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Michael Phelps of the U.S. after winning gold in the men's 200m freestyle final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (Reuters)
Last update - 16:10 12/08/2008
Two Jews and a black man help Phelps fulfill Olympic dream
By Uzi Dann, Haaretz Correspondant
Tags: swimming, Jason Lezak 

BEIJING - Thousands of spectators and journalists stood on their feet for minutes and applauded in every language one of the greatest moments in the history of swimming, as they held their heads in disbelief. Some commentators even went as far as saying it was the greatest sporting event of all time. Former Israeli swimmer Yoav Bruk said it was the biggest single sporting event of all time, and he wasn't exaggerating by much. Certainly, it was an instant classic that will be remembered a long time from now. Many of the journalists said it was the biggest Olympic moment since runner Michael Johnson's record at Atlanta, no less.

The few Israeli journalists at the Olympics were allocated tickets to be in the pool auditorium to witness the 4X100 freestyle relay final, which always draws great crowds, thanks to Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or and Guy Barnea's good results.

Michael Phelps knew that this medal, his second out of the eight he has his sights on, is problematic. Phelps, who is not considered the best 100m swimmer, jumped in first. He seemed a bit fatigued from the 200m semis he participated in a few hours before. Still, even on a bad day he was only a millisecond away from the world record, and when teammate Garrett Weber-Gale - who is Jewish, by the way - jumped in he trailed his Australian opponent by a hair's width.
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Despite the Aussies' great opening to the relay, the encounter was supposed to be fought between France and the U.S., and so it was. Alain Bernard of France, 25, was given an edge of six-tenths of a second by his teammate in the final leg of the relay. Up against him was the U.S. veteran Jason Lezak, age 33. It seemed like the French would claim victory, and that Phelps' mission to win the most medals of any swimmer in one Olympics was over. But then Lezak appeared.

An amateur until the age of 20 who had played water polo and baseball, Lezak - a good Jewish boy from California - put on a great show. He disappointed at the Athens Olympics and was considered the person who ruined Phelps drive to break Mark Spitz's record in winning medals at the relay. They called him a loser behind his back, and said he was too old. But Lezak did it his way. In an incredible show of will power and determination, he closed in on his French rival. Perhaps he was driven by the will to humble the arrogant Bernard, who said "we will crush them" before the heat began. Maybe it was the great pool or swimming suits. Whatever it was, he slowly closed the gap and then with the tips of his fingers touched the pool's rim before Bernard.

Phelps was the first to understand what had occurred and went wild. "He did something unbelievable," he later said about his teammate.

The time they set, 3:08.24, was eight-tenths of a second ahead of the French, and four whole seconds ahead of the world record set on Sunday.

Just how historic was this heat? The top five teams beat the world record that was only a day old. In addition, one unofficial world record was set when Lezak set a time of 46.06 seconds in the last 100 meters, but because it was during a relay event it is not considered an individual world record. "It was unbelievable," Lezak said. "I wanted it more than anyone else because of Athens. The French talked a lot before the heat, but we showed our worth in the pool."

So in the end it was two Jews, an African American (Cullen Jones) and Michael Phelps who together managed to rein in the French and set a new astonishing world record. A triumphant Lezak yesterday added jokingly: "Maybe we can set a new world record at the next Maccabiah Games."
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  1.   What a racist headline! 15:52  |  Galuteus Maximus 12/08/08
  2.   The Headline... 16:07  |  Jersey General 12/08/08
  3.   How racist 17:00  |  American 12/08/08
  4.   Haaretz 17:15  |  George 12/08/08
  5.   American political correctness 17:22  |  Vitaly 12/08/08
  6.   1-4 Grow Up 17:56  |  Avi 12/08/08
  7.   zwei juden und ein schwarzer mann... 17:58  |  Haim 12/08/08
  8.   Not racist, just REALLY, REALLY cheesy 18:29  |  amused 12/08/08
  9.   Haim got it perfect # 7. Kudos. 18:32  |  Fortuna Benmayor 12/08/08
  10.   Jesse Owens 18:39  |  Hank 12/08/08
  11.   we mustn`t say black man or must we? 18:41  |  redmike 12/08/08
  12.   Headline not racist *at all* 18:55  |  JP 12/08/08
  13.   vitaly,we`ve had this PC crap shoved down our throats here in 19:25  |  terrornator 12/08/08
  14.   Racist? No. 19:27  |  Miransky 12/08/08
  15.   #8 Yes, I`m proud 19:29  |  Haim 12/08/08
  16.   terrornator post is inappropriate 19:50  |  JP 12/08/08
  17.   Two Jews & a Black Man 20:02  |  Barney Rosen 12/08/08
  18.   My Fellow Americans!! 20:19  |  Joe Libson 12/08/08
  19.   Why the labels? 20:30  |  Patriot 12/08/08
  20.   Vitaly: first of all 20:33  |  American 12/08/08
  21.   #5,6,8,10 - CORRECT 20:51  |  tom 12/08/08
  22.   Quite The opposit 20:51  |  David Israel 12/08/08
  23.   Hooray for the 2 Jews the black man and Michael Phelps. Hooray 20:57  |  Jewish American-USA 12/08/08
  24.   phelps is what? 21:01  |  billy jack 12/08/08
  25.   is jew a religion or? 21:07  |  billy jack 12/08/08
  26.   If Jews were really "out for themselves" 21:40  |  Adam in TX 12/08/08
  27.   Two Jews and a Black Man... 22:26  |  Ed 12/08/08
  28.   Be proud! 22:47  |  GC 12/08/08
  29.   idiotic 22:59  |  RK 12/08/08
  30.   What`s up with that headline? 23:09  |  Dave 12/08/08
  31.   #7 Yes I agree with you 23:16  |  ponytail 12/08/08
  32.   If only Jews were as good at foreign policy 23:18  |  CDM 12/08/08
  33.   People need to relax. I always refer to people as the "jew" or 23:20  |  Anti-PC Police 12/08/08
  34.   Jewish racism 23:24  |  US Patriot 12/08/08
  35.   To #33 23:41  |  Jack 12/08/08
  36.   Very racist and appauling headline 23:45  |  MARY 12/08/08
  37.   US Hateriot 23:50  |  Alex 12/08/08
  38.   Why is this news? 00:03  |  Firebird 13/08/08
  39.   Jason Lezak saves the day 00:08  |  Connie 13/08/08
  40.   To #34 00:23  |  Haim 13/08/08
  41.   racist because.... 00:32  |  Liam 13/08/08
  42.   I still don`t get the joke? 00:55  |  ??? 13/08/08
  43.   I can`t believe that 01:22  |  Schwartz 13/08/08
  44.   Self proclaimed US Patriot 01:45  |  David Israel 13/08/08
  45.   Racism 101 for those who don`t get it 02:15  |  HPS 13/08/08
  46.   Response to Firebird - Why is this news? 02:55  |  Hank 13/08/08
  47.   Response to Racist Liam from Belfast 03:02  |  Hank 13/08/08
  48.   It`s a Jewish publication 03:30  |  Bill 13/08/08
  49.   #37 05:56  |  Patriot 13/08/08
  50.   Great headline, made me laugh 08:49  |  Dave 13/08/08
  51.   Redraft Headline 14:34  |  Steve 13/08/08
  52.   So maybe Phelps is Jewish too? 16:35  |  Shecky 13/08/08
  53.   Funny 18:56  |  Malcolm 13/08/08
  54.   Point/Counter point 19:40  |  CP 13/08/08
  55.   US Patriot: Summer Vacation Almost Over 02:03  |  Tex 14/08/08
  56.   silly me 02:00  |  Andrew 15/08/08
  57.   an american is an american 14:24  |  kaye 15/08/08
  58.   Greatest Headline Ever! 21:37  |  Hunter 15/08/08
  59.   Aryan Champion helps sub-races win medals 23:38  |  Lance 15/08/08
  60.   Funniest Headline Ever 16:13  |  Taja 16/08/08
  61.   Racist? No. "Racial" and ethnic and ridiculous? Yewbetcha. 06:48  |  Rick 17/08/08
  62.   Wait is this the start of a joke? 17:11  |  anne 17/08/08
  63.   Racist Remarks 01:27  |  Michael 18/08/08
  64.   Ha! Racist Headline and No Mention of "the Black" 05:38  |  Honesty 18/08/08
  65.   Please tell me ... 06:40  |  Sredni DeKalb 18/08/08
  66.   this is funny :) 05:17  |  Ann 20/08/08
  67.   the first time I saw him and his mom 08:59  |  maria 20/08/08
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