Twice in the last four years, Conejo Simi Aquatics had U.S. Olympic swimmer Jason Lezak come to its endoftheyear banquet as a guest speaker.

If Lezak is invited as a special guest again, he's going to have a lot more to talk about.

Fifteen months after Lezak spoke at the Moorpark Country Club about working hard to accomplish your dreams, CSA swimmers watched Lezak attain his own dreams when he won two gold medals and one bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing last week.

Lezak shared a bronze in the men's 100 freestyle and won gold in the 4x100 medley relay.

The race everyone in the world seemed to be talking about, however, was Lezak's come-from-behind performance as the anchor of the United States 4x100 freestyle team. Lezak barely beat France's Alain Bernard to the wall by .08 seconds to secure a gold medal for the United States.

"The race was definitely different from any other in my career," Lezak wrote in an email. "I had more thoughts go through my head in that race than ever before.

"When I turned at the 50 (meter mark) and saw how far ahead he was for a few seconds, I thought, 'This is impossible.' Then I felt myself catching him, and I changed my mindset. With about 15 meters to go I realized he was fading, and I got a surge of adrenaline like I've never felt in my life. It was really difficult to tell if I had outtouched (Bernard), but with everyone's reaction it was obvious we had won."

CSA and Thousand Oaks High junior swimmer Kathryn Irwin, who attended both CSA banquets Lezak spoke at, watched the epic relay race on television with her family.

"Me and my family are really big fans of swimming, so we were jumping up and down on the couch as Lezak started to come from behind," Irwin said.

"I was more nervous for (Lezak) because I had met him. After watching him win, I thought back to when he spoke and realized, 'Wow, he really does know what he's talking about.'"

Later in the week, Lezak's performance as the anchor in the 4x100 medley relay enabled his teammate, Michael Phelps, to win his eighth gold medal.

Coming into the event, Lezak focused on his task, not the opportunity for Phelps to make history.

"Just as in the case with the other relay, I didn't go into it worrying about Michael," Lezak said. "I went into it trying to win the gold medal as a team of four and as a part of Team USA. It was a great way to end the Olympics."

Not only did Lezak talk with the CSA swimmers two years ago, he also joined them in the pool for a day of training. CSA and Oak Park High swimmer Adam Mills remembers it well.

"When he talked to us at the banquet he was about 32 years old and still hadn't medaled in an individual event," Mills said.

"So what he preached to us was even if you don't accomplish your dreams at an early age, don't give up. I was so happy for him when his goals were accomplished."

Lezak said when he spoke at the banquets he wanted to make sure all the swimmers were having a good time.

"Having fun was definitely one of my main messages," Lezak said. "The other is to never stop trying when things don't always go your way."