I was completely content with not posting anything today, but Jason Lezak's anchor leg just changed all of that. First off, he had one of the best relay starts I have ever seen. He also seemed to keep things under control, not over swimming the first 50. Jason knew he had 100 meters to catch Bernard and he used every one of them to do it.
Its a shame Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines decided to focus on the relay win keeping Michael Phelps' quest for eight Gold Medals alive. Yeah, I know that is the story of the Games and the primary reason they are swimming the Finals in the AM in Beijing. But Mark Schubert, the United States National Team Head Coach and Director, has made it a priority to put ALL of the US relays on top. The United States has not won this particular relay since the 1996 Atlanta Games and getting it back was a huge priority this time around. OK...Dan Hicks just mentioned the fact that the US really wanted this relay back...somewhat redeeming himself.
So was this the greatest relay race in Olympic History? I think we need to wait a little while to make that determination. But I think its safe to say its in the top three along with the US victory in the 2004 Men's 800 Meter Free Relay and the 1984 Men's 800 Freestyle Relay. The latter was an amazing race as Bruce Hayes caught World Record Holder Michael Gross from behind to give the USA the Gold Medal.
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