Jason Lezak

Jason Lezak at Beijing Olympics after winning gold (http://openwaterpedia.com (http://openwaterpedia.com ))

My hero is Jason Lezak. He is my hero because he is a good teammate, he is a positive role model, and he will never give up. I chose this particular swimmer because he was just like me when I was younger. He didn't listen to his coach for instructions and didn't get a lot of best times when in races. Jason Lezak stayed that way for at least eight years. Once he got to college he was kicked off his swim team because he was trash talking and just decided that he wasn't going to work hard. He kept begging his coach to let him back on the swim team. Finally, he got onto the swim team by writing a persuasive letter saying he was going to start working harder, and he was going to make himself be stronger than ever before. These characteristics will show why Jason Lezak is a hero to me.

Jason Lezak is a good teammate. He is a good teammate because he won his eighth gold medal. By winning the gold medal in the relay, he also won Michael Phelps his eighth gold medal and Phelps's sponsor Speedo gave Phelps $1,000,000. Another reason why Jason Lezak is a good teammate is that he apologized for his actions in college in person, and through a letter, after he trash talked about his coach and other swimmers. Finally, Jason Lezak did everything he could to make the experience on the swim team better for his teammates, himself and his coach. That is was why he is a good teammate in my opinion.

Another hero characteristic that makes Jason Lezak a hero is the fact that he is a positive role model. One example of him being a positive role model is that he went to sports therapy to get himself to be the best he could be for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Sports therapy is when you go to a therapist in your sport and he or she helps you figure out what you need to feel like and think about before your race to beat your best time. The 2008 Olympics was also known as Jason's third effort; the third effort is when he came back from losing twice in the previous Summer Olympics. Those two times were the first two times the Americans lost in a relay in history. In 2000 they lost to the Australians, and in 2004 they lost to the Netherlands and South Africa. The second example of Jason Lezak being a positive role model is when he was in college, he got kicked off his swim team for trash talking his teammates, not trying hard, and disobeying his coach. Jason knew that what he did wasn't right and decided that he wasn't going to drop swim into a big hole and leave it there. Jason had decided that he was going to get back on the team. Jason had several attempts to get back on the team, but all his attempts failed, Jason finally went to his mom for help; she suggested that Jason write a persuasive letter to his coach. The letter worked, Jason was back on the team. He promised that he would work harder and not do what he did before. Jason also promised that he would respect his teammates and coach. Jason Lezak kept his promises. This is why Jason Lezak is a positive role model.

My third characteristic is that Jason Lezak would never give up. He came back from disappointment in 2000 and 2004 when he lost in both relays. This year, Jason said to himself that he wasn't going to lose. Before Jason dove off the block for the fourth leg of the relay he said I'm not going to give up no matter how much it hurts. With Bernard, the world record holder, in front by a body length and with his last 50 meters to go, Jason replaced the thought of "no way" to "I've changed." Afterwards he said "I thought, That's ridiculous. He said to himself again I'm at the Olympic Games, I'm here for the United States of America. I don't care how bad it hurts, I'm going after it." That is why he will never give up.

These characteristics, in my opinion, best explain why Jason Lezak is a hero. The fact he was a positive role model by inspiring people to work hard for his or her goal like he did. He not giving up and pushing people to be like him determination wise, and Jason being a great teammate and taking responsibility for his actions. This is why Jason is my hero, because he made me want to be like him through these characteristics.