Milorad Čavic is a swimmer who has competed for Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia. He competed at the 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
After faring poorly in his races at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, Cavic returned to his third Games in 2008 as a top medal favorite in the sprint butterfly. There, he cleared a 51-second barrier in the last of nine heats to lead the field of 66 swimmers, breaking a new Olympic record (50.76). He continued to record the fastest time from the semifinals to take the middle lane in a duel against Michael Phelps for the top eight final. He pulled off a gigantic lead at the initial length of the race until Phelps came from behind for a sprint challenge against him toward the final stretch. As the two approached the finish, Cavic tried to coast the wall on one last stroke, while Phelps glided on an extra half-stroke that caused both of them to hit the wall first at almost the same time. After the race, the Serbian team filed a protest to claim that Cavic touched the wall first, but he did not use enough force to trigger the time sensor. Television replays indicated that Phelps' final stroke had been timed to perfection and his victory was upheld, leaving Cavic with a silver by a hundredth of a second (0.01). Cavic also posted the sixth fastest time from the heats of the 100 metres freestyle with a Serbian record (48.15), but he scratched from the meet for undisclosed reasons.
Four years later in London, Cavic attempted to avenge the sprint freestyle title that he lost to Phelps in Beijing by a fingertip, but he dropped off the podium to fourth by 0.37 of a second in 51.81. He also placed thirteenth as a member of the Serbian men's 4x100 metres freestyle relay team.
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Men's 100m backstroke | 42nd |
| Men's 100m butterfly | DQ | |
| 2004 | Men's 50m freestyle | 31st |
| Men's 100m freestyle | 19th | |
| Men's 100m butterfly | 16th | |
| 2008 | Men's 100m freestyle | 17th |
| Men's 100m butterfly | 
| |
| 2012 | Men's 100m butterfly | 4th |
| Men's 4x100m freestyle relay | 13th |
2000[]
| Discipline | Round | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 100 metres backstroke | Heats | 58.25 |
| Semifinal | Did not advance | |
| Final | ||
| 100 metres butterfly | Heats | DQ |
| Semifinal | Did not advance | |
| Final |
2004[]
| Discipline | Round | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 50 metres freestyle | Heats | 23.05 |
| Semifinal | Did not advance | |
| Final | ||
| 100 metres freestyle | Heats | 49.74 |
| Semifinal | Did not advance | |
| Final | ||
| 100 metres butterfly | Heats | 52.44 |
| Semifinal | 53.12 | |
| Final | Did not advance |
2008[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres freestyle | Heats | 48.15 | NR |
| Semifinal | Withdrew | ||
| Final | Did not advance | ||
| 100 metres butterfly | Heats | 50.76 | OR |
| Semifinal | 50.92 | ||
| Final | 50.59 | AR | |
2012[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres butterfly | Heats | 51.90 | |
| Semifinal | 51.66 | ||
| Final | 51.81 | ||
| 4x100 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 3:18.79 (48.61 split) |
NR |
| Final | Did not advance | ||