US relay 4X100 (spoiler)
 

Coolest moment of the Olympics so far. The French captain had said "the Americans? We're going to smash them, that's what we came here to do." Jason Lezak coming from behind in the last 50 against the guy who gave the above quote was absolutely unbelievable.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer...ory?id=3528865

We just watched it at my house....about 11:30PST......my mom is hanging out at our place for a few days. She, my wife and I were watching. Our yelling woke the kids up.

That finish was absolutely incredible. He made up about a half body length in less than 40 feet.

Go Phelps!

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

This is this Olympics Kerri Strug moment. Lezak literally caught the Frenchman in the last meter, and maybe even on the last stroke. This after thinking, during the last 50 meters that there was "no way" he could make up that ground. And after our partisan announcer kept saying he just didn't see any way the French could be beaten in this race. All Lezak did, at 32, was turn in the fastest 100 meter time in a relay event ever.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer...pat&id=3529125

Also, the dejection of the French after having boasted that they would smash the US team was priceless, particularly since the guy who did the talking is the one who got caught. Anyone who is waking up this morning to find out about this has missed one of the true great moments in Olympic history for the US. Time will tell how it compares to other great moments, but it certainly deserves mention among them.

My wife and I watched that last leg, between the TV replays and our own Tivo-ed replays, over ten times. Brought goosebumps every time.

Not only did Lezak make up a body length in 50 meters, he did it against the world-record holder, the guy who will likely win the gold in the 100, and yeah, the guy who did all the talking.

I particularly liked that the announcers kept pronouncing his name like "Elaine". Normally, that would bug me, but I took a little guilty pleasure in it.

So you guys out west didn't get to see that live? 11pm it was live here in the mitten

Rowdy Gaines is a relatively recent LDS convert.

My wifes sister and her husband were at our house as we watched it, that was simply unbelievable. We all started cheering, my brother in law yelled "F*** the Frenchies." It was a great moment.

NBC said it was live here. I think I saw it about 10:30 MDT.

Heres the NBC link to the video, in case anyone missed it (you have to download microsoft silverlight, but it only takes a minute or so).

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/sha...rcereload=true

And yes, I went to sleep about 11:15 last night, only to wake up and see that I had missed one of the greatest moments in olympic istory.

I can't remember the last time I cheered out loud for and Olympic event like I did last night. Incredible finish for the Americans.

Kids were bed, wife asleep with her head on my lap. My screaming woke up my wife; absolutely incredible. So much fun to watch. Phelps's cheering Lezak on, looking up quickly to the board to see if he'd done it, and then going nuts is a priceless piece of footage.

Same, I felt like I was at the stadium or something. Great drama and that is what makes the Olympics so great. No tomorrow, no next season. If you screw up, you have to train 4 more years to try again.

I watched that last night too, and I was blown away. My roommate and I were both shouting at the TV. I still can't believe how fast that guy was swimming at the end. We sat there and watched the replay over and over again, and I finally decided that at the end he just willed himself into the wall. I can't figure out how he got there before the french, but I love that he did.

After watching all this swimming, it has come to my attention that my body does not look like theirs.

Did you want short little legs with a freakishly long torso, and a set of monkey arms?

Okay Levin, you do have some redeeming value.

I woke the kids up screaming at the TV.

All the build up and Gaines' assessment that we had no chance makes it seem like it was all made up for dramatic effect. Did I hear music in the background as Lezak won it in the last 10 meters? What an amazing moment, kind of like Beck to Harline.

Yeah, uh, that's not really how my wife describes their bodies...

All I know is when those swimmers get ready, they all do that same move.......wave their arms in circles to loosen up....and you see these massive lats, traps, rear delts, etc.

I need to work on my back muscles because I am tired of physically overpowering people using roundhouse kicks.

So, you like to keep opponents at bay by using the roundhouse? Not a bad strategy if you've got the longer legs. I have shorter legs and a longer torso, so I'm more of a scrapper.

That's because she's never seen one of them in real life. It's really pretty weird looking.

Oh please. They look better than 99.9% of the world's population and any one of us here would be happy to have a body like theirs. Except for UteStar who would tell us that he already does.

What's so unusual about their bodies?

WTF is so unusual about their bodies?

Fairly normal except many of the better ones are taller than six feet.

You read BDBs post. They have long arms, long torsos and short legs.

Swimmers do not. I protest.

Michael Phelps on the other hand might.

Arch never misses an opportunity to let us know he's ripped.

You bit. It was a clear cry for help and attention. You obviously have more compassion for the needy than I.

He even cried out twice, which was extra pathetic.

I simply disagree that swimmers are disproportionately built. Perhaps some of the greats are, but most middle individuals because they come from middle class backgrounds.

Every kids who can't play football or basketball swims. That's why I swam.

Next time you may want to respond appropriately to the person whose contention is that swimmers are disproportionately built.

Don't be so desperate for praise. Everyone here understands that you are in great shape. That is a good thing.

Only bdb says they are disproportionate. Most of us are saying that they look exceptionally fit.

Well we weren't discussing your average run of the mill high school swimmer, we're talking about the olympic swimmers, and they have an odd build. They even said on tv last night that Greve's arm span is significantly longer than his height, and he's also got a pair of shorty legs. They all do, that's why they're the best.