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Hot times in Texas
The U.S. Masters Swimming Long Course Meters Championships produced some record-breaking peformances Triple digits. That's where the temperature hovered every day of the U.S. Masters Swimming Long Course Meters Championships -- above 100 degrees. The meet was held Aug. 10-13 in The Woodlands, Texas. "My performance was a little sub-par, particularly because of the intense heat," said Bonnie Pronk, 65, who nonetheless broke the women's 65-69 world record in the 50-meter breaststroke. A few swimmers, however, seemed completely at ease in the heat. One of them was Laura B. Val. What's the B. stand for, Laura? Our guess is "ballistic." At the meet, the 56-year-old Val swam like she was shot out of a torpedo tube, setting age-group world records in five events: 100-meter freestyle (1:02.02), 50-meter backstroke (33.96), 50-meter freestyle (28.84), 50-meter butterfly (31.83) and 100-meter butterfly (1:10.21). Her heat in the 50-meter freestyle showcased her crisp stroke technique, which she credits to the training she received as a youngster. She hones the technique today during intense training sessions with a group of triathlon athletes. "I swim 5 (kilometers) every day, every workout. We don't swim less than 5,000 meters," Val said. "We do it in an hour and a half. It's pretty hard-core stuff. We train hard from the time we get started at 6 a.m. in the morning till we get done around 7:30 a.m. And the people I'm swimming with, several of them are training for the Olympics and triathlons." But of the 911 swimmers who competed in The Woodlands, Val's performance may have only been the second most remarkable. The top honors go to 45-year-old Susan Walsh, who uses no middle initial -- maybe because it would only weigh her down. Representing North Carolina Masters Swimming, Walsh set age-group world records in six events: 100- meter freestyle (1:00.16), 50-meter backstroke (31.85), 200-meter backstroke (2:34.80), 50-meter freestyle (27.44), 50-meter butterfly (29.84) and 100-meter backstroke (1:09.66). A member of the U.S. Olympic team in the boycott year of 1980, Walsh, 45, has demonstrated a keen ability to rise above the competition when it mattered most. But outside the waters, nothing could have prepared her for the obstacle she had to face three years ago. Walsh had just resumed her swim training after a lengthy absence from competition to focus on raising her children, when she suffered a heart attack. The experience was shocking, the world class athlete said, but the thought of returning to an active life in swimming helped her cope with the life-threatening "There have been moments, and every once in a while I wonder, 'Gosh, can that happen again?' I'm seeing the doctors every year and everything looks fine." Walsh and Val each had a great meet, but career-wise, both women have a long way to go to catch Graham Johnston. The 76-year-old from Houston, who is a 1952 Olympian for South Africa, set one world record at The Woodlands meet, but it was a significant one. With his world record swim of 7:13.14 in the 400-meter individual medley, Johnston tied Gus Langner for most age-group world records with 81. At press time, Johnston said he planned to try to break Langner's record at the Pan-American Masters swimming championships in September. Johnston, Val and Walsh contributed to the 36 individual agegroup world and national records that were toppled at The Woodlands. Four relay world records were also set at the meet. The first day of competition set the stage for several record-breaking performances by swimmers in multiple events. In the women's 400-meter freestyle, Margery Meyer, 85, of The Olympic Club set the first of her two world records in the 85-89 division. Meyer finished in 8:14.05 amid a chorus of cheers and, later, set the national record in the 50-meter freestyle in 48.76. Her blue bathing suit all but told the story of a swimmer in top physical condition, which Meyer attributed to her balanced lifestyle. "I swim four to five days a week," Meyer said after the race. "I eat well and I don't dive into the sweets before diving into the pool…I have a balanced life." In the 200-meter backstroke, Richard Todd, 65, won comfortably in the men's 65-69 division. Todd set the national record in 2:51.11, breaking the old mark of 2:54:10, which was set just last year. Todd also set a new men's 65-69 national record in the 200-meter breaststroke with a 3:03.47 finish, nearly 13 seconds ahead of Raymond Loewe of Pennypack Aquatic & Fitness. Todd trains six days a week and covers 3,200 yards daily. But it's what he does outside the pool through diet and nutrition, he said, that allows him to excel in competition. "I have a saying, everything that goes into my mouth has to go through my brain first," Todd said prior to the 200-meter breaststroke. "I want to know what everything does in my body. "You go out to a restaurant and you eat french fries and you think it's OK, but it's not. One of the worst things you can eat is french fries. So I am very interested in nutrition, I follow that religiously." Of swimsuits and lawsuits Swimming has influenced so much in Steadman-Martin's life For Nancy Steadman-Martin, swimming is family. At the U.S. Masters Swimming Long Course Meters National Championships, Steadman-Martin competed at the meet and so did her mother, Doris Steadman, 82. They both did pretty well for themselves. Steadman took home three gold medals in the women's 80-84 age group, winning the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke. Her daughter took home three golds and three silvers. For Steadman-Martin, swimming has also provided achievement on a grand scale. She swam the English Channel on August 10, 2004. Her mother was there in that fabled body of water, waiting in a small, rickety boat. "I felt confident; I knew she would make it," Steadman said, with pride in her eyes. Swimming has also led Steadman-Martin to her occupation. "I'm a lawyer," she explained. "Swimming helped get me into law. I started (researching) pool accidents for lawyers as an expert because I was involved in lifeguarding. I liked doing the research, so I got into law." Steadman-Martin, who currently practices employment law, said that her experience has focused her attention on social issues surrounding the sport. Of those concerns, she said, is the issue of young, underprivileged minorities being susceptible to drowning because parents are often unable to afford swimming lessons. In addition to her job as an attorney, Steadman-Martin is the vice-president of Surf Life Saving, a business her husband started to help provide lifeguards to local beaches and clubs around New Jersey. She teaches CPR, life saving and water safety techniques, and said Surf Life Saving has been proactive in getting more minorities into swimming. "It's pretty much a white sport because it's expensive to join pools. Coaching gets expensive, so it's Steadman-Martin said Surf Life Saving offers scholarships to students 15 to 16 years old through the local school's underprivileged lunch program. After training, the program seeks out summer life guarding jobs for qualified candidates. -- Mark Suarez World Beaters World record performers at the U.S. Masters Swimming Long Course Meters National Championships Lorenzo Benucci, 40 Graham M. Johnston, 76 Doug C. Malcolm, 50 Katie McClelland, 31 Margery Meyer, 85 Clark E. Mitchell, 75 Bonnie Pronk, 65 Dan Stephenson, 50 Laura B. Val, 56 Susan Walsh, 45 Hugh Wilder, 60 Steve C. Wood, 47 |