Amazing article about the Beijing 400 Free Relay Final by USAswimming.org Ten years ago today, the men’s 4x100 freestyle relay at the Beijing Olympics created such a cultural impact that its result transcended sports conversations and became a hot topic for weeks.
With national pride and a historic benchmark on the line, the race between France and the United States was predestined to be one that would be talked about for a long time. But no one expected the three-minute race to be one of the most memorable moments of the modern Olympics, or catapult its participants into worldwide celebrity.
We’re celebrating the 10th anniversary of the legendary performance of Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak with a look back on that day and what allowed the Americans to win against all odds. Check out this AMAZING Video....
First, a little bit of history. The Americans hadn’t won the event since the 1996 Olympics, and were looking to end their losing streak.
The French wanted to be the next country to stop the Americans in their tracks, and star Alain Bernard spoke about wanting to “smash” the Americans in the pool. If that happened, Phelps’ quest for eight golds in a single Olympics would be over on the meet’s second day. Source USAswimming Follow us on - Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - Store
