Jason Lezak

Jason Edward Lezak (born November 12, 1975) is an American former competitive swimmer and swimming executive who competed for the University of California, Santa Barbara. Lezak specialized in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle races, and represented the United States in four Olympic Games where he won eight Olympic medals.

Lezak is known for his performance at the 2008 Summer Olympics as the anchor for the United States during the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, where his time of 46.06 seconds was the fastest 100 m freestyle split recorded to that date. Several sports historians and journalists considered the event one of the greatest and most memorable efforts by an American relay team of that era.

Lezak has served as the general manager of the Cali Condors, which is part of the International Swimming League.

Lezak was born in Irvine, California, the son of Linda (née Mann), a former elementary school science teacher, and David Lezak, a former leather goods salesman. He is Jewish. The name Lezak is pronounced Leh-Zhack and is Polish (short e). Lezak attended El Camino Real Elementary School (now Woodbury Elementary School) and Irvine High School.

Lezak trained and competed with the Irvine Novaquatics Swim Club under Dave Salo by 2000, subsequent to his collegiate swimming years. He swam with the Novaquatics during his high school years according to a few sources.

Lezak attended Irvine High School, graduating in 1994, and swam for the Irvine High School Vaquero's swimming program, a strong team under Coach Ken Dory who was in his seventh year as the team's coach in 1994. In 1993, the Irvine High swim team were Champions of the Sea View League and placed third in the CIF Division II Championship, but did not place second in the CIF Southern Section Championships until the 1998 and 1999 season and did not place first until the 2000-2001 seasons, after Lezak's tenure with the team. Lezak was twice an All American as a high school swimmer, and had finished in the top four in the CIF Section Championships in the 100 and 50-yard freestyle events.

Enrolling around 1995, Lezak attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he swam for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos swimming and diving team from 1995 to 1998 under Gregg Wilson, who directed the Santa Barbara men's team from 1975-2015. A regional power, the UC Santa Barbara team under Wilson won the Big West Conference Swimming and Diving Championships each of the years Lezak swam with the team from 1995-1998. Lezak was an All-American swimmer at Santa Barbara, and at the 2002 NCAA Championships, set 100-yard and 50-yard national records. His 100-yard freestyle title in 2002, was his third, and he was subsequently honored as a Pac-10 Conference Swimmer of the Year. From 1996-1998, Lezak was honored in three successive years as a Big West Conference Swimmer of the Year. Lezak graduated the University in 1999 with a degree in Economics.

Lezak lives in Orange County, California with his wife, the former Danielle DeVillers, a former swimmer and Olympic medalist. The couple have 3 children, Ryan, Blake, and Layla.