Jason Lezak and the Power of Competing

by Olivier Poirier-Leroy. You can join his weekly motivational newsletter for competitive swimmers by clicking here.

No matter how many times I watch the race video I still get all the goose-tinglies.

When Jason Lezak dove into the water on August 11, 2008, for the final leg of the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay at the Beijing Olympics, it was inconceivable that he and the Americans could win. Personal best times and common sense dictated that it simply wasn’t possible.

As Lezak surfaced from his breakout he was nearly a body length behind the team from France, who came into the race as a lock for gold. France had their ace, Alain Bernard, the world record holder in the 100m freestyle, as their anchor, his massive arms hurling him across the surface, a rooster tail of water behind him.

With a lead.

big lead.

But then somehow, someway, the impossible happened.

Setting the Scene: Beijing 2008

Let’s quickly set the table of that fateful race:

The French team, being anchored by Bernard, had qualified fastest. They were the undisputed favorites to win. And not just win but dominate. On paper, when best times were compared, it wasn’t even close. Bernard did a good job of verbalizingwhat was generally expected to happen: “The Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for.”

For nine consecutive Olympiads the 4x100m freestyle relay had been owned by the American. But over the past 8 years their dominance had wilted away.

At the Sydney Games in 2000 they lost to the hometown Australians.

At the Athens Olympics in 2004 the Americans placed third behind South Africa and the Netherlands.

After going undefeated in the event for 36 years suddenly American invincibility in the relays had been shattered.

And of course, there was Michael Phelps, who would swim the lead-off leg for the US. Phelps was the headliner of the Games. His quest to break Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals at a single Olympics was on the line. No relay gold, no hope to beat Spitz’s record haul. Simple as that.

The Americans were in lane four, the French in lane five, and in lane seven, South Africa. They had the same four swimmers who’d stunned the world to win gold and break the world record four years earlier in Athens. Over in lane three was Australia, who had a stacked line-up of sprinters. In all, a dozen world record holders filled the final.

It goes without saying that the atmosphere was thick in the Water Cube.

And as the first wave of swimmers dove in, things unfolded as expected.

Phelps had a dazzling opening leg, breaking the American record in the 100m free. Eamon Sullivan of Australia would dip under the world record on his opening leg, giving the Australians an early lead.

On the third leg, France’s Fred Bousquet, who had recorded the fastest split in history during prelims with a 46.6, took the French out to a comfortable lead. The United States were half a body length behind as Bousquet charged for the wall.

Standing on the blocks, Bernard and Lezak, who at the age of 32 was the oldest male swimmer on the American team in Beijing. As the anchors dove in, a resigned Rowdy Gaines had this to say about the Americans chances of winning: “I just don’t think they can do it.”

Bernard’s lead increased over the first 50m. The gold medal was sewn up, and the world record line wasn’t even in the same zip code anymore. The Americans had put forth a valiant effort, but the power of the French was too much to overcome.

But then the magic started to happen.

Lezak hammered the turn, and when he popped out of his breakout he was suddenly on Bernard’s hip, eyes locked on the Frenchman. As they passed 75m, Bernard, who had looked unstoppable, was beginning to tighten up. The piano was beginning to fall on his shoulders.

Stroke by stroke, Lezak reeled in Bernard. At the 85m mark, where Lezak had been expecting to fade, he felt a final surge of adrenaline blast through his arms and legs. “I’d never felt it before,” he said.

By the time they reached the flags, with just five metres to go, they were in lock-step, with both swimmers hurling their arms at the wall with one final gasp of effort…

USA, gold.

By just eight one hundredths of a second.

Lezak’s split?

An other-worldly 46.06.

Easily the fastest split in history.

To the feet Lezak’s first 50 was done in 21.50—which would have placed him fourth in the final of the 50m freestyle later that week.

The time was 1.3 seconds faster than he’d ever swum in a relay, and almost two seconds faster than his flat start time.

How did Lezak do it?

By his own admission he wasn’t full of confidence prior or even during the race.

“I had plenty of negative thoughts during the race,” Lezak said later. “I really didn’t think I’d be able to catch him.”

So how did Lezak pull off the impossible?

By competing.

The Power of Competition

We’ve all experienced that surge of adrenaline that comes from competing at our absolute best: The surreal sensation of when our preparation aligns perfectly with the pressure of the moment.

The time that Lezak dropped that day in Beijing was simply absurd.

Did the drafting factor into it? Sure. Did the excitement of the moment play a role? You know it. Did playing the role of underdog help him throw down a “pressure-free” effort? You betcha.

But a lesser competitor would have seen the predicament—going into the anchor leg a half-body length behind the world record holder in the event—and swam for silver. A swimmer who wasn’t a competitor would have seen that things weren’t going his way and given up.

Instead, Lezak competed his brains off from beginning to end, not saving anything for the finish, swimming a time that wasn’t even the same neighborhood as his personal best time.

Now that’s competing.

Healthy vs Unhealthy Competition

The word “competitive” is often viewed negatively. The thought of competing at our best is sometimes avoided because we don’t want to appear greedy or narcissistic.

The negative stereotypes around competition make sense–we’ve all seen what kind of ugliness unhealthy competition brings out of people:

  • The swimmer who won’t shake hands after a race;
  • The parent who berates their 11-year old for losing;
  • The swimmer who nauseatingly competes at everything all of the time (warm-up, ahem);
  • The teammate who is only in it for themselves.

Fortunately, bad behavior like this naturally leads to isolation.

Nobody wants to play with the kid who throws a fit and takes their ball home every time they lose. And no one wants to hang out with the swimmer who is constantly competing with things that don’t matter, whether it’s who finishes their meal first or a board game between sessions at a swim meet.

These kinds of actions might get some short-term results and attention, but it’s not a viable long-term strategy for success.

Competition in itself isn’t bad.

It’s how we use it and frame that makes all the difference. (Just like other “negative” emotions or states including anxiety, perfectionism and anger.)

Healthy competition includes a respect for the rules of the sport, respect for your opponents, and a relentless desire to perform at your best.

Healthy competitors have a fierce competitive fire while in the pool, but they don’t get bent out of shape if they don’t beat you at a video game.

While they want to win, healthy competitors chase personal excellence above rank, generally understanding that maximizing their own performance will be its own reward.

Unhealthy competition is the swimmer who refuses to understand that losing and failure is part of the sport.

It’s the swimmer who has to win at everything, all of the time. They sprint the warm-up to “win” even though no one else is competing with them. Long after the meet is over they are still comparing how they did to other swimmers.

Their desire to improve starts with seeing others fail compared to looking at how they can maximize their own performance.

At the end of the day competition is a tool. It’s a vessel for you to get the best of yourself. Use it to elevate your effort, your focus and push your limits.

Being more competitive starts in practice

Although competitive swimming is a competitive sport, it usually isn’t performed that way in practice.

Swimmers will go through the motions, playing it safe, being cautious with their energy and commitment. Which is odd given their expectations for race day. Although they want a high-octane performance on race day, this expectation flies in the face with how they train.

Swimmers talk often about the mental pressures of competition. They bemoan being too nervous or choking. They get frustrated at the invisible mental blocks that suddenly pop up the moment they lace up a racing suit compared to the comparative mental ease of training.

And while competition is stressful and nerve-wracking—one eye-opening study of ballroom dancers found that the physical stress response they experienced before competition was the same as someone jumping out of a plane for the first time—the stress of competition is made much worse by being made a rare experience.

Think about it:

Racing is stressful.

The mental and emotional experience is tough, and if it’s something you never encounter or actively avoid in training or during your preparation the nerves are going to blindside you while you prepare to get up on the block.

Acclimatizing yourself to the stress of competition starts in practice.

Crank up the intensity and compete levels in training.

I’m not just talking about pairing up with a teammate and having a figurative cage-match for two hours at practice over the lane rope. Having daily Battle Royales with your teammates during the main set is fun and brings out everyone’s best (your teammates deserve your best, as well), but it’s the inner competitionthat is going to give you the biggest gains.

At the end of the day no matter what the swimmer in the next lane is doing it’s still going to be you versus you in the pool.

  • Go to practice and compete by trying to beat the usual number of strokes that you do per lap.
  • Compete against the number of dolphin kicks you usually do off the wall.
  • Try and beat the intervals that you used last week.
  • Tonight compete to see if you can eat a healthier meal than you did yesterday.

Gamifying and competing during practice are not only going to help you immediately boost the effectiveness of your workouts, and make you faster on race day, but it’s also way more enjoyable than the alternative: Playing it cautious, swimming through the laps with low focus and little purpose.

The Takeaway

Competition is a normal part of life and of our sport. Heck, it’s even in the name: “Competitive swimming.”

When you walk onto the pool deck today choose to compete.

Compete on the main set. Compete on exceeding what you did yesterday. Relentlessly challenge and compete with yourself on the things that are important to you and your swimming.

ABOUT OLIVIER POIRIER-LEROY

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national level swimmer. He’s the publisher of YourSwimBook, a ten-month log book for competitive swimmers.

Conquer the PoolHe’s also the author of the recently published mental training workbook for competitive swimmers, Conquer the Pool: The Swimmer’s Ultimate Guide to a High Performance Mindset.

It combines sport psychology research, worksheets, and anecdotes and examples of Olympians past and present to give swimmers everything they need to conquer the mental side of the sport.

Ready to take your mindset to the next level?

Click here to learn more about Conquer the Pool.

COACHES: Yuppers–we do team orders of “Conquer the Pool” which include a team discount as well as complimentary branding (your club logo on the cover of the book) at no additional charge.

Want more details? Click here for a free estimate on a team order of CTP.

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AfterShock
4 years ago

And then there’s MP’s reaction after the race.

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  AfterShock
3 years ago

It’s amazing to think he swam all those races after that considering the adrenaline he burned in celebration. I would’ve pulled a muscle if I’d try to flex like that.

Crawler
4 years ago

No question Lezak had a phenomenal swim, but there is another lesson to be drawn from this historic relay: coaches should listen to the swimmers.

In that case, the French staff decided to change the lineup at the last minute, putting their star swimmer to anchor although he had little experience of relays, a lot less than Bousquet who also was in great shape.

The French swimmers were told of the change just before the race and they were quite upset about it. We know the rest.

4 years later, the French staff ask their swimmers what order they wanted: Leveaux was an obvious choice to start and Agnel to anchor. The Clement-Agnel was the preferred choice so that Gilot… Read more »

Springbrook
Reply to  Crawler
4 years ago

I thought I knew everything about this race, but I did not know about this last minute change. Fascinating. Thanks for sharing!

Crawler
Reply to  Springbrook
4 years ago

You are welcome. If you read French, I recommend Leveaux’ very colorful autobiography where he recounts the fateful coaches decision and the swimmers’ reactions.

Nick
4 years ago

BEST. SWIM. EVER.

MKW
4 years ago

Simply an amazing swim, didnt believe my eyes as it happened. What a signature moment.

Luigi
5 years ago

Sorry to spoil the party, but the unexpected strength at the end of the race is the direct result of using a supersuit. Granted, many athletes were using it at the time.

Old Man Chalmers
Reply to  Luigi
5 years ago

Everyone in that race used a supersuit, including bernard. Because everyone was on an equal playing field, anyone could have gotten a sudden burst of energy at the end and dropped a crazy split. Bernard faded with a supersuit, lezak didnt. simple.

Maverick
Reply to  Luigi
5 years ago

Lol… The suit doesn’t inject adrenaline into your body and give you bursts of energy at the end. It could be argued you could swim at a faster pace for longer because of its aid. However… the last 20m of a race regardless of what you are wearing… Is extremely painful and tiring… So this is what he is referring to.

Old Man Chalmers
Reply to  Maverick
5 years ago

Doesnt change my point. Bernard was wearing a supersuit and could have been strong in the last 25m, but he faded.

Bobo Gigi
Reply to  Old Man Chalmers
4 years ago

Bernard used such an idiot race strategy. He swam too close to Lezak’s lane and it helped Lezak a lot. Bernard had no brain that day. Hats off to Lezak for never giving up.

Dudeman
Reply to  Bobo Gigi
3 years ago

also going out in 21.2 killed him in the last 15, especially since he dragged lezak out with him

DLswim
Reply to  Dudeman
3 years ago

Agreed. Bernard went out too fast and then hugged the lane line.

Hmmmm
5 years ago

Good piece, but I’d point out that the Americans had actually qualified fastest out of prelims, setting the world record in the process. They swam in lane four, the French were in lane five.

Coach John
5 years ago

anytime I see the words “Jason Lezak” in a title I get goose bumps…. most clutch swim ever

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Coach John
4 years ago

Agree, but if I were from the UK, I’d probably be saying Duncan Scott running down Nathan Adrian.

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
4 years ago

Speaking of which, it would be interesting to hear if Scott had similar negative thoughts that he broke through during his swim.

anonymoose
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
4 years ago

but the stakes! the french! its not just the race its all of the circumstances that surrounded that race that makes it so unique and unforgettable

Ol’ Longhorn
Reply to  anonymoose
4 years ago

The stakes advantage was Olympics > WCs. The stakes were mainly higher to preserve Phelps’ run at beating Spitz’s medal haul. But, to beat the US team with two WR holders (Murphy and Dressel) and legendary anchor Adrian trumps France who had no WR holders at the time.

Someone
Reply to  Ol’ Longhorn
3 years ago

Except Bernard and if you count relay splits Busquet too

Years of Plain Suck
5 years ago

Fun piece, Olivier. Nice to see thoughtful ideas woven together around one of the most important concepts of human existence: competition. (Certainly not on this site, but in some quarters of our society, “competition” is a dirty word.)

A competitive spirit — much of it gained from my sports experience — has made a big difference in my business and life .

About Olivier Poirier-Leroy

Olivier Poirier-Leroy

Olivier Poirier-Leroy has been involved in competitive swimming for most of his life. Starting off at the age of 6 he was thrown in the water at the local pool for swim lessons and since then has never wanted to get out. A nationally top ranked age grouper as both a …

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