“After living in Tel Aviv for six years, it is very calm and quiet here,” Zur said. “It is very good for focusing and training. I love it here. It’s the best place in the world to train.”

Zur grew up in Israel and has been kayaking as long as he can remember. After graduating from high school, Zur served in the Israeli army but also kept competing in kayaking. After being barely beaten out for a singles position, Zur began training with the Israeli junior champion for a mere three and a half weeks before earning the final spot on the Israeli Olympic Team.

“After qualifying, we trained two to three times a day like what I’m doing here [in Chula Vista],” Zur said. “The facilities over there were not nearly as good as here, but we managed.”

In the K2-500 m, Zur and his partner came in 16th place, and in K2-1,000 m, they finished 13th place.

The most exciting thing about the 2000 Olympic games for Zur was having his dad there.

“He was so proud and happy,” Zur said. “He has never pushed me, but he always supported me. Even when my parents had to drive me twice a day to practice around their work schedules, they gave a lot to me and my sport.”

Now, competing for the United States, Zur has leaped into the forefront of the kayaking world. In 2002, he won the World Cup in Germany in K1-500 m. He and partner John Mooney achieved fifth place at 2002 World Championships in the K2-200 m and sixth in the 500 m singles. He also won all his events in the 2002 U.S. World Team Trials. In 2003, Zur won bronze medals in K1-500 m World Cups in both Hungary and Poland. He also won K1-500 and 1,000 m and K2-500 m at the U.S. World Team Trials 2003 in Lake Placid.

Zur currently trains with goals of medalling at the 2003 World Championships this September and making the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. Here is what a typical day is like for this Olympian, in his own words.

“7:30 a.m.: Wake up

7:40 a.m.: I eat breakfast at the Dining Hall, usually eggs, pancakes, bacon, a mix of granola and fruit, orange juice and some Powerade.

8:15 a.m.: I workout on the water, usually paddling for 1-2 hours, depending on the workout.

10:30 a.m.: Go to Sports Medicine to do stretching and get treatment. Sometimes I get a massage for stiff muscles. I’ll work on hip flexors, back, arms, shoulders, and ice depending on what I need.

11:30 a.m.: Go to lunch at the Dining Hall. I eat meat and a lot of carbohydrates like potatoes, rice, and spaghetti, whatever is for lunch. I try to eat a lot and drink a lot.

12:15 p.m.: Then it’s naptime until about 2:30 p.m.

3:00 p.m.: I head to the weight room and usually lift for one to one and a half hours, but not any more than that. That includes warm up and cool down. Depending on the time of the season, I’ll do everything from upper body with bench press and bench pulls to abs, squats, generally everything. But I emphasize more on pushing and pulling with arms and rotation.

4:30 p.m.: Go for a paddle again for about an hour.

6:15 p.m.: Dinner again in the Dining Hall. I eat whatever is for dinner. I have a tendency to lose weight quickly so I need to eat a lot of carbohydrates and protein.

In the evening, depending on the season, I take classes at the local college, Southwestern College, at 5, 6 or 7 p.m. depending on the day. I’ll go there straight from after practice until 9 or 9:30 p.m. Then I go back to the dorms and study. When I’m not in school, I’ll help my dad with his business or hang out with friends. We all hang out in the boathouse, stretching and laughing. It’s pretty fun when we have a big team here.

10:30 p.m.: It’s time to go to sleep.”

As Zur trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center-Chula Vista, he tries to perfect every workout, not only physically but also mentally.

“You reach a certain level that your physical shape and abilities are more or less the same as your other competitors,” he said. “The thing that makes the difference is your mental preparation and training. I’m giving everything I have to this sport.”