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Masters Swimming
GeezerJock and GeezerJock.com are the best places to stay up-to-date on Masters sports. At GeezerJock, it is our goal to provide the very best coverage of the sports you still play.
In this section, you'll get the latest news, results, event listings, trend stories, equipment reviews, personality stories and much more about Masters Swimming.
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Masters athlete gets sponsorship
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (May 15, 2009) -- That headline is of the man-bites-dog variety, but it's something I like to see. A Masters athlete got a sponsor. It probably helps that he's a three time Olympic gold medalist, but Rowdy Gaines is now in his 50s and he received a sponsorship from blueseventy, which makes swimskins and wetsuits. Gaines is a devoted Masters swimmer. He set a couple of records at the recent U.S. Masters Swimming Short Course National Championship in Fresno, Calif. He also handled some announcing duties at the event. "I have been involved with this great sport for 35 years," Gaines said in a press release announcing his deal with blueseventy. "It is amazing what blueseventy has brought to swimming. I am so proud to be a part of a company that thinks of the athlete first, both young and old." It sure seems like blueseventy is thinking of young swimmers and Masters swimmers. I hope other advertisers begin to understand that all the Masters athletes out there are a big, rich market. . . . keep reading...>>
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U.S. Masters Swimming executive director gets it
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (May 13, 2009) -- U.S. Masters Swimming just finished hosting its Short Course National Championships in Fresno, Calif., from May 7-10. There were some big names at the meet, with U.S. Olympian Rowdy Gaines setting records in the men's 50-54 age group. But there were many other facets to the event, and Rob Butcher, the new U.S. Masters Swimming executive director, clearly understands that. He wrote a great piece summarizing the meet and, more than that, encapsulating all the great things about Masters swimming in particular and Masters sports in general. He understands that a guy like Gaines can do a lot to legitimize and promote Masters sports, but at the same time he sees that the people who volunteer to put on the meet and guys like Rich Burns, who was never an Olympian, but is swimming well enough to break six national records in the men's 65-69 age group, are the heart and soul of Masters swimming. . . . keep reading...>>
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The Masters athlete vs. the Olympian
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (May 11, 2009) -- I've always been a big believer in having Masters athletes race against elite athletes in exhibitions. First, these kinds of events can show off the skill levels of Masters athletes. And second, they can be great fund-raising events. Case in point: The spectacle of a Masters swimmer racing an Olympian helped raise $150,000 for Daytona (Fla.) State College's new swimming program. A few weeks ago, Charlie Lydecker, a 45-year-old Masters swimmer, went Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte to a race in the 200-meter individual medley -- a race in which Lochte won the gold in Beijing. The combination of Lochte's star power and the novelty of his racing a Masters swimmer created a huge buzz. More than 900 people ended up paying $100 a ticket to watch the race. Lydecker got a 15-second headstart and the race came down to who out-touched who. . . . keep reading...>>
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All kinds of achievement
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Feb. 26, 2009) -- Here's something I'm seeeing more of lately. In a news story or a press release (and every once in awhile in an obituary), a person's participation in the National Senior Games is proudly noted. Here's the latest: In a press release from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., climatologist Claire L. Parkinson was recognized for being elected to the National Academy of Engineering "for leadership in understanding sea-ice changes through satellite measurements and for leading NASA's Earth-observing Aqua satellite mission." . . . keep reading...>>
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Discovering the senior games
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Feb. 24, 2009) -- I love this kind of newspaper story. This one appeared in the St. Joseph News-Press in Missouri. It's about a 71-year-old professor of biology at Northwest Missouri State University named David Easterla. He's still teaching and calls retirement a "no-no word," according to the story. In addition to being professionally active, Easterla is also quite physically active. He only recently discovered the Senior Olympics, which are open to athletes 50-and-over. He's been winning gold swimming medals at state senior games competitions and has qualified to compete at the National Senior Games in Palo Alto, Calif., this summer. . . . keep reading...>>
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The answer to my question
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Feb. 12, 2009 -- Part 2) -- In a blog entry I posted late last night, I asked this question, Who's feat was more impressive, Jennifer Figge swimming 2,100 miles in the Atlantic Ocean, or Martin Strel swimming the entire length of the Amazon River? It turns out the answer is pretty easy. It's Strel's feat by far, because he actually did it. Figge acknowledged only swimming 250 or so miles, not the full distance from Africa to Trinidad in about 24 days. It's funny, because as I posted my blog entry late last night, I thought about how it took Strel about 90 days to swim more than 3,000 miles of the Amazon -- much of it with the current. When he finished, he was an exhausted shell of a man in need of hospitalization. As I wrote about Figge, I thought, man, that must have been some current behind her. . . . keep reading...>>
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Swimming to Trinidad
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Feb. 12, 2009) -- It seems like it's hardly news anymore when a person over 40 accomplishes an amazing athletic feat. Take Jennifer Figge. On Feb. 5, the 56 year old from Aspen, Colo., completed a swim across the Atlantic Ocean. She swam about 2,100 miles in less than a month, transversing the ocean from the Cape Verde Islands to a beach in Trinidad. News reports said that Figge saw whales and jellyfish and dolphins on the way. No sharks, though. If I were swimming in the open ocean like that, it wouldn't matter if I saw any sharks: I'd see them in my mind's eye all the time. . . . keep reading...>>
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U.S. Masters Swimming establishing headquarters in Sarasota, Fla.
U.S. Masters Swimming announced Tuesday that it plans to establish its national headquarters to Sarasota, Fla. It's a sign of the continued strengthening of Masters sports. USMS hosted its first competitive event in 1970. For most of its history, the organization has functioned as an all-volunteer entity. "This is a significant milestone in the history of U.S. Masters Swimming," Rob Copeland, USMS president, said. "For nearly 40 years, we have existed as a virtual, volunteer-run organization. Our membership has continued and is continuing to grow. We are now at nearly 50,000 members, and with the hiring of an executive director and additional staff, establishing a national headquarters is a natural evolution." . . . keep reading...>>
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Training to race
By Rich Abrahams
RICH ABRAHAM'S BLOG (Jan. 28, 2009) -- At a post swim meet party this past weekend I was asked several times by fellow swimmers how I trained. Well, the short answer is that I train to race. I don't train to train (i.e. just to stay fit). This is easier for me than many as I usually can design my own workouts, because I don't swim with a team, just one or two training partners. There are some big advantages in training with a swim team. There is most likely a professional coach who creates challenging workouts, observes and corrects technique and motivates all the swimmers to work hard. You are also among lots of other swimmers who can create a healthy and fun competitive and social atmosphere. But it is also possible that swimming with a team may put you at a disadvantage in achieving some of your particular competitive goals. . . . keep reading...>>
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Going the distance?
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Jan. 12, 2009) -- The U.S. Masters Swimming "Go the Distance" program, which is the organization's year-long fitness event, just sent me an email with the results from 2008. The program had 631 participants, 344 women and 287 men. I was one of the participants. "The total distance swum by all participants is a whopping 171,837.78 miles," wrote Mary Sweat, who oversaw the program. "Our group average was an amazing 272.33 miles." (I personally apologize for bringing that average down -- I swam 53.16 miles in 2008). Carrie Kostopulos-Doebler from the women's 35-39 bracket swam the most miles with 2000.32. . . . keep reading...>>
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Dara Torres is the 2008 Euflexxa Masters Athlete of the Year
By Sean Callahan
Usain Bolt's wins at the Beijing Olympics in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes electrified the world. Michael Phelps' quest for eight gold medals in eight races mesmerized an international audience for a week. But for Masters athletes, the story of the Games was swimmer Dara Torres' three silver medals. The 41-year-old, competing in her fifth Olympics against athletes young enough to be her children, placed second in the 50-meter freestyle by 0.01 seconds, the slimmest of margins. Torres, the mother of a toddler, also helped the United States take silvers in the 4x100-meter freestyle and the 4x100-meter medley. In front of all the world, Torres' performance demonstrated that age isn't the barrier we've been brought up to think it is. And for doing that with grace and humility and strength, Dara Torres is the Euflexxa Masters Athlete of the Year for 2008. . . . keep reading...>>
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Women's 70-79 Masters Athlete of the Year: Betsy Jordan
By Nancy Averett
Betsy Jordan, who has been racking up first place finishes this year, spends most of her time training and competing in swimming pools. Yet once a week, during late spring and summer, the 71-year-old slips into the ocean for a workout, enjoying the sensation of being swallowed up by the vastness of the water. "It gets the gremlins out of your head by reminding you that you're really just a little speck in the universe," she says. Water has been a big factor in shaping Jordan's life. She began swimming at age 9 and was good enough to compete in the 1952 Olympic trials six years later. . . . keep reading...>>
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The Crossing
By Nancy Averett
Call it a tale of two swimmers. Mike Humphreys and Jeffrey Hulett, each an accomplished Masters athlete in his 40s, attempted to swim across the frigid and forbidding English Channel earlier this summer. For one of these swimmers crossing the Channel was the best of times; for the other it was the worst of times. . . . keep reading...>>
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Over the top Down Under
By Brion O'Connor
IF YOU'RE GOING TO TRAVEL HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD to compete, crossing the equator along the way, you might as well make a big splash when you finally hit the water. That's exactly what four Americans did in April at the 12th FINA World Masters Championships in Perth, Australia, with the foursome setting a total of nine agegroup world records. "I had a meet that exceeded my wildest expectations," said 70-year-old Karl Wiedamann of Naples, Fla., who set world records in the men's 50-, 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events. "Going in, I was feeling that I had a good shot at winning at least one event. I wasn't sure which one it would be." Weidamann had good reason to avoid overconfidence. He narrowly missed gold at the 2006 FINA championships, then underwent major surgery on his right shoulder. And his chief nemesis, Australian Tony Goodwin, had recently set world marks in all three distances, setting the stage for a showdown. . . . keep reading...>>
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Smith resigns from U.S. Masters Swimming
By Sean Callahan
Todd Smith, who joined U.S. Masters Swimming as the organization's first executive director last year, has resigned from the post. Smith, who joined USMS in May after leaving USA Diving, has taken an executive position with Duraflex, a marketer of flooring for fitness centers. Rob Copeland, the president of USMS, is serving as interim executive director while the organization searches for a replacement. A search committee has been formed to find Smith's successor. In his short stint with USMS, Smith did accomplish at least one of his primary goals: instituting online registration for members. . . . keep reading...>>
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Anatomy of a record
By Nancy Averett
Greg Shaw will never forget the first time he tried to set a world-record pace in the 200-meter butterfly during a national Masters meet in Cleveland. The 56-year-old was far ahead of the other swimmers in the Olympic-sized pool and had just flip-turned to complete his last 50-meter lap. "Suddenly, my whole body turned into a lead weight," he says. "I couldn't even lift my arms out of the water. After that I looked like the most pitiful swimmer trying to perform the butterfly. It was so bad everyone clapped when I got out of the pool." Shaw had gone out too hard and too fast, a mistake he does not want to repeat. And he hasn't. In fact, in December, the college professor from Bridgewater, Mass., broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly for men ages 55-59 at the 2007 New England LMSC Short Course Meters Championships with a time of 2:21.90. He also set a world record for the 50-meter butterfly with a time of 26.96. . . . keep reading...>>
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