history for ANY country in ANY Olympics.

There are so many things that happen here:
+ Lezak, who has only has 1 individual Olympic medal (a tied-for bronze) swims a pace that has never been equaled since.
+ He cruises past the World Record holder at the time. This is almost the equivalent of someone passing Usain Bolt in the final leg of a relay.
+ This relay was by far the biggest reason Phelps was not expected to get his 8 golds. We know he did, but it was in very big part because of Lezak's miracle split.
+ The French had been talking big time trash prior to this race making it even more sweet.
+ The WR was obliterated in this race (I'm pretty sure it is still standing and may still stand for a while)
+ Even a non-swimmer watching this race can get a sense for how incredible it was.