DAN HICKS: Always exciting at the Olympics, and this should be a good one. The finals of the men's 4x100 freestyle relay. The United States set the world record in the prelims with, uh, guys that weren't on the first team. Now they've got the A-Team out there led by Michael Phelps, who is going for gold medal number two at these games. The Americans have to win gold in here if Phelps is to keep his hopes alive of surpa**ing Mark Spitz in the greatest Olympics...ever. When Spitz won that seven gold medals. And there is the French team there. They are the favorites and they have been doing some talking. Alain Bernard, their world-record holder in the 100 free, earlier told a newspaper "what about the Americans? We're going to smash them! That's what we came here for." That article has been looked at by the Americans for extra inspiration, Rowdy, but it's gonna take a lot, realistically, for the United States to outtouch France.
ROWDY GAINES: How many times have I broken this down, Dan, over the last two weeks. Every time I do it it comes out France. And, you know, the Americans are certainly capable of doing it, but each one of them---just sort of like the American women we saw last night---they each have to have the perfect race to be able to beat the French.
DAN: The defending gold medalists are the South Africans in lane seven. They've got the same lineup that took gold in Athens four years ago but their swimmers have not been turning the times in that would make them a significant factor to win gold here. Australia has been tough through the years, but when you break down the times, it really comes down to the United States in lane four and France above them in lane five. So Phelps just more than an hour away from swimming the semis of the 200 free back in the pool here in the relay and when Phelps is in the pool, everybody's here.
ROWDY: Well, according to my watch---
DAN: Including the president.
ROWDY: And according to my watch---excuse me, according to my watch an hour and nine minutes ago...not a lot of time to step up and do it again. And he leads it off!
DAN: Phelps going first. Amaury Leveaux of France leads it off---second fastest ever in the 50 metre free. The reason the French have come onto the scene here is that they got three sprinters who have come on in the last year or so...a little bit out of nowhere.
ROWDY: They have come out of nowhere! I mean, they were nowhere on the radar screen at all---look at Eamon Sullivan of Australia, though: wow! He's out! Oh my goodness, 22.48! And now--
DAN: He's the world record holder in the 50 free, we expected Sullivan from Australia to lead it out, but don't expect him to have the firepower to stay up.
ROWDY: No, Phelps will close on him, he's just gotta stay out of that wash...that Sullivan has now created LOOK AT THE WORLD RECORD LINE!
DAN: Way ahead of it is a number of swimmers! Australia had the lead thanks to Sullivan. Into the pool for the United States goes Garrett Weber-Gale in his first Olympic swim...
ROWDY: (off camera: "world record?") World record there for Australia's Eamon Sullivan to lead things off but look at this world record line...you know, I think the winning relay---first of all, it's going to take a world record to win...they could break the world record by three or four seconds, that's how good...all these teams are...
DAN: Garrett Weber-Gale has the lead for the United States...what is it going to take down the stretch of this race for the Americans to have a chance in the end with France?
ROWDY: The problem is Bousquet from France was 46.6 in the prelims, and then you've got Bernard, the world---former world record holder, now, they gotta get way ahead...Cullen Jones, probably the slowest leg of the four, he earned that spot to be on the relay in the prelims.
DAN: US has the slight lead in the third leg of this four man event. Freddie Bousquet---
ROWDY: 47.02...
DAN: has taken the lead though, for France. Fastest relay split in history in the prelims for Bousquet---he swam at Auburn---and then you've got Cullen Jones, who swam on the prelim relay and earned his spot in this final, but France has taken the lead up there in lane 5 over the United States. Alain Bernard awaits as the anchor guy and Jason Lezak...is gonna have to make up some ground on Alain Bernard, who stands six feet five and can absolutely fly.
ROWDY: I just don't think they can do it, Dan. I mean, Jason Lezak has been there how many times in his career has he anchored this free relay and medley relay, but...I-I just don't think they can do it. He's trying to ride that wave as much as possible...
DAN: Bernard is pulling away from him. Lezak,--
ROWDY: Look at the world record line.
DAN: a three-time Olympian---the world record is absolutely going to be shattered here. The United States trying to hang on for silver, Australia is in bronze territory RIGHT NOW BUT LEZAK IS CLOSING A LITTLE BIT ON BERNARD. Can the veteran chase him down and pull off a shocker here?
ROWDY: Well there's no doubt he's tightening up!
DAN: BERNARD IS LOSING SOME GROUND! HERE COMES LEZAK! UNBELIEVABLE AT THE END! HE'S DONE IT! THE US HAS DONE IT!
ROWDY: He did it! He did it, he did it!
DAN: On a world record, he did it! Phelps' hopes alive! Hah-hah!
46.06 split for Lezak! What a clutch, fast swim when they needed it! Who's talking now?!
Stunned!
ROWDY: I think they need to use another word other than "smash!" Wow, that might be the most incredible relay split I've ever seen in my entire life. 46 flat! Not only was that the fastest in history, it BLEW AWAY the fastest in history!
DAN: French are still in shock...we're gonna play the finish here in real speed here to give you an idea of how incredible this swim was for Lezak. Look beat, and as you pointed out, Bernard started to tighten up, Lezak jumped through the door of opportunity and outtouched him.
ROWDY: That is the way to finish. We gotta watch that again. Please watch that again! You gotta watch this finish from above. Watch how he gets into this wall! All of a sudden, a HUGE lunge...and *laughs* I just can't believe it. I just cannot believe Jason Lezak just did that. 46 flat! Look at that! And he actually lifts his head up a little bit...*laughs* I mean...unbelieva---from above now, look at Bernard, he---I saw it at about 75 and I thought "this is not possible! It's just not possible that he could be tightening up so bad!"
DAN: And no one rooting harder than Michael Phelps, who keeps alive his hopes of eight gold medals which has never been done at a single Games.
ROWDY: Ha ha ha ha ha...
DAN: He can't believe it!
*both laugh*
DAN: In the relays, you have to show heart. It's all about teamwork, so much talked about on Phelps' individual quest in these games but that was one of the most unbelievable team efforts we've seen in relay Olympic history and on the other end of things, you've got Bernard, who did the talking and he's not saying much right now. Team captain Jason Lezak, three-time Olympian, American record holder in the 100 free, just raced the biggest Olympic race of his career, no doubt.
ROWDY: And Michael Phelps broke the American record leading off that relay! Superman does it again!
DAN: Garrett Weber-Gale a part of it!
ROWDY: *laughs*
DAN: Welcome to the Olympics, Garrett! His first Olympic swim...*laughs*...he's pumped up! So the results, the heavily favored French bow to the Americans, they smashed the world record...3:08.24, eight one-hundreths of a second was the difference as Jason Lezak roared down the stretch to give the US the gold.