BEIJING • Alain Bernard proclaimed his French 400-meter relay team would “smash” the American team and ruin any hopes of Michael Phelps completing his quest of eight gold medals.

As we know now, Bernard ate crow for his assertion.

American swimmer Jason Lezak, starting off a half-body length behind Bernard, swam what might be the best 400-meter relay anchor ever and touched the wall .08 of a second before Bernard.

On Thursday, Bernard redeemed a bit of his dignity – not that the hype for the race was in the same category – by defeating Lezak in the 100-meter freestyle and claiming the gold medal.

Lezak took the bronze, finishing .46 of a second behind Bernard’s 47.21.

“It felt good,” Lezak said. “I definitely wasn’t going to make the same mistake I made four years ago where I took the preliminaries too easy. It’s been eating at me for a long time. So to go out and accomplish a medal is really exciting. It doesn’t top the relay medal, but it’s something I’ve been pushing for for years.”

American Scott Spann finished sixth in the 200 breaststroke while Elaine Breeden and Kathleen Hersey finished seventh and eighth in the women’s 200 butterfly.

Not so happy faces

The U.S. women had won every gold medal in the 800 freestyle relay since it was first contested in 1996.

On Wednesday, the Americans took the bronze, finishing behind Australia and China. The Australians set a world record (7:44.31) but that was of little consolation to the U.S. team, which forced smiles and had languid claps as Katie Hoff touched the wall.

Easy roads

Phelps cruised into the finals of the 200 individual medley with a qualifying heat of 1:57.70. Phelps already has five gold medals and winning the 200 IM would put him one behind Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in one Olympics.

“I think medals mean more than times,” Phelps said. “So, that’s what I’m going to be focusing on over the next three days.

“The next few days will be all about getting as much rest as I can. That’s going to be the key.”

The same could be said for Aaron Peirsol, Ryan Lochte, Rebecca Soni and Natalie Coughlin. Each cruised to places in the finals of their respective events.

Peirsol and Lochte, racing in separate qualifying heats of the 200 backstroke, posted the top times – .14 of a second apart – for the eight-person final. Lochte also finished with the second-best time in the 200 IM heats, .37 seconds behind Phelps.

“I feel pretty good,” Lochte said. “I feel better than last night. I had 24 hours to recover, but I feel good. The race was a bit tiring, but that’s what I train for. I feel a lot better (compared with the 400 IM) physically.”

Coughlin, who slowed a bit at the end of her 100 freestyle semifinals, believes she has prepared just right for the finals.

“Well, it was really fortunate to be in the first heat with Britta Steffen (Germany) and Libby Trickett (Australia) and have such a good heat to judge myself off of,” Coughlin said. “I’m in a perfect position.”

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Contact the writer: 636-0252 or milo.bryant@gazettedev.gazette.com

Swimmers (including US swimmer Jason Lezak second from bottom) enter the water at the start of the men’s 100m freestyle final. Photo by BY MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE