Three-time U.S. Olympic gold medal swimmer Jason Lezak announced on Sunday that he will skip the top swimming competition of the year in order to fulfill his dream and compete at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, according to Swimming World magazine.
"I now have the opportunity to go to the Maccabiah Games in Israel, fulfilling a lifelong dream of mine. This is a decision I made, which is as much about giving back to the Jewish community and exploring my heritage as it is about the performance on the world stage" said Lezak. "I'll be representing my country and my heritage as a Jewish athlete and I'm very proud of that."
Lezak said he was inspired by his Jewish heritage to forego the July 18 World Swimming Championships in Rome, but his goal remains to bring home a gold medal for the U.S. He is expected to compete in multiple events througout the Maccabiah which runs from July 13-23. Competing in both, he said, was impossible.
''I came here to swim fast and hopefully bring home some gold medals for the USA,'' Lezak said in Jerusalem.
Success at the 2008 Beijing Olympics 400-meter freestyle relay brought Lezak worldwide recognition. He dramatically overtook world-record-holding Alain Bernard of France in the final stroke of the 400-meter freestyle relay, logging the fastest 100-meter lap in history. The performance helped teammate Michael Phelps to a record eight gold medals, eclipsing the previous record of seven held by Mark Spitz, another Maccabiah athlete.
Lezak also won a gold medal in the 400-meter medley relay in Beijing and in the same event at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
The Maccabiah Games is an international competition for Jewish athletes held every four years in Israel, one year after the Olypmics. Nearly 900 American athletes will compete in this year's games, officials said, making it the second-largest delegation behind Israel.