SYDNEY: Mistakes by his rivals helped American Michael Phelps win eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, world record-breaking Australian swimmer Eamon Sullivan said yesterday.
Sullivan, who broke the world 100 meters freestyle record in the semifinals at Beijing but finished second in the final, said Phelps was able to break Mark Spitz’s record of seven golds at one Olympics through good fortune and some small errors by rivals. “There was an element of luck,” Sullivan said. Phelps came from behind to beat Serbia’s Milorad Cavic by 0.01 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly final and needed an outstanding swim by anchorman Jason Lezak to win gold in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay. “One hundred flys...always comes down to finishes and some would say Cavic’s finish was — it was at that point 50-50 whether you take another stroke or you take a glide,” Sullivan said. “You see Phelpsy took another stroke, he (Cavic) took a glide and obviously (Phelps’) arms are coming over at a faster pace. “He (Phelps) made the right decision and the other guy made the wrong decision.
“But if he (Phelps) had made the other decision he might not have been as lucky and he might have come away with a second and he would have come away with equaling (Spitz’s record). “I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it, I’m saying he did everything he could do to win those golds and he came away with it, but at the same time there were little mistakes by other people that allowed him to do that.” Sullivan expects to clash with Phelps in the 50m and 100m freestyle at next year’s world championships and warned the American of stiffer competition ahead.
“I guess what else is left to do for him except come down and win races he hasn’t won before?” Sullivan said. “When you are the greatest swimmer ever I guess you can afford to do that. “He’s accomplished so much already, he wants to accomplish more.
“He better bring his A-game because us sprint boys are a different league and we are not going go easy on him.”
