Greatest Relay Ever?

Michael Phelps and the U.S. 4x100 meter freestyle relay team survived a tough and cocky French side, winning the gold by .08 seconds to complete an improbable comeback in the final meters by anchor James Lezak. Swimming analysts are already calling the race one of the greatest relays ever, and can you blame them?

In case you missed it, here's a look at the finish where Lezak completes a record breaking split of 46.06 seconds to edge previous record holder Alain Bernard, who responded to a question about the intriguing battle by saying, "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for." Something did get smashed, and that was Bernard's old time of 47.50.


The United States' winning time of 3 minutes 8.24 was a full four seconds lower than the previous world record, set the previous night by the U.S.'s "B" team. It was clear the standard was raised for this year's relay, with the red, white, and blue on a 12-year drought since their last victory in this event, but the strides made by every country in this year's Games was phenomenal. Sweden finished fifth and nowhere near medal contention, but their time of 3 minutes 11.92 seconds was still the fifth best time ever seen! Too bad this race wasn't broadcast live on the west coast because many read or heard about the result before they ever had the chance to see it.