Milorad Cavic knew Michael Phelps was right there.

　　“There was no need to look over,” he said. “I saw his shadow in the corner of my goggles.”

　　Cavic introduced himself to the world Saturday as Phelps’ closest challenger at the Beijing Olympics, almost ending the American’s attempt to break Mark Spitz’s record haul of seven gold medals at one Olympics.

　　The American-born Serb lost by a mere hundredth of a second to Phelps in the 100-meter butterfly, a finish so close that the Serbians filed a protest and swimming’s governing body had to review the tape down to the 10-thousandth of a second.

　　Phelps now has seven gold medals in seven races; this was the only time in these Olympics that he won an event without breaking the world record.

　　“I didn’t beat Phelps, but perhaps I’m the only guy at this competition who had a shot at beating Phelps one-on-one,” Cavic said. “People will be asking me about this for years.”

　　Phelps’ time was 50.58 seconds while Cavic finished oh-so-close behind, in 50.59 seconds. The medal is Serbia’s first since Montenegro separated from the Balkan nation in 2006.

　　As they approached the finish, with Phelps’ head in line with Cavic’s shoulder, the Serb took his final big stroke and glided underwater toward the gold. Phelps, his timing a bit off but fully aware of where he was, did another mini-stroke, propelling his upper body out of the water, swooping his arms in a huge circular motion and slamming the wall with his hands on the follow-through.

　　Phelps was in seventh position at the 50-meter mark.

　　“I knew that I was leading the race after the first 50―I usually do―and I knew that Michael is fast in the second 50 and he would be chasing me,” Cavic said.

　　“I think if we got to do this again, I would win it.”

　　The Serbian delegation filed a protest, but conceded that Phelps won after reviewing the tape provided by FINA, swimming’s governing body.

　　“We filed the protest but it is already over,” said Branislav Jevtic, Serbia’s chief of mission for all sports. “They examined the video and I think the case is closed. The video says (Phelps) finished first.

　　“In my opinion, it’s not right, but we must follow the rules. Everybody saw what happened.”

　　Cavic said he wouldn’t have filed the protest if it were up to him.

　　“There is a gold medal at stake, but I came into this expecting bronze and I did one better and got silver and almost the gold,” he said. “We all know technology today is imperfect. It’s possible” there was an error.

　　“But I’m taking what I got and I’m very happy,” he said.

　　Back home in Serbia, he was already a national hero.

　　Cavic endeared himself to Serbs in March when he was suspended from the European Championships for wearing a T-shirt proclaiming “Kosovo is Serbia”―a reference to Kosovo’s controversial declaration of independence from Serbia on Feb. 17.

　　After returning home from that meet, Cavic was greeted by hundreds of fans and met with Serbian nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who called the swimmer a “hero.”

　　Now Serbs have a new reason to cheer him.

　　“(Losing) by a hundredth of a second is difficult. It’s the hardest loss, but it’s a complete miracle I’m here considering I was going to retire a year and a half ago,” the 24-year-old Cavic said. “From my heart, I’m enjoying it and I wish I had a gold medal, but I’m happy with a silver.”

　　At the Euros, Cavic made his political statement on the podium after winning the 50 fly, displaying a red T-shirt with text in Cyrillic. The European swimming federation ruled the message a political slogan and ejected him― knocking him out of his remaining two events.

　　“I had to help my people knowing it could be a big risk for my swimming career. I’m proud of what I did,” Cavic said then. “I had to do it to help the (Kosovo Serbs), knowing how hard it is for them there.”

　　Cavic became an inspiration among Serbs who object to losing Kosovo, an ethnic Albanian-dominated territory which many Serbs consider the historic cradle of their nation.

　　Kosovo’s independence has been recognized by the United States and most European Union nations.

　　Cavic, who was born in Anaheim, Calif., to Serb parents and trains in Florida, said he was just trying to send “positive energy” to the country he represents.