By Jeff Commings, Swimming World Senior Writer<\/i><\/p>\n
Fifteen years ago today, one of the most intense races in the history of Olympic swimming took place in the Sydney Aquatic Center in Australia to end the first finals session of the 2000 Olympic swim meet. With about 18,000 screaming Australians in attendance and a winning streak on the line, the stage was set for a battle between the Aussies and the Americans.<\/p>\n
The Americans had never lost the 400 free relay at the Olympics. There have been close races, most recently in 1992 against the former Soviet Union, but the Americans always prevailed. The Australians had four men who presented a big opportunity to end that streak, though history wasn\u2019t on their side.<\/p>\n
Before the race, American Gary Hall Jr.<\/strong> said his team would \u201csmash the Aussies like guitars.\u201d The pre-race smack talk was nothing new for Hall, who had done the same thing to longtime rival Alex Popov<\/strong> at the 1996 Olympics. At those Games, Popov got the gold over Hall, and in Sydney, the overconfidence from Hall would be Team USA\u2019s undoing.<\/p>\n The relay didn\u2019t start off well for the United States. Michael Klim<\/strong> broke the 100 free world record with a 48.18 to give the Australians the advantage. Anthony Ervin<\/strong> split 48.89 on his opening leg, a seemingly unsurmountable gap for Neil Walker<\/strong> to overcome.<\/p>\n Walker used practically everything he had to catch Chris Fydler<\/strong> in the first 50 meters, and paid the price in the final strokes. Fydler regained the lead and gave Ashley Callus<\/strong> a comfortable cushion ahead of Jason Lezak<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Before Lezak\u2019s name became a verb as a result of his amazing relay swim in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he was a strong utility player on Team USA. He used the same strategy that Walker did, catching Callus quickly. Callus had a tough time breaking away from Lezak, but managed to do so in the final 10 meters.<\/p>\n At this point, it was Ian Thorpe<\/strong> against Hall. Thorpe had become an instant celebrity about an hour earlier with a world record and gold medal in the 400 freestyle at 17 years old. He wasn\u2019t coming into the race fresh; Hall would be racing for the first time in the meet.<\/p>\n In the first 25 meters, it looked like Hall was going to shake up Thorpe with an aggressive start. Thorpe wasn\u2019t responding in the same fashion as the three who went before him, letting Hall gain a half-body length lead going into the turn.<\/p>\n At this point, the noise in the facility was so loud it could probably be heard in downtown Sydney many miles away. With 25 meters left, it looked like Hall was going to give the Americans victory number eight in the relay. With 15 meters left, Hall\u2019s kick faded, while Thorpe\u2019s looked like a motorboat churning the waves.<\/p>\n With five meters to go, it was clear that the American streak was over. Thorpe\u2019s long arms stopped the clock first, giving the Australians a world record of 3:13.67. The United States also dipped under their world record with a 3:13.86. Just nine hundredths of a second separated first and second. Hall outsplit Thorpe, 48.24 to 48.30, but it wasn\u2019t enough to get the Americans the gold.<\/p>\n Video: 400 free relay final, 2000 Olympics<\/strong>
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