Great moments in Olympics sports

Last night, Cindy, Kate and I stayed up until the shank of the evening watching swimming from the Olympic pool in Beijing. After Cindy had gone off to bed and a cuddle with the dog, Kate and I realized that the final in the one hundred meter freestyle relay was going off and Cindy would want to watch it.

So I went into the bedroom and rousted her from bed and let her know that the important race was about to be swam. So we gathered again in front of the television and watched as the most amazing swimming race I have ever seen unfolded before our eyes.

During the day, the anchor of the race favorite, the French team, stated that they were going to mop up on the American team. The American team was not even the favorite. And when the race began, Michael Phelps started, and we were not in the lead.

As the race progressed, three or four of the relay teams were all ahead of the world record for the race. The television showed the pace for the world record (thank God for computer graphics) and the French, the Americans and the Australians were all ahead of the pace. Nevertheless, the French team took a commanding lead as the third swimmers finished their races.

At this point, the French team was anchored by the braggart who had made his earlier prediction. Meanwhile, the American team was anchored by the oldest member of the men's swimming team and the captain. As the Frenchman led the way, he had almost a length lead on the American.

But as they touched the end for the final fifty meters, the American started to pick up the pace and soon was shoulder to shoulder with the Frenchman. As the two men swam toward the end, you couldn't tell much difference between either swimmer. The only certainty was that this would be a new world record.

As the swimmers touched the end of the pool, the computer showed that the Americans had actually won. It was only when they showed the underwater camera shot that you could tell that the American swimmer had just barely beaten the Frenchman to the wall, just a few hundredths of a second difference.

With this, the members of the team started howling at the crowd. It was amazing.

By the time they showed the medal ceremony, everyone, the Americans, the French and the Australians, had settled down and were acting quite cordial to each other. But the medal ceremony was almost anti-climax compared to watching the actual event. That was far and away the most amazing swimming race I have ever seen. Most of the pundits agreed.

That is what makes the Olympics so amazing. And Michael Phelps has six more races to swim.