This is one of the greatest moments in United States swimming history and I'd put it somewhere near the greatest USA Olympic moment, period.

It's pretty hard to beat the United States Hockey team beating the Soviet Union in 1980 and the famous Al Michaels line "Do you believe in miracles, YES!" Jesse Owens became the first American to win four gold medals in track in field in the 1936 Olympics.

In 1992 The Dream Team annihilated every team they faced, winning every game by an average of 44 points. Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic torch at the 1996 games in Atlanta. The U.S. women's soccer team won gold in that same year.

The list goes on and on for incredible Olympic moments but I'm curious if you remember watching this race from 2008.

2008 Olympics

The 2008 Olympics witnessed the greatest performance from a single athlete in history. Michael Phelps is perhaps the greatest swimmer in the history of the sport. In 2008, he captivated the nation as he completed the greatest medal performance ever. Phelps won 8 gold medals, which is the current record for most gold medals won in a single Olympic game.

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There was really only 1 race that Phelps wasn't the odds-on favorite to win, and that was the 4 by 100-meter freestyle relay event. During this race, America's biggest competition was France, and the Americans were given a little bit of extra motivation for this race.

Alain Bernard was the world record holder in the 100-meter freestyle, according to Swim Swam. He was a swimmer on the France team and a few days before the event, he told the press "We're going to smash the Americans. That's what we came here for."  It appeared to be a little bit more personal than your average smack talk in sports. There might've been some jealousy in the pool during the 2008 Summer Olympics as Michael Phelps stole the attention of the entire Summer Games that year.

On paper, France was the team to beat. They had put together a team of 4 of the fastest freestyle swimmers in the world, with Bernard being a world record holder. As a team, their splits were faster than Phelps and the rest of the American team.

I remember where I was (my parent's living room), who was with me (my parents, brother, and sister), and I remember everyone yelling at the TV, jumping up off the couch, and trying to cheer on the U.S. relay team during this race.

This is why sports/games aren't won on paper. France might've had a better team on paper...This is the most exciting 5 minutes in U.S. swimming history.

*There is bleeped cursing in the video. Please watch your discretion.*

*Here is a longer video where you can see the 4th U.S. swimmer, Jason Lezak, catch and pass Bernard for the win. The swimming begins at the 3:10 mark.*

Some sports fans would argue that this is one of the greatest races of all time, in any sport. I still get goosebumps watching this race.

Obviously, for those cheering for Michael Phelps and America, this ended up being great. I'm sure if you asked France, they would think very differently about this event. When you add in the fact that they beat a team that had someone talking trash before the event makes it even better.

I was 17 years old in 2008 and when I think of the Olympics, this is the moment I always remember. I'm curious what is your Olympic moment? What race, event, game, or moment do you think about when you look back on the Olympics?