success!!! Written by Milorad Cavic Saturday, 16 August 2008 I did it!!! I won an Olympic medal everybody! I’m sorry to brag, but I’m sure you all will forgive me just this one time! So, allow me to clear some things up: The Media’s Manipulation and Misinterpretations: It never ceases to amaze me that garbage that reporters will come up with in order to make a story. Seriously. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I’m very respectful of others. I’ll admit that I’ve got bad blood with one person in the world, but that’s really it. I would never do anything to trash my competitors with seriousness, or to belittle them. If you were there to hear my media interviews, you’d know how much respect I’ve got for Michael Phelps. For a lot of reasons though, its easy to see why many reporters would pick up on anything negative and use it to support their imaginations. Am I a bad guy? No, not even close. I’ve got no criminal record, never got in trouble in school for anything (ever), and never got into a fight. Hate me for having some disagreements about some foreign policies, or for posting up some fast times, but I’m anything but a punk. I’m cool with all of my competitors that have even met me for a second. I like to think I’m easy going and easy to talk to… don’t imagine reasons to hate on me. On winning a SILVER medal: I am completely happy, and still in complete disbelief that I was able to achieve this feat! I’m not joking… It’s a tough loss, but I’m on cloud nine. I congratulated Phelps and his coach Bob Bowman. I’m just glad the race was fun to watch for everyone. It was a pleasure for me, really. Filing a Protest: Yes, as you all saw, I almost won the Gold, and if you ask me, the clock does not lie. I had nothing to do with this filing, and neither did my coach Mike Bottom. This is just another attack on my coach who has done never wronged anyone in swimming, except coach foreign athletes (non-Americans) to Olympic medals. You all have to understand that any coach would have done this for their swimmer if there were any possibility of error, but I’m sorry to disappoint, it was my Olympic committee and swimming staff who did the filing. We’re not “sour grapes” and we’re not “pissed”… 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. So what now? People, this is the greatest moment of my life. I’ve finally achieved what I’ve worked so hard, and for so long to do. Let me enjoy this for a little while. I’m going back to Belgrade for a year after the Olympics. Its time to take a break and figure out the next thing to do! |
| Aug 25, 2008 22:24 | #15 |
| Well, it is natural that many people have suspected Omega manipulated the result because it was Phelps' sponsor. Omega should learn a lesson from this. Why did Omega finally compromise to release the digital photos? The public opinions forced it to do so. "Any less and waves would set it off,” Chianese said. “You can’t just put your fingertips on the pad, you really have to push it. We explained all this directly after the race to (Cavic) and his coach.” Very interesting! If Omega told Cavic this earlier, he would be the winner. Omega should tell every swimmer about this before the matches. |
| Aug 26, 2008 09:43 | #16 |
| Surely the real issue for the future is that such conflicts of interest should be banned. Critical suppliers such as Omega should not be permitted to sponsor competitors. Of such wishful thinking, such naiivity. We can't interfere with business over a matter of ethics. |
| Aug 26, 2008 14:08 | #17 |
| GUEST54109 | Agree it is naive to think that there are no conflicts of interest if a supplier sponsors a competitor. It is naive to think that there are no conflicts of interests if the host country has competitors in events with subjective scoring like gymnastics. |
| Aug 26, 2008 14:52 | #18 |
| GUEST54109 | How does Omega being the sponsor of Michael Phelps help him hit the wall first? Omega may be his sponsor but it is him who has to race and touch that wall first. Olympic swimmers train for years and they know all rules. It is impossible that Cavic does not know that he has to press the pad. |
| Aug 26, 2008 20:51 | #19 |
| GUEST5313 | GUEST54109, if Cavic knows the rule, why did Omega explain this to him? |
| Aug 27, 2008 11:47 | #20 |
| GUEST54109 | Can a moron possibly compete in high profile games such as the Olympics and not know the rules of his game? How can he possibly not know when all other competitors know? It’s the price he pays for not paying attention. |
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