JASON LEZAK is One in A Thousand !!!

Jason Lezak, ISHOF Honoree and called the man who
made the greatest relay swim of all time,
is special.  He is One in a Thousand!

When asked why he wanted to join the
International Swimming Hall of Fame’s One in A Thousand Club, Lezak said, “I
made my first trip to the Hall of Fame when I was 18.  Although I already had Olympic dreams, this
added inspiration to want to achieve like so many of the greats from our past.  No matter what sport I did, I was always
appreciated the history that created the opportunities for me to succeed. 

It was an honor to be inducted last year and
to now have a display for all the visitors to see.  It’s very humbling to be a small part of
swimming history.”

Join the One in a Thousand Club by helping ISHOF on a monthly or
one-time basis.

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$10 Monthly Commitment

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$25 Monthly Commitment

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$50 Monthly Commitment

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Make a One-Time
Commitment

More about……JASON LEZAK

From the beginning, Jason Lezak
showed great promise in the pool, but he constantly butted heads
with
his coach, Dave Salo, over his commitment to training. Recruited to swim at UC
Santa Barbara, Jason’s problems with authority continued until coach Gregg
Wilson finally dismissed him from the team. This was the wake-up call he
needed. He loved to swim and compete, and after promising to improve his
training habits, Jason rejoined the team. In his Senior year, Lezak was named
Big West Conference Swimmer of the Year.

At
the 2000 Olympic Trials, Jason finished fourth in the 100m freestyle. While he
failed to qualify individually, his result was good enough to make the 4x100m
freestyle relay team, an event Team USA had never lost in the Olympic Games.
  In Sydney, the Australians pulled off
the unexpected upset in their home pool and the USA settled for the silver.

Over
the next four years, Jason was the top sprinter in the world, and at the 2004
U.S. Olympic
Trials
in Long Beach, he qualified for the Olympic Games in both the 50m and 100m
freestyle.

In
Athens, the US freestyle relay team was trying to win back the title it had
lost in Sydney four years earlier. Instead, they finished third behind South Africa
and the Netherlands.
The next day Jason did not swim as well
as expected and failed to reach the semi-finals. Individually Jason finished
fifth in the 50 meter freestyle. Success came when he swam the freestyle leg
behind Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, and Ian Crocker to win the medley relay
gold medal, in world record time.

In
2006, Dave Salo left Irvine to take the coaching job at USC, leaving Jason
without a coach. He
began coaching himself and proved by
qualifying for his third Olympic Games that he had the discipline to train
daily without a team or trainer at his side.

When
he finished second in the 100m freestyle at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, he was
32 years old,
the
oldest male swimmer to make the team and was selected by his teammates as a
captain.

At the 2008 Games in Beijing, his first
event was the 4x100m freestyle relay. The USA hadn’t
won this
race since 1996 and this time the USA was not the favorite. That distinction
belonged to the
team
from France, with 100m world record holder, Alain Bernard as its anchorman.
Swimming last,
and
starting nearly a fully body length behind, Jason chased down Bernard in the
final 20 yards to
win the gold medal by
eight-one-hundredths of a second. Jason’s split time of 46.06, is still the fastest 
100m split in history.

The next day, Jason won bronze in the
100m freestyle for the first individual Olympic medal of his
career.
On the final day of competition, he anchored the USA’s world record setting
medley relay
that
gave Michael Phelps his historic eighth gold medal.

Continuing to swim on his own after
Beijing, Jason passed up the opportunity to compete in the
World
Championships to participate in the Maccabiah Games in Israel, where he won
four gold
medals
and celebrated his heritage as a Jewish athlete.

In 2012, at the age of 36, Jason
qualified for his fourth Olympic team by finishing sixth at the
Olympic
Trials in the 100 free. In London, he swam in the preliminaries and helped earn
a spot in the
final
for the silver medal winning U.S. team. In doing so, he became the first male
swimmer in
Olympic
history to win four medals in the same event, in the 4×100m freestyle relay, in
four
consecutive Olympic Games.

Jason ended his Olympic career with a total of eight medals,
four gold, two silver and two bronze. 
Today Jason is a proud husband and father of three and a popular
motivational speaker who is balancing his family life with business
opportunities.


The
International Swimming Hall of Fame nts to know if you are One in a Thousand? 
We think you are!  Show how special you are and become a member of the
International Swimming Hall of Fame’s “
One In
A Thousand”
 Club. 
Help keep the International Swimming Hall of Fame moving forward toward a new
vision and museum by joining now!

During
these unprecedented times, the ISHOF Board is calling on every member in the
aquatic community to make a small monthly commitment of support to show how
special you are and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to
everyone. 

Our
goal is simple. If we get 1,000 people to simply commit $10, $25 or $50 per
month, we will generate enough revenue to go beyond this Covid-19 Pandemic
Crisis.
” – Bill Kent – Chairman of the ISHOF Board


Those
that believe in our vision, mission, and goals can join us in taking ISHOF into
the future and be a part of aquatic history
.”  – Brent
Rutemiller – CEO and President of ISHOF


Since
1965, ISHOF has been the global focal point for recording and sharing the
history of aquatics, promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and
developing educational programs and events related to water sports. ISHOF’s
vision for the future is to build a new museum and expand its reach by offering
its museum artifacts digitally through a redesigned website.

The
ISHOF Board of Directors is calling on all members of the aquatics community to
make a small monthly commitment to show their dedication to aquatics and how
special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.

About ISHOF   Take a Virtual Tour

The
International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) museum opened its doors to the
public in December of 1968 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That same year, the
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) – the governing body for Olympic
aquatic sports – designated the ISHOF museum as the “Official Repository for
Aquatic History”.   In 2018, Sports Publications Inc, publisher
of Swimming World Magazine and its multi-media platforms,
merged with ISHOF to expand the museum’s reach and impact.  Today, ISHOF’s
vision is to be the global focal point for recording and sharing the history of
aquatics, promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and developing
educational programs and events related to water sports.  Show your support
for the sport of swimming by becoming a 
member of ISHOF.

ISHOF Vision Statement

To be the global focal point for recording and sharing the history of aquatics,
promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and developing educational
programs and events related to water sports.

ISHOF Mission Statement

To collaborate with aquatic organizations worldwide to preserve, educate and
celebrate history, showcase events, share cultures, and increase participation
in aquatic sports.

The
International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc. is registered as a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization, incorporated in the State of Florida. Contributions to
ISHOF are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. ISHOF’s tax
identification number is 59-1087179. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND
FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY
CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR FROM THE WEBSITE, 
www.800helpfla.com. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR
RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. You can find out more about us on 
guidestar.org under International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc.