Olympian Lenny Krayzelburg’s life has been characterized by challenges. In 1989, he immigrated with his family to the United States from the former Soviet Union. He swam competitively until 2004, and won four gold medals despite multiple shoulder surgeries.
Krayzelburg is still taking on new challenges. Though retired from competitive swimming, he cannot stay away from the pool, currently running a swim school in Los Angeles and appearing across the nation at swim camps and clinics year-round.
His family life is also challenging; Krayzelburg and his wife, Irina, have 3-year-old twin daughters, Alexa and Daniela.
“I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way,” Krayzelburg said. “One would be not enough now.”
In all facets of his life, meeting challenges is not a problem for Krayzelburg.
At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Krayzelburg won gold medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke events, and was part of the United States’ gold medal-winning 4-by-100 meter medley relay team. In Athens in 2004, he earned a gold medal as part of the 4-by-100 meter team by swimming a relay in prelims.
“The satisfaction of being the best at something that you commit so much time to it and made a life to it and achieve the highest success of it is extremely gratifying,” Krayzelburg said.
He said his most memorable gold medal was the first one he earned in Sydney.
“Just really remembering the race, the leading up to the race, winning it, putting my hand on the wall first ” these things are all very clearly stuck in my mind,” Krayzelburg said.
As someone who has tasted Olympic glory, Krayzelburg said the significance of the Olympic Games to an athlete is far too great be boycotted. This comes despite the claim by some long-distance runners that the air quality in China is too poor for them to participate in the games.
“I think that’s just a bluff. I can’t imagine ” no matter how bad their experiences are, the setting is, in terms of participating because of the pollution or other factors ” the bottom line is that it’s the Olympic Games,” Krayzelburg said.
Although Krayzelburg retired from competitive swimming four years ago, he said he still misses it.
“I miss the environment, the culture of it,” Krayzelburg said, “the reality that you’re somewhat living in a dream world, in a sense that it’s not a real-life grind.”
Krayzelburg was recently in San Diego to help promote the JCC Maccabi Games. The Olympic-style competition for Jewish athletes ages 13 to 16 will be held in San Diego Aug. 3-8, and more than 1,500 athletes are expected to compete. The JCC will be one of the venues hosting events. Krayzelburg himself participated in the Maccabi Games in 1990 and 1992.
“This is very close to my heart. I remember as a kid being part of it and how special it was. I never dreamed at that time that I would go to the Olympics,” Krayzelburg said. “To me, that was the Olympics of that time.”
Four gold medals and an Olympic career later, Krayzelburg revealed the secret to his success.
“A lot of success that I was able to achieve attributed to [the fact] that I try to have as much fun as possible,” Krayzelburg said. “I try to do things with a smile on my face and enjoy the moment, because life goes by way too fast and sometimes we take things for granted.”
At 32, it doesn’t appear that the former U.S. immigrant has taken anything for granted. And he has dived into the post-swimming chapter of his life.
For information on this summer’s Maccabi Games, visit www.sdmaccabi.org.