A Handy Distance Between Gold and Silver
The French swimmers had promised to "smash" the Americans in the 4 × 100-m freestyle relay, but the U.S. men took the gold with a last-millisecond comeback by anchor Jason Lezak. The team--Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Lezak--smashed the world record by nearly 4 seconds. How it unfolded:
| Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | |
| U.S. | 47.51 | 1:34.53 | 2:22.18 | 3:08.24 |
| France | 47.91 | 1:34.96 | 2:21.59 | 3:08.32 |
0.08 sec. At Lezak's speed, that equals 6.8 in. (17.3cm)
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