10 facts about an Olympic hero

Jason Lezak, 32 of Irvine, will go down as one of the greatest Olympians of all-time for his incredible, world-record setting, come-from-behind, anchor-leg swim in the 4x100 freestyle relay in the Beijing Olympics. Here are 10 facts you may not know about Lezak.

• He's the fourth U.S. Jewish gold medalist.
• At 32, he's the oldest man on the U.S. Olympic team.
• He trains, without a coach, in Irvine.
• He's a graduate of Irvine High School.
• His wife was an Olympic world swimmer.
• He was a high-school All-American water polo player before concentrating on swimming.
• He started swimming with the Irvine Novaquatics at age 5.
• His father is in leather goods.
• His mother is an elementary school teacher.
• When he was 10, he had to make a tough decision between the finals of a run, hit, and throw competition at Angel Stadium for baseball and Junior Olympics for swimming. Swimming turned out to be the best choice where he went on to win a couple of events at the competition.
• He's a huge weightlifter.