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November 2000 Issue

Krazy For Krayzelburg

By Deborah Biskin Levine

When is the last time you met a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed hunk who also happened to be a nice Jewish boy? Lenny Krazelburg, three time Olympic gold medal winner for backstroke, has a self-effacing charm and strikingly good looks that have transformed him into a media darling. People Magazine has recognized him as one of the Fifty Most Beautiful People of 2000--and they are right.

Born in Odessa in 1975, little Lenny Krazelburg was part of the Soviet Empire's Olympic training machine. At nine years old he was practicing five hours a day and destined for greatness. However, like hundreds of thousands of other Jewish parents, Oleg and Yelena Krayzelburg were concerned about their son's future. They felt that his chances for success would be greater in America.

"As a Jew growing up in Russia, I never faced much anti-Semitism," the 25 year-old athlete said at a recent press luncheon in Manhattan. "A few times I was called names. But my parents knew that because I was a Jew, my opportunities would be limited there--in sports especially. Being a Jew would have to affect me in some way."

In America, Krayzelburg found an aquatic home at the Westside Jewish Community Center where he practiced and worked thirty hours a week to help support his family. "It was only two weeks after I arrived in the United States that I was back in the water," he said.

But the JCC did not provide him with the challenges he needed. A discouraged Krazelburg was tempted to give it all up, but his ever-supportive father talked him out of it.

In 1993 Krayzelburg resumed training in earnest at Santa Monica City College. The coach, Stu Blumkin, saw the seventeen-year-old's potential during the first workout, and helped him garner a scholarship to Southern Cal.

In swimming, champions don't typically show up out of the clear blue sky, and Krazelburg didn't have a resume or a list of competitions under his belt. But Mark Schubert, the coach at Southern Cal, gave him a chance based on Blumkin's recommendation.

By his sophomore year, Krayzelburg shocked everyone by qualifying for the 1996 Olympic trials in Indianapolis. An immigrant from Odessa, he had the second best time in the 200-meter heats--and nobody had even heard of him.

The top two swimmers from these trials would be eligible for the games in Atlanta. But Krazelburg wasn't ready emotionally. If he had repeated the times he had achieved just that morning, he would have made the team. But instead, he came in fifth.

For the next four years Krazelburg continued practicing hard. His goal--to go to Sydney. In August of 1999, he broke an unprecedented three World Records in the 50-, 100-, and 200-meter backstroke events on his way to winning three gold medals at the Pan American Pacific Championships.

In Sydney, Krazelburg's six foot two inch body seemingly sailed through the water as he easily nailed the golds in the 100-meter backstroke, the 200-meter backstroke, and the 400-medley relay, breaking two Olympic records in the process.

"It was amazing to have 18,000 people there watching me swim. That doesn't happen every day," he said.

"When I heard the Star Spangled Banner, I thought about everything I went through to get here. I just tried to savor the moment. I'm a huge sports fan, and I get very emotional watching other people's victories, so for me it was incredible standing there. I wanted to enjoy the whole Olympic experience. It's hard to enjoy while you're competing, but when I was done, I had a great time. In the eyes of the world there is nothing bigger for an athlete than the Olympic Games. I have to represent America in a certain way--with class and with dignity."

Surprisingly, Krazelburg plans to skip the next world championships and participate in the Maccabia Games instead. "In 1993 I was invited to participate in the Maccabia Games, but I just couldn't afford it because you have to pay for your own trip. In 1997 I was invited again, but I had other swimming commitments."

Krazelburg, who has no Jewish education, and celebrates only the holiday of Yom Kippur by going to synagogue, is interested in his Jewish roots.

"Being Jewish is a part of me, it's a part of my culture. I find it fascinating and I want to learn as much about it as possible. I hope to raise my own children with more religion. I hope to sometime become involved in charitable causes in the Jewish community."

Planning on touring the country while he is in Israel, Krazelburg is anxious to see the Western Wall. When asked if he would have to qualify for the Maccabia Games he laughingly responded, "I think I'll submit my times’ and hopefully, they'll be good enough."

Never having had much time for dating, Krazelburg says he would like to eventually meet the right someone. "I was kind of limited in what I could do, I couldn't stay out late because I always had to get up so early. But I knew what I wanted to accomplish and I figured that relationships could wait."

Though he has received his share of email marriage proposals, he is hoping to find a Russian woman who shares his heritage. "If I could find someone who is also Jewish--that would be important too," he said.

Deborah Biskin Levine is a freelance writer living in Albany, New York. her upcoming book , Acts of Loving Kindness (JPS) is due out next summer.

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