SMOKE IN THE WATER / Fiery final lap gives U.S. gold

by Dave Keating | August 11, 2008 at 01:14 am

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Michael Phelps and the American team are off to a promising start in his quest for a record 8 olympic gold medals. At the same time, Jason Lezak this morning had an amazing performance.

In one of the greatest anchor legs in swimming history, Lezak reeled in boastful Frenchman Alain Bernard in the final 50 meters to bring the United States home to a breathtaking victory in world-record time in the 4x100 freestyle relay to provide a riveting finish to this morning's program.
"It was a crazy thing to watch," said Garrett Weber-Gale, who swam the second leg for the U.S. "If there was anybody in the world who could do this, Jason was the one to pull it off. It was a perfect touch at the finish."

At the start of the final leg, there appeared to be no way the 32-year-old Lezak could catch Bernard, the world-record holder in the 100 free. Bernard had half a body length on Lezak when he dived into the pool for France and still led by that margin with 50 to go.