Word: krayzelburg
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...pictures of the movie stars and recording artists smiling down on the luxury cars that purred past, money on parade. He was surrounded by the colors, the noise, the flash and the folly of the commercial opportunities available in the United States. The irony wasn't lost on Lenny Krayzelburg, child of the Soviet Union. Why was his piece of this grand picture missing? If there was something for everyone, why was there nothing for him? He would be better off back in Odessa, back in Ukraine. "I knew what it took to be a world-class swimmer, because...
...When we got here, one of the first things my father did was enroll me with the Team Santa Monica swim club," Krayzelburg says. "It was a good program, but it was too far away. We didn't own a car, so I had to take a bus for 45 minutes and then walk eight blocks. I was going to school, I was working an after-school job to help out the family, I was studying English. It was all too much." Lenny wanted to quit the sport. Oleg wouldn't listen. Swimming was important. Why had Oleg packed five...
...sent out letters to four-year colleges, looking for a scholarship, but without a boxful of blue ribbons and medals, he didn't have much of a r?sum?. Not one college was interested. "What can you do for the 100-yard back?" Blumkin asked. "Fifty-five seconds," Krayzelburg said...
...potential was obvious in that first workout. Blumkin arranged for Krayzelburg, as a high school student, to practice with the team. He was a revelation. "He was just that kid who worked harder than everyone else," Blumkin says. "Anything you told him to do, he did it. He was the first one here, last to leave. He thrived on work. The more I watched him, the more I thought, This kid's potential is unlimited...
...Krayzelburg enrolled at Santa Monica City College and played water polo. He soon became Blumkin's best swimmer. But Blumkin knew Krayzelburg would be better off in a big-time environment. UCLA would have been the first choice, but the Bruins had recently dropped men's swimming. The University of Southern California was an easy second choice. Blumkin contacted Trojans coach Mark Schubert. "In all the time I've been coaching, this might have been the most unselfish act I've ever seen," Schubert says. "Lenny had another year of eligibility at Santa Monica, but Stu was looking for what...