Lezak is great, Phelps' quest for eight remains; U.S. sets another WR in 400 free relay

It took the greatest anchor leg in Olympic history to keep Michael Phelps' pursuit of Olympic history alive.

Jason Lezak, an Irvine High and UC Santa Barbara graduate who trains in Pasadena, clocked 46.06 seconds on the anchor leg of the men's 400-meter freestyle relay to rally the Americans to a gold medal, a world record and, perhaps most important of all, another win for Michael Phelps.

Lezak outdueled French star Alain Bernard down the stretch to lift the U.S. to victory in 3 minutes, 8.24 seconds, just ahead of France (European-record 3:08.32), which had never medaled in the event before Monday morning at the National Aquatics Center, aka "The Water Cube."

Phelps, who added to his world-record effort in the 400 individual medley Sunday, captured his 10th Olympic medal and his eighth gold. He was on the 400 free relay in Athens in 2004, which resulted in one of his two bronze medals.

Phelps led off in an impressive 47.51, but the U.S. found itself in second as Australia's Eamon Sullivan set a 100 free world record -- which can only be achieved on the leadoff leg -- of 47.24 en route to a bronze-medal finish of 3:09.91.

Olympic rookie Garrett Weber-Gale, who won the 100 free at the U.S. Olympic trials, moved the Americans into the lead over the French at the midway point with a 47.02 split, before giving way to Cullen Jones, the only swimmer who competed on the U.S.' world-record effort of 3:12.23 in the prelims.

Jones clocked 47.65 on the third leg as the U.S. fell back to second after France's Fred Bousquet, who warned the Americans they'd be in jeopardy following the prelims, split an exceptional 46.63 to put the French ahead 2:21.59 to 2:22.18.

But Lezak, a member of the silver medal relay in 2000 in Sydney that took second to the Australians and a part of the bronze medal relay in 2004 that placed third behind South Africa and the Netherlands, wasn't going to be denied this time on the anchor.

Lezak's split was 0.67 faster than Bernard, the previous world-record holder at 47.50 before Sullivan's leadoff swim, to help the Americans win their eighth gold medal in the 10 Olympics in which the event has been contested -- and, more important, keep Phelps' pursuit of eight gold medals alive.