Tustin's Cavic shares Olympic tales with alma mater

TUSTIN - Tustin High cheered for Michael Cavic all over again Wednesday.

Only this time, the student body also got to talk to him, listen to him speak and even click a photo with the swimmer who nearly stopped Michael Phelps' historic gold-medal haul at the Beijing Olympics.

Tustin High became Cavic Country for part of the day as the three-time Olympian returned to a hero's welcome at his alma mater.

"It's great," said junior Cesar Altamirano, a swimmer and water polo player. "He could be someplace else but he's here."

The school honored Cavic, 24, with an assembly in the gym, complete with band, cheerleaders and a captive audience. A large screen showed Cavic's epic duel against Phelps in the finals of the men's 100-meter butterfly in August.

The students cheered Cavic during the race introductions and clapped after their star finished second by the slightest of margins.

Cavic then entered the gym to a rousing ovation.

"It's just an honor to be here," said Cavic, a U.S.-born Serbian who graduated from Tustin in 2002. "This is a sports machine."

Cavic expressed no hint of frustration over his silver-medal finish. The end of the race was reviewed, but Phelps' time was confirmed at 50.58 seconds - one one-hundredth of a second ahead of Cavic.

The victory gave Phelps his seventh gold medal, tying him with Mark Spitz for most in a single Olympics. The next day, Phelps earned his record eighth.

Cavic proudly displayed his silver medal to the students.

"I'm very comfortable with what happened, believe it or not," he said prior to the assembly. "People only just kind of see what I didn't get. … People don't see what I won.

"After everything I've been through with my injuries in high school, my back injury, quitting 2½ years ago, and being where I am right now, it's a complete success."

Junior Katie Sundberg said Cavic's attitude toward the race caught her off guard.

"I was pretty surprised," said Sundberg, a swimmer and water polo player. "I would be pretty upset myself."

Cavic also met with members of Tustin's swim and water polo teams. He shared the reoccurring dreams he had as a 16-year-old about swimming and his seven-hour-a-day training regiment leading up to Beijing.

Cavic also shared his current goal: beating Phelps this summer at the World Championships in Rome. His current training base is in Italy."For me, I sensed blood in the water (in Beijing)," said Cavic. "I definitely want to beat him (Phelps). I think I can beat him. … I'll be ready for Round 2 in July."

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com