Lezak gives Phelps amazing assist

Watching USA swimmer Jason Lezak reminds me of that football hero who threw a 60-yard pass to win a game and comes back a year or two later to try to duplicate the feat, if only for the media. He can’t throw it that far now. In fact, he couldn’t throw it that far then.

Consider the past accomplishments of Jason Lezak. He did not win any individual medals in 2004. He finished 8th in the 100 meter freestyle. Lezak’s primary resume builder for the job as anchor of the U. S. 4x100 relay - the race that cast the greatest doubt on Michael Phelps’ bid for eight gold medals-  was the fact that he had taken part in an unsuccessful 4x100 Olympic relay in 2004, a rare loss in an event the U. S. had owned until 1996.

Lezak used the frustration of that loss in 2004 as freestyle fuel. Although he entered the final turn trailing France’s Alain Bernard, he kept churning. And somewhere in the final 50 meters, he says he felt a surge of energy he had never experienced before. Lezak not only caught the world champion in the final few meters - somehow his hand found the wall first. The triumphant but amazed expression on Phelps’ face told the whole story. Lezak had just achieved something that could not be explained by mere performance in the pool. His was a victory of determination, guile and something unknown.

Folks in swimming say Lezak’s closing leg in the 4x100 relay is the most exciting finish in American swimming, eclipsing Bruce Hayes’ come-from-behind conquest of “The Albatross” Michael Gross in 1984. Without it, Phelps, as incredibly as he has performed, would have no chance to surpass Mark Spitz’s record seven gold medals in a single Olympiad. If Phelps goes on to tie or break Spitz’s record - and he should - somewhere the glossary of his remarkable 2008 Olympics should include a footnote detailing the improbable assist he received from Lezak.