I had a much better quality video of the race uploaded, but NBC blocked it on copyright grounds. :(
It does get better at the end of the race when it zooms in. The USA is in lane four.
Ugh!!, they blocked this one too! Oh well, it was exciting; see my comments below for a description.
Jason Lezak came from a body length behind on the anchor leg to secure the win. What's incredible is the huge surge he had in the last 10 meters to do it, literally winning by a finger tip to become the fastest person ever to swim 100 meters in a time of 46.06; that's a time of 40.20 in short course yards!!!
At the age of 33 and in his third Olympics, Lezak credited his work on improving his breathing technique (lessening the drop of his head, and keeping his cheek near his shoulder (see our technique videos on our website) ) for allowing him to swim faster than he ever did before. Constant work on improving your technique and honing the basics of competitive swimming is what will ultimately lead to better results, even at elite levels. As a result, no swimmer should ever say, "Ugh, I've done this drill since I was eight. When will we do something that will make me better?" As Shakespeare said, "The fault lies not in our stars, but in ourselves." Ultimately, you are the master of your own destiny!!
By the way, Lezak also demonstrated that the swimmer who wins the race is the one slows down the least (his second lap was not as fast as his first), stretch, kick, and don't breathe into the wall, and never let up, never lose hope. By the way, look at the green line, it's the world record line. I feel sorry for Sweden, they broke the world record and got fifth! :)
At the age of 33 and in his third Olympics, Lezak credited his work on improving his breathing technique (lessening the drop of his head, and keeping his cheek near his shoulder (see our technique videos on our website) ) for allowing him to swim faster than he ever did before. Constant work on improving your technique and honing the basics of competitive swimming is what will ultimately lead to better results, even at elite levels. As a result, no swimmer should ever say, "Ugh, I've done this drill since I was eight. When will we do something that will make me better?" As Shakespeare said, "The fault lies not in our stars, but in ourselves." Ultimately, you are the master of your own destiny!!
By the way, Lezak also demonstrated that the swimmer who wins the race is the one slows down the least (his second lap was not as fast as his first), stretch, kick, and don't breathe into the wall, and never let up, never lose hope. By the way, look at the green line, it's the world record line. I feel sorry for Sweden, they broke the world record and got fifth! :)
