By Becky McSeddon

Saturday at the Lake Havasu City Community Aquatic Center was a special day for members of the Havasu Stingrays Swim Club.

They came there to meet and learn from former Olympic champion Jason Lezak.

Jason Lezak is an American former competitive swimmer who competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics four times. He has won 8 Olympic medals, 2 bronze, 2 silver and 4 gold.

He specialized in 50 and 100 meter freestyle racing. His professional career lasted nearly 15 years.

Lezak is best known for anchoring the US 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics. It is hailed as one of the greatest Olympic swimming relay races of all time.

This was the first time Lezak, a Californian, visited Lake Havasu City.

“I’m going to come out again with my family,” he told Riverscene magazine.

Rezak said he has been playing for clubs like the Stingrays since his retirement and has also camped in other parts of the world.

“I’m a little older, so I try not to do too much because I have a family with kids doing something,” he said.

He added that he wasn’t going to give it up, just slow it down.

He said he is in contact with his swim buddies.

“America’s swimming world… I show up at competitions from time to time, and I meet a lot of people I haven’t seen in years, but it feels like I just met them yesterday.

“Sometimes when we go on trips longer than a month, we experience a bond that’s pretty rare. You get to know people really well.”

Stingrays head coach Rick Wheeler said the club held a fundraiser to bring Rezak to Lake Havasu City.

“We ran a fundraiser to bring Olympic swimmer Jason Lezak into the group and give him that experience. Talk to them a little bit, swim with them a little bit. It’s a great opportunity to find out what it takes to be a swimmer,” Wheeler said.

“I could tell by the look on their faces and the way they paid attention to him that they were excited about the part. It helps to repeat the

“I think it was good for them to be able to see and hear those things from another perspective from him rather than from the coach,” he said.

“I think everyone was pretty excited. I think we get a lot out of this.”

The Havasu Stingrays Swim Team is looking for the following sponsors to support this event.

Mojave County Aquatic Pools, We ‘B’ Poppin, Ann Dental, Embodied Wellness, Sherry Vengard, Active Chiropractic, Beauty Secrets, London Bridge Plumbers, Sunset Skin House, Janecheck Homes, Printing Plus, Wirefree , Jerseys Grill, PZA, Liska’s Apothecary Shop, Palmari Construction, T1R.com LLC.