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Jason Lezak, left, trails France's Alain Bernard in the final leg. Lezak made up time in a final burst and touched the wall 0.08 seconds faster than Bernard. (Photograph by Bob Bukaty/AP)
At the National Aquatics Center in Beijing, the U.S. men's swimming team for the 4x100m freestyle relay provided a stirring, come-from-behind win over France in the final moments of the race. While Michael Phelps, who won the 400m individual medley already, is still on track to win eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the real story was the relay's anchor leg swimmer, Jason Lezak.
Lezak was trailing French 100m freestyle world record holder (until the first leg of the race, when Australia's Eamonn Sullivan swam a new world record-setting 47.24) Alain Bernard, but managed to swim a 46.06 and out-touched Bernard by 0.08 at the end. Bernard, who earlier had said of the race, "The Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for," was described by the NY Times as having "broke[n] down in tears in the pool and later in the mixed zone." The U.S. team set a new world recording, with a time of 3:08.24, and Lezak set a world record for a 100m relay split.
Phelps said of Lezak, "His last 50 meters were absolutely incredible. He had a perfect finish." You can watch the race (maybe, if your browser is willing/compatible) on NBC's Olympics website, but the NY Times has an interactive explaining the progress of the race (and calling Lezak the "Mariano Rivera" of swimming). USA Today has a Phelps tracker, to track his medal progress, and here's an overall look at medal standings.
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Wooo! USA!
my friends and i had JUST turned the channel to the swimming as this race started. so glad we caught it, pretty incredible.
That was an awesome race.
Yes this was exciting as hell. I do find it weird though that everyone's hangups are on milliseconds. If one dude is a second slower than everyone else he's a has been methuselah but if he's a millisecond faster than he's the fastest swimmer alive. It's also amazing that Janet Evans record still stands even though she had the body of a 13 year old girl who works at mcdonalds and that was before doping and lazer suits. Janet Evans is incredible.
That was an amazing race and I'm so glad I saw it live. I probably woke up my neighbors yelling.
It's amazing how, even as down on my country as I am right now, the second I saw him gaining I was all "USA! USA! France, you SUUUUUCCCKKK!!!"
I just love the way the Olympics bring all the world together in friendship and camaraderie.
here's me being cheesy:
these colors don't run, they swim... i know, i'm a nerd.
The French were fried! Go eat some cheese and surrender to your neighbors. Viva la U S of A.
Good thing this Olympic thing only happens once every four years. Can you imagine the amount of wars that would be going on if it was an annual event? I really don't think having someone do something 24 thousands of a second faster or longer than the next person is a real good gauge of a nation's strengths and weaknesses.
I watched it. When the anchor leg just kidked off, the commentator said something about that there was no way the US can gain the lead at this point, they were so far behind the lead. I got really pissed, and to avoid a heart attack, got up to leave the room. and it is then that I noticed that Lezak was swinging his arms FREAKISHLY ABNORMALLY FAST at an incredible rate, like a motor boat. He probably gained 1.5-2 meters on Bernard in the last 25 meters of the relay. And Lezak is 32, the oldest male on the team!
This is the most incredible thing so far at these games!
Watch... Lezack is going to be the face of a steroids scandal.