Lenny Krayzelburg

Lenny Krayzelburg

Personal information
Full name	Leonid Krayzelburg
Nickname(s)	"Lenny"
Nationality	United States
Born	September 28, 1975 (1975-09-28) Odessa, Soviet Union
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	87 kilograms (190 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Backstroke
Club	Irvine Novaquatics
College team	University of Southern California
Medal record Men's swimming Competitor for the United States Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney 100 m backstroke Gold 2000 Sydney 200 m backstroke Gold 2000 Sydney 4×100 m medley Gold 2004 Athens 4×100 m medley World Championships (LC) Gold 1998 Perth 100 m backstroke Gold 1998 Perth 200 m backstroke Silver 1998 Perth 4×100 m medley World Championships (SC) Gold 2000 Athens 4×100 m medley Silver 2000 Athens 50 m backstroke Pan Pacific Championships Gold 1997 Fukuoka 100 m backstroke Gold 1997 Fukuoka 200 m backstroke Gold 1997 Fukuoka 4×100 m medley Gold 1999 Sydney 100 m backstroke Gold 1999 Sydney 200 m backstroke Gold 1999 Sydney 4×100 m medley Maccabiah Games Gold 2001 Israel 100 m backstroke Gold 2001 Israel 4×100 m medley

Lenny Krayzelburg (born September 28, 1975, as Leonid Krayzelburg; Ukrainian: Леонід Крайзельбург, Russian: Леонид Крайзельбург) is an American backstroke swimmer, and Olympic gold medalist and former world record holder. He swam in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. He won a total of 4 Olympic gold medals.

Early years

Krayzelburg is Jewish, and was born to Jewish parents in Odessa (then Soviet Union, now Ukraine). 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 Santa Monica College where he won both the 100 and 200-yard (180 m) backstroke junior college titles. His coach at Santa Monica recognized his talent and recommended him to Mark Schubert at the University of Southern California. Lenny transferred to USC. In 1995, he became a naturalized citizen 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.

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 Sydney 2000 Olympics 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 4x100 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 Jewish, 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. He also won a gold medal in the 4 x 100 m medley relay.

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, to start training under Dave Salo, who also coached Aaron Peirsol. 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. 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 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighs just above 187 lb (85 kg).

Lenny owes lots of his career achievements to his father Oleg, who has been a significant part of his success by repeatedly urging and pushing him to go on, even when Lenny wanted to quit at the age of 14. He enjoys reading as well as working with computers. Additionally, he was voted as USA swimmer of the year between 1997–2000.

He owns a condominium in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

See also

• World record progression 100 metres backstroke
• List of select Jewish swimmers
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists

Records
Preceded by Jeff Rouse	Men's 100 metre backstroke world record holder (long course) August 24, 1999– August 21, 2004	Succeeded by Aaron Peirsol
Preceded by Martin López-Zubero	Men's 200 metre backstroke world record holder (long course) August 27, 1999– March 20, 2002	Succeeded by Aaron Peirsol
Preceded by Jeff Rouse	Men's 50 metre backstroke world record holder (long course) August 28, 1999 – July 27, 2003	Succeeded by Thomas Rupprath
Awards
Preceded by Jeff Rouse & Jeremy Linn & Mark Henderson & Gary Hall, Jr.	Swimming World American Swimmer of the Year 1997–2000	Succeeded by Michael Phelps

External links

• Lenny Krayzelburg's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• Biography at USA Swimming
• "20 Questions" with Lenny Krayzelburg at USA Swimming
• Lenny Krayzelburg Swim Camp