www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../33152.asp
Article written by P. Whitten.
I did not know that USMS does not belong to USADA. Rumor mill speculates that a percentage (small? large?) of masters records (FINA, USMS) were set by athletes on performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
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How, exactly? Yes there is a wide range of ability levels represented at masters meets. Some people compete in masters purely to have fun. Others take it very seriously. I see no problem with either approach.
If someone's 40 years old and taking Masters swimming very seriously, they have issues. You can be serious about being healthy and nutrition I get that - it's a great lifelong sport for healthy living. But when you've got 40 and 50 year old men taking warm-ups so seriously you wonder if they'll punch you in the face, that's about where I draw the line. And then triathletes who do 4000yd warmp-ups and proceed to do their 500 at the same pace, sitting through 10 heats of the 500 free because so many people give up sprinting.
And by the way - having fun doesn't mean you're Joe Slow in heat 1. I know many swimmers, myself included, that had fun no matter if it was our best event and we're in the final heat, or we're swimming something we'd never do and line up against the 65yo woman in heat 1. It was all a blast. Sadly many of us don't compete anymore, for a lot of the same reasons.
It takes a special kind of mindset to swim and train as you age. Lance has it. Let him compete. Although I've never seen him at a Masters meet but I could see him taking himself too seriously as well.
How, exactly? Yes there is a wide range of ability levels represented at masters meets. Some people compete in masters purely to have fun. Others take it very seriously. I see no problem with either approach.
If someone's 40 years old and taking Masters swimming very seriously, they have issues. You can be serious about being healthy and nutrition I get that - it's a great lifelong sport for healthy living. But when you've got 40 and 50 year old men taking warm-ups so seriously you wonder if they'll punch you in the face, that's about where I draw the line. And then triathletes who do 4000yd warmp-ups and proceed to do their 500 at the same pace, sitting through 10 heats of the 500 free because so many people give up sprinting.
And by the way - having fun doesn't mean you're Joe Slow in heat 1. I know many swimmers, myself included, that had fun no matter if it was our best event and we're in the final heat, or we're swimming something we'd never do and line up against the 65yo woman in heat 1. It was all a blast. Sadly many of us don't compete anymore, for a lot of the same reasons.
It takes a special kind of mindset to swim and train as you age. Lance has it. Let him compete. Although I've never seen him at a Masters meet but I could see him taking himself too seriously as well.
