Darian Townsend entered a masters meet in Mesa over the weekend and broke five world records in the 25-29 age group. This was Townsend's first masters meet. For those of you who are not familiar with him, Townend is a three-time Olympian and gold medalist from South Africa.
Swimswam.com posted a story about Townend's incredible meet. Here's the link: swimswam.com/.../
I found the comments quite interesting especially this one by "HMMM":
I have no problem with athletes making money off of Masters but why have a separate division called Masters if there are no rules or restrictions? None of the sponsored people you mention in their 50′s are training for Rio are they?. Most people in Masters believe they are swimming against recreational swimmers which is why there is a separate Masters division and those records are set by recreational/retired swimmers. If Phelps remains retired and wants to swim Masters, well there goes a few records in his age group but none of us in our club would have a problem with it. We discussed that very subject this morning after practice and Phelps, like Rowdy Gaines is retired and would welcome him. Many of us have swam against and met Rowdy and it is a true honor to share the pool with him in a Masters meet. But our entire team would have a huge problem if Lochte decides to swim a Masters meet while he is still fully training for the Olympics and blows all the records out of the water. If Lochte swims 12 events, he is going to walk away with 12 records. Why have a separate record book? If he can do that, you might as well just call us all USA swimmers and do away with the Masters division. There are meets where fully training pros swim and they are called Grand Prix’s, Nationals, and Worlds. Call us old fashioned, call us Masters swimmers, but we all think Masters should be separate from the training pros..
So I'm curious what the rest of you think. Should someone like Darian Townend or Ryan Lochte be allowed to swim in masters meets when they are professional swimmers who are training full-time? And maybe "allowed" is a poor choice or word. The bottom line is do you think they have any business swimming masters meets?
Yes, anyone should be able to set masters records. Eligibility to set masters records should only be determined by age, not by how much you train.
Just cuz they a from another world in time & talent, they are swimmers just like us.
Sure , their records will be on the books till Y3K -but let them swim.
I agree with most here that anyone who wishes to swim at a masters meet should be allowed to do so, regardless of who they are, their background, how they're training, professional status, etc.
I fully agree with these points. I realize guys like him swimming Masters while still in their full-time pro training are going to make it hard for the next crop of 'mere mortal' Masters to have a chance at those records, but I still think this is a great thing for Masters swimming. I'd love to see more cross-pollination while these guys are in their prime so that they see how much fun Masters is and they continue with it throughout their lives. I love seeing Olympians of all ages race at Masters meets; if getting them engaged in Masters when they're younger keeps them in it longer, that's a win for all of us swim fans.
Yes, anyone should be able to set masters records. Eligibility to set masters records should only be determined by age, not by how much you train.
Just cuz they a from another world in time & talent, they are swimmers just like us.
Sure , their records will be on the books till Y3K -but let them swim.
I agree with most here that anyone who wishes to swim at a masters meet should be allowed to do so, regardless of who they are, their background, how they're training, professional status, etc.
I fully agree with these points. I realize guys like him swimming Masters while still in their full-time pro training are going to make it hard for the next crop of 'mere mortal' Masters to have a chance at those records, but I still think this is a great thing for Masters swimming. I'd love to see more cross-pollination while these guys are in their prime so that they see how much fun Masters is and they continue with it throughout their lives. I love seeing Olympians of all ages race at Masters meets; if getting them engaged in Masters when they're younger keeps them in it longer, that's a win for all of us swim fans.
