Aug. 13, 2008

BEIJING, China - Former UC Santa Barbara swimmer Jason Lezak will swim in the 100-meter freestyle final at the 2008 Olympic games after qualifying for the event on Wednesday morning in Beijing with the sixth-fastest semifinal time. The event final will be swam Thursday morning in China, which is Wednesday night in California, and will air during NBC's prime time coverage this evening.

Lezak, who anchored the United State's men's 400-meter freestyle relay to a gold medal and a world record on Monday morning, is swimming his second event final of the 2008 Olympics. He qualified for the 100 free final after finishing third in his semifinal and sixth overall with a mark of 47.98. He is slated to swim in lane two of the event final, which also features current world-record holder Eamon Sullivan of Australia and Alain Bernard of France.

Lezak, who graduated from UCSB in 1999 and was a two-time Big West Swimmer of the Year, is participating in his third Olympics for the United States. He also medaled at the 2000 Sydney Games and the 2004 Athens Olympics. Following the 100 freestyle, Lezak will conclude his Olympic program by anchoring the 400-medley relay.