You’re right. I kept which lanes were which and the Frenchman actually took the lead from Jones.
Still, a great race, a great team and special kudos to Lezak.
i did wonder if phelps would be able to keep his suit on. i feared a swimsuit malfuntion. thankfully, it barely held on. just ever so barely.
Lezak was a god. Why did they have to keep saying “the team kept Phelps in the running for the gold!”
That’s not the only reason why these guys have devoted their lives to swimming.
I thought I was the only sap getting all teary at this. Everytime they’ve shown it, I’ve gotten a little weepy (and not just because Phelps’ suit didn’t come off- damn, that boy has a nice bod!). It’s thrilling to see how many world records are getting broken!
Just to chime in…it was definitely the greatest race I’ve ever seen and I feel privileged that I watched it live. Something to remember…and I’m not that much of a swim or even Olympics fan. My wife and I were on the edge of our seats though especially after the final turn when we were behind by half a length and our guys slowly…slowly…overtook the leader. What a race!
Besides, beating the French is always a bonus, especially if they have shot their mouths off about it before hand. 
-XT
Phelps actually went over after the race and had to tap the French anchor on the head to get his attention, so he could congratulate them on a great race. I’d much rather they kept to classy, than going back to the strutting Gary Hall Jr. days.
I’m crossing my finger that there is at least one person at NBC who realizes the goldmine they’d have if they release a DVD of this relay and the opening ceremonies and other highlights. 'Cause then I could buy it.
If it had been any other country, I’d agree. Even with the bragging beforehand. But the French? Fuck them. I hope it gnaws in their guts so much that they all turn into alcoholic losers.
Nah…too easy. 
Having just seen Alain Bernard and Lezak swim in the same semi of the 100m I have to ask isn’t Bernard’s effort on the last lap of that race one of the greatest chokes in sports history?
And here goes Phelps again.
Ho hum another World Record!!!
There is A LOT of sports history and A LOT of choke jobs.
Lets not get carried away.
Not at all, the fact that Lezak did something amazing does in no way constitute a choke job on the part of the french and calling it that cheapens the accomplishment.
How is that even possible? Are they really more doped up than ever before or something?
No, it’s just a really fast pool.
Also, your times tend to improve in any race where the field is swimming faster than your usual pace. And swimming in a relay can improve your times as well. The mental game is big in swimming performance, and that race was almost a perfect set-up to a blowout.
I thought it was the super tech suits that mostly did it.
Except that Michael Phelps keeps breaking World records while not wearing one.
He’s right, though. The original question was about the slowest team in the field still besting the previous world record. I think it’s a combination of the pool, the suits, and the factors that Lightray mentioned.
Phelps is just plain fast.
What is the deal with the concept of a relay anchor? I guess the basic strategy is that the fastest person goes last. Why?
I would think the overall cumulative time for all of the relay legs would be the same no matter what order is used. Why would a relay team win or lose based upon the order of the athletes?
You want a good anchor largely because of the mental game. I mentioned above that swimmers tend to go faster in relays than they might in an individual event. The lead and anchor swimmers tend to get the biggest boost on that effect, it seems.
And your fastest swimmer tends to be your most experienced swimmer, as well. And that’s what you want in an anchor. At the end of any race is when everyone has to go balls-out to get to that finish line. You need someone who isn’t so inexperienced that he’ll go out too fast and have nothing at the end, or will slow himself down trying to see where he is in relation to the other swimmers, or – god forbid – get outtouched.
Most of all, that anchor swimmer is the one under the most pressure – at that point, the success or failure of all the others is on him or her. One little slip in confidence, and it’ll all be lost. Your fastest swimmer is going to be the most confident. They do occasionally juggle the order around, though – the 4 x 200m relay had Phelps as lead, not anchor. But you’ll notice that the newbie was not the anchor, either – they had the experienced Vanderkaay do that.