Lenny Krayzelburg
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Lenny Krayzelburg (born September 28, 1975, as Leonid Krayzelburg; uk, Леонід Крайзельбург, russian: link=no, Леони́д Кра́йзельбург) is an American former
backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...
swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former
world record holder In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
. He swam in the
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
and 2004 Olympics, winning a total of four Olympic gold medals.


Early years

Krayzelburg is Jewish, and was born to
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish parents in
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
(then
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, now
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
). Krayzelburg and his family left the Soviet Union in 1989 for the United States. They settled in Los Angeles. After their immigration, Krayzelburg's family suffered from financial difficulties. He had to commute by bus and on foot 45 minutes each way to swimming practice, and did not get home before 9:30 in the evening. In addition, Lenny had to cope with language problems, and to study English rapidly in order to understand his coaches' instructions. Thankfully he was aided by the extensive Russian community in Los Angeles, and managed to adapt quickly.


College

Lenny first attended Fairfax High School, and then attended
Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Althoug ...
where he won both the 100 and backstroke junior college titles. His coach at Santa Monica recognized his talent and recommended him to
Mark Schubert Mark Schubert is an American swim coach and was USA Swimming's National Team head coach from June 2006 until November 2010. He took a paid leave of absence from his role with USA Swimming in September 2010, and was later terminated from his posit ...
at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
. Lenny transferred to USC. In 1995, he became a
naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
of the United States. Three years later, he became the first swimmer since 1986 to sweep the backstroke events, 100 m & 200 m, in the
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
. In 1999, Krayzelburg broke the 50, 100 and the 200 m world records respectively, setting the clock on 24.99, 53.60 and 1:55.87. He was then recognized as the top backstroke swimmer in the world and one of the best in the history of this swimming style. He continued to dominate at the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
backstroke, shattering the Olympic record and nearing his own 1999 world record with 53.72 in the 100, while making another Olympic record in the 200 with a 1:56.76. He also played an important role in helping the American team win a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay with a new world record of 3:33.73.


Maccabiah Games

After the Olympics Krayzelburg decided to skip the 2001 World Championships that took place in Fukuoka, Japan, in order to focus on the 2001 Maccabiah Games in Israel. Being
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish, Krayzelburg wanted to take this once-in-a-lifetime chance to compete with other top Jewish athletes. In addition, he wanted to fulfill a childhood dream by visiting the holy land, and lifting the American delegate flag during the games' opening ceremony. He was selected to carry in the flag for the United States at the opening ceremonies. He then earned gold and set a new Maccabiah record in the 100-meter
backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...
. He also won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay. At the 2017 Maccabiah Games, in the special 4x50m relay race between Israeli and American all-star teams, American Olympic champions Krayzelburg,
Jason Lezak Jason Edward Lezak (born November 12, 1975) is an American former competitive swimmer and swimming executive. As a swimmer, Lezak specialized in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races. His pro career lasted for nearly fifteen years, spannin ...
(four Olympic golds), and
Anthony Ervin Anthony Lee Ervin (born May 26, 1981) is an American competition swimmer who has won four Olympic medals and two World Championship golds. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 50-meter freestyle, and earned a silver med ...
(three Olympic golds), with masters swimmer Alex Blavatnik, swam a time of 1:48.23 and defeated Israeli Olympians
Guy Barnea Guy Marcos Barnea (; born 9 September 1987) is an Israeli swimmer who represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has won three medals at the European Championships. As of March 2016, he held the Israeli records in the long course 50m ...
, Yoav Bruck,
Eran Groumi Eran Cohen Groumi ( he, ערן (כהן) גרומי; born June 5, 1970, in Jerusalem) is a male former backstroke and butterfly swimmer from Israel. His nephew is Israeli Olympic swimmer Gal Cohen Groumi. Swimming career Groumi competed for Isra ...
, and
Tal Stricker Tal Stricker (born May 29, 1979) is a breaststroke swimmer from Israel, who competed for Israel at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Early life Stricker was born in Ramat Gan, Israel, and his parents are Rafi and Nava Stricker. He a ...
, who had a time of 1:51.25.


Difficulties, perseverance

A couple of months later he had to undergo surgery on his left shoulder, following a fall while running on a treadmill, after which he had to take a year off swimming. In September 2003, Krazelburg split from his coach
Mark Schubert Mark Schubert is an American swim coach and was USA Swimming's National Team head coach from June 2006 until November 2010. He took a paid leave of absence from his role with USA Swimming in September 2010, and was later terminated from his posit ...
, to start training under
Dave Salo David Clark Salo is a swimming coach based in Southern California, United States. He was the head coach of the men's and women's swimming team at University of Southern California, as well as USC's club team: Trojan Swim Club. Prior to his becoming ...
, who also coached
Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...
. Peirsol was considered by many to be Krayzelburg's successor. Working with Salo, Krayzelburg changed the style of his stroke, particularly due to his shoulder injuries.


Success

This turn in Krayzelburg's career proved to be successful. He finished second in the American trials for the 100 meters event to secure a place in the 2004 Athens Olympics, alongside training partner,
Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...
. His good shape enabled him to reach the finals. He came into this final knowing this might be his career's last, but missed out on a medal by just 2/100 of a second, with a qualitative result of 54.38, whereas Peirsol won gold with 54.06. Krayzelburg made up for the upset by helping the American team to win yet another Olympic gold in the 4 x 100 m relay, despite not swimming in the final of this event (he swam in the preliminary round, while Peirsol took his spot in the final). Krayzelburg is known as one of the physically strongest swimmers around, and for his powerful arm strokes, a product of his training regimen and bodybuilder-esque physique. He is tall and weighs just above . Lenny owes many of his career achievements to his father Oleg, who has often encouraged him, even when Lenny wanted to quit at the age of 14. He enjoys reading as well as working with computers. Krayzelburg was named Sportsman of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee in 1998, and was chosen USA Swimmer of the Year each of the following two years. In 2001, he was inducted into the
Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselves ...
and USC Hall of Fame.


See also

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List of multiple Olympic gold medalists This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events. List of most Olympic gold medals over career This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medalis ...
*
List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games This is a list of athletes who have won multiple gold medals at a single Olympic Games. List of most gold medals won at a single Olympic Games This is a list of most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games. Medals won in the 1906 Intercalated Ga ...
*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men) This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming. Men's events 50 metre freestyle 100 metre freestyle 200 metre freestyle 400 metre freestyle 800 metre freestyle 1500 metre freestyle 100 metre backstroke 200 metre ...
* List of select Jewish swimmers *
List of University of Southern California people This is a list of notable alumni, faculty, and students, from the University of Southern California. Those individuals who qualify for multiple categories have been placed under the section for which they are best known. Academia Architectu ...
*
List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men) This is the complete list of men's World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming from 1973 to 2022. Medalists Bold numbers in brackets denotes record number of victories in corresponding disciplines. 50 metre freestyle *Medals: 100 metre ...
*
World record progression 50 metres backstroke This is a listing of the history of the World Record for the 50 backstroke swimming event. Swimming World Records are maintained by FINA, the international sports federation which oversees the sport. World Records are recognized only in meter-cou ...
*
World record progression 100 metres backstroke This is a history of the 100 m backstroke world record as swum in both long-course (50 m; Olympic) pools and short-course (25 m) pools—the two categories recognized/tracked by FINA. Men Long course Short course Women Long c ...
*
World record progression 200 metres backstroke This is a history of the progression of the world record for the 200-meter backstroke event. It is a listing of the fastest-time-ever swum in the event, in both long course (50-meter) and short course (25-meter) swimming pools. These records ar ...
*
World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay This article includes the world record progression for the 4×100 metres medley relay, and it shows the chronological history of world record times in that competitive swimming event. The 4×100 metres medley relay is a medley race in which each o ...


References


External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Krayzelburg, Lenny 1975 births Living people American male backstroke swimmers American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent World record setters in swimming Jewish American sportspeople Jewish swimmers Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 2001 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 2017 Maccabiah Games Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Odesa Odesa Jews Swimmers from Los Angeles Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Ukrainian SSR emigrants to the United States USC Trojans men's swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Goodwill Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games 21st-century American Jews