USA GOLD: 4x100m freestyle relay

What a race!

The Americans smashed the French.

With Jason Lezak as the anchor, the finish was incredible.

World record: 3:08.24

Michael Phelps gets his second gold of the Beijing Olympic Games.

If you missed it, you have to see the replay.

BEIJING -- Michael Phelps' historic quest for eight gold medals at a single Olympics continued Monday morning -- but by the thinnest of margins.

Jason Lezak charged home in the anchor leg of the 4x100m freestyle relay to outtouch 100m world-record holder Alain Bernard of France.

Lezak swam a 46.0 anchor, the fastest in history. The team time of 3:08.24 shattered the world record set by the U.S. team Sunday night in the prelims, set without Phelps. France finished at 3:08.32.

"I've been on the last two relays, where we came up short, and to be honest with you, I was tired of losing," Lezak said of bronze and silver relay medals for the U.S. team in the past two Olympics.

The Americans said they were motivated by the French team's prediction of gold.

"We love listening to other people talk stuff about us, because it just fuels us," said Cullen Jones, who swam the third leg.

Phelps swam a strong opening leg, putting the Americans in second behind Australia. Phelps broke the American record in the 100m free with his leadoff leg of 47.51.

He then turned cheerleader and screamed with emotion as Lezak touched out Bernard.

"I was going nuts. As soon as he came off that last wall, I was going crazy," Phelps said.

I was going nuts, too.

Add Garret Weber-Gale (aka G-dubs, G, Weber-Grill) to the list of Wisconsin Olympic medalists.

Weber-Gale, former Nicolet High School swimmer, and his teammates were on a mission to "take care of business."

Earlier, [Alain] Bernard had boasted that the French were going to "smash" the Americans in the relay.

"The French were talking stuff," said Weber-Gale, the Olympic trials champion in the 50 and 100 meters. "I said, 'We're going to take care of business when we get to the pool.' And that's what we did. We took care of business."

What a fantastic race and sweet victory!