Pave: "The Americans? We're going to smash them."

Le jour 454 de Sarko

Trash-talking Frenchman Alain Bernard makes his boast before delivering the goods. Now, placing second in a world-class competition, France looks like a loser. Nice going, Bernard.

I'M FAVOURITE AND WE'LL SMASH US: BERNARD

August 7, 2008 (ABC-AU/Reuters) - World record holder Alain Bernard has opened the war of words for the Olympic swimming competition, stating he was the favourite for the 100 metres freestyle and the French relay squad would "smash" the Americans.

... France with a team including Amaury Leveaux, Frederic Gilot and Frederick Bousquet clocked 3:12.54 in June, only 0.08 seconds from the world mark and Bernard was bullish ahead of Sunday's 4x100 freestyle relay heats. Alain Bernard:

The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for.

That was last week. Today M. Bernard, a gifted athlete, is a donkey.

SMASHING WIN FOR U.S., PHELPS

BEIJING August 11, 2008 (Baltimore Sun) - The U.S. 400-meter freestyle relay team of Phelps, Cullen Jones, Garret Weber-Gale and Jason Lezak came from behind to win the gold medal, upsetting France, and the biggest hero of the day turned out to be Lezak, the American anchor and captain of the entire team.

Lezak trailed France's Alain Bernard -- who started the day as the world record holder in the 100-meter freestyle -- by half a body length when the two swimmers turned from the final wall. But Lezak slowly closed the gap, reeling in Bernard an inch at a time, and he out-touched the Frenchman by eight-hundredths of a second to win gold in a world-record time of 3 minutes, 8.24 seconds.

Please note, it is Alain Bernard himself, enjoying a half-body length advantage for an all-but-certain-win, who does not deliver. It is Alain Bernard himself, the self-declared fittest competitor at the games,* who fails to out-duel the oldest swimmer** on the American relay squad.

The Americans' relay victory was all the more sweet considering the way France declared itself the favorite prior to the Olympics. The Frenchmen weren't shy about repeating it either. In a news conference prior to the start of the Games, Bernard, who boasts a tattoo of a shark on his abdomen, was asked what he thought about his country's chances against the United States.

"The Americans?" Bernard said. "We will smash them."

Several of Bernard's teammates followed his lead, even going so far as to suggest that the Americans were scared of the French.

"This morning, [coach] Bob (Bowman) had said the French were saying some stuff, talking a little bit of trash," Phelps said. "It fired me up more than anything else. I told Garret, and he said 'You know what?' We're going to let our swimming do the talking." Jason Lezak:

When I flipped at the 50, and saw how far ahead he was, knowing he was the world record holder, for a split second a thought crossed my mind: There is no way. But I said 'You know what? This is ridiculous. This is the Olympics and I'm here for the United States of America. I don't care how bad it hurts.' Honestly, in like five seconds, I was thinking all these things. I just got like a super charge and just took it from there. It was unreal.

Lezak's closing leg (46.06) was the fastest relay split ever.

ALAIN SWIMS FOR BERNARD. JASON SWIMS FOR AMERICA.
U.S. 400-Meter Freestyle Relay Team (L to R)
Garret Weber-Gale, Jason Lezak, Michael Phelps And Cullen Jones
[Photo source: Baltimore Sun/Getty Images]

[Hat tip: V de T via ¡No Pasarán!]

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* Alain Bernard (supra):

The 100 metres favourite, it's me. If I didn't believe I was, I wouldn't be here at all. I've always said that 10 to 15 swimmers could be on the podium. But physically, I'm on top. I'm fitter than I was at the French championships, fitter than I was at the European championships.

** Jason Lezak is 32 years old. Alain Bernard is 25 years old.

PFFT (What is this?): Big talk 5 | Scary French 0 | Sportsmanship (France) 0 | Rayonnement français ½ (Trash-talking and not delivering forfeits a 4 rating)