In the realm of racing, I've been to the Kentucky Derby, the Indianapolis 500, and the Oxford-Cambridge crew race on the River Thames. I've seen breathtaking finishes, great comebacks and epic collapses. I even joined the seventh-grade track team for one day. Now, thanks to Sunday night, I can add to that list the fact that I've watched what I'm willing to deem one of the best, if not the best, race in United States Olympic history.
The buildup could not have been scripted better. Michael Phelps, the world's greatest swimmer, entered Sunday having won one gold medal in 2008, and with his eyes set on eight more, seeking to break Mark Spitz's single Olympic gold medal count record of seven.
The next event for Phelps, considered his toughest challenge going into the Olympics, was the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. Standing in his way was the acknowledged favorite French relay team and, in the opinion of several pundits, the performance of his other teammates. (Viewers were constantly reminded Phelps could only swim 25 percent of the race). To top it all off, the French were trash-talking. Alain Bernard, the world-record holder for the 100-meter freestyle said before the heat, "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for."
During the heat, Phelps was first in the water for Team USA and gained an early lead over France, leaving his team second overall in the first 100 meters. In the process, he broke the American record in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 47.51 seconds. Garrett Weber-Gale plunged in next for the United States, but the French team started to catch up. By the time Cullen Jones hit the water for America's third leg, the French team was pulling away, leaving American anchor Jason Lezak with some ground to make up. To catch up, he would have to beat Bernard in the last 100 meters. Beat the trash-talking, record-holding Frenchman.
I was watching the race with about ten students, and for the first 75 meters of the final leg, when Lezak failed to regain any ground, everyone was quiet. A few moans could be heard here and there. I might have even heard a dismayed "F*ck France." I know I was thinking it. The French had won, and we all knew it.
Just when one country started to give up hope and the other started to celebrate, Lezak started to gain ground.
Drafting off Bernard by hugging the right lane line, Lezak inched closer. The people in the room back at Dartmouth grew louder and louder. In the final 25 yards, Lezak gained half a body length on the Frenchman, which is, essentially, like gaining a full lap in the final two of a NASCAR race. Everybody was yelling with excitement. And as both swimmers reached their outstretched arms to the finish, the final result was still in question. Two nations held their collective breaths.
When everyone finally exhaled, it was revealed that the Americans had beaten the French by eight one-hundredths of a second with a world-record-shattering time of 3:08.24, almost four seconds better than the previous record. All thanks to Lezak, who had swam the fastest 100-meter split in history.
As the American swimmers rejoiced (the image of Phelps screaming on top of the block will likely be the lasting image of this Olympics for the United States), the American people as a whole had reason to celebrate once more. I still haven't come down from the emotional high. The Olympics have always been about so much more than sports, and on Sunday night, four swimmers raised the spirits of an entire nation -- not unlike the United States hockey team in the Winter Games of 1980 in Lake Placid.
This race had it all: a buildup, a favorite, an underdog, an unbelievable comeback and a devastating collapse. All on the biggest of stages. All with national honor and eternal glory on the line.
I still feel that the American hockey victory over the Soviet Union in 1980 is the greatest American Olympic feat ever, but it's fairly safe to say the American 4x100-meter freestyle relay team put in one of the most memorable races in United States Olympic history. I'm so ecstatic writing this column that I'm going to go even further and call this one of the best races in all of American sports history. I'm sure there will be horse-racing fans or NASCAR fans that disagree, but I don't really care. This race was incredible. And I am perfectly confident in calling it the best.
My closing words to France: don't talk the talk if you can't swim the walk.
To America: Despite a faltering economy and ongoing war, we can still kick ass in the swimming pool and the Summer Olympics in general.
To Dartmouth: Go out and support the men's and women's swimming and diving teams during Winter term There are some great races to be seen in the Karl Michael Pool, too.
