Lenny Krayzelburg is one of the best backstrokers in history.  He had a difficult childhood, moving from Russia to the United States.  He almost quit swimming when he had to commute hours every day just to get to practice.  All that practice paid off, though, when he won three gold medals at this past Olympics and holding world records in both the backstroke events for a while.  Although younger swimmers are stepping up to challenge him, he could possibly add some more victories to his collection.  

Lenny Krayzelburg has some serious competition coming up.  His world record in the 200 backstroke was recently shattered by Aaron Peirsol, the 18-year old who shocked crowds at the 2002 Phillips 66 Spring Nationals in Minnesota.  The meet was overlapped by the NCAA Championships, so there wasn't expected to be many headlines.  Obviously, Aaron didn't need the intense competition to swim well, since the second place finisher was five seconds behind.  With performances like these, the next race between Krayzelburg and Peirsol should be very entertaining.  

Natalie Coughlin is probably the biggest name in women's backstroke right now.  In 2001, she had some great performances at the NCAA Championships, and broke some records.  That was just a preview of what was going to happen there in 2002.  She led off the 200 medley relay with easily the fastest time ever, followed by an amazing 100 backstroke where she went 49.97!  No other woman has ever gone under 52 seconds.  Natalie also holds some world records.  Her accomplishments just keep adding up.  Who knows what will happen in 2004?