If you would have told me that the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay last night would be the most exciting sports event I have seen since the Super Bowl, I probably would have told you that you were crazy.  Instead, the event turned out to be exactly that, easily the most exciting sports moment since the Super Bowl, and probably the most exciting Olympic event in recent memory.

Entering the race the American team was considered underdogs to a French team that was cocky to say the least.  Entering the race, the French anchor, Alain Bernard had said “The Americans? We’re going to smash them.” It turns out, Bernard was the one getting smashed as he gave up the lead the French had given him in the final leg to American Jason Lezak.  But it wasn’t as if he gave the leg to Lezak, who had to set a world record for an individual leg in the relay, as well as catch up to Bernard in the last 25 meters and then pass him only on the touch of the wall.

The reaction of swimming deity Michael Phelps was perhaps the highlight of the race.  He was screaming like he was possessed as Lezak made the turn for the final 25 meters and the screaming only intensified as Lezak approached the wall for the touch.  It was upon the touch that Phelps screaming came to a sudden halt as he looked up anxiously at the scoreboard only to see that the United States had indeed pulled off the upset, at which time the screaming resumed.

Phelps reaction was similar to mine, and undoubtedly countless others throughout the United States.  Already interested because of the sheer fact that five of the finalists would break the current world record, the ending sealed the deal for me.  Leaping off the couch and celebrating was destined to happen when Lezak got the touch first, and I was reminded once again why the Olympics are so amazing.

The video of the race can be seen here.

Remember the 2004 Summer Olympics? Those games were dominated by security threats, constant worship of the Games’ Greek origins, and a swimmer named Michael Phelps. In those games, Phelps won eight medals, six of them gold. Then he celebrated his accomplishments by getting a DUI just a couple of months after the games. Since then, we hadn’t heard much from him. But make no mistake. He’s still one of the most dominant athletes in the world. Just ask the rest of the swimmers at this week’s World Championships in Australia.

For whatever reason, we don’t talk much about water sports. Maybe it’s the body shaving that weirds us out or the fact that few major events exist. But through four races so far this week, Phelps has won four gold medals. What’s even more ridiculous is the three world records he’s set in the process. Breaking world records is nice. Breaking your own world records is just absurd.

“There is nobody out there like him,” said Jon Urbanchek, a longtime American coach. “Right now, Michael stands by himself. He’s more like Michael Jordan. He’s way out there.”

Usually, world records are set by a couple hundredths of a second. But so far this week, Phelps has set world records by 0.86 seconds, 1.62 seconds, and .20 seconds. Phelps’ goal in this competition was eight gold medals and he’s halfway home. It’s just a matter of how many world records he’ll break along the way. The Beijing Olympics are just a year and a half away. Will Phelps be able to hit eight gold medals then?