www.swiminfo.com, in an article about 27-years old Olympic Algerian sprinter Salim Iles who two days ago in France set a new African record in 100 meter freestyle in a 50 meter pool at :49.00, claims that age 29 is now considered the "prime years for male swimming".
One day ago, Franck Esposito (Fra.), age 31, swam 1:54.62 in 200 meter butterfly in a 50 meter pool, second fastest time in history, marginally behind Michael Phelps (US) 1:54.58, age 17.
(As a side note, Esposito is not a giant like 6' 7" Tom Malchow (US), or tall like Phelps' 6' 3", he is 5' 11").
Alex. Popov (Rus.), Mark Foster (GBR), John Miranda (US), Ron Karnaugh (US), Sven Lodziewski (Ger) are clear Olympic-level calibers for male swimmers past the age of 30.
So, age 29 is now considered within the "prime years for male swimming" in this sport that is physically fitness-driven.
I think it's dubious to take Jenny Thompson and Laura Val and use them to make generalizations about the performance of Masters swimmers, women swimmers, or any other swimming subset you can come up with. They are not typical swimmers by any stretch of the imagination. What both Jenny and Laura demonstrate is that someone who is an elite swimmer to begin with can remain an elite swimmer by continuing to train very hard long past the age when most people become couch potatoes. I am in awe of both of them, but we shouldn't use them as measuring sticks for everybody.
I think it's dubious to take Jenny Thompson and Laura Val and use them to make generalizations about the performance of Masters swimmers, women swimmers, or any other swimming subset you can come up with. They are not typical swimmers by any stretch of the imagination. What both Jenny and Laura demonstrate is that someone who is an elite swimmer to begin with can remain an elite swimmer by continuing to train very hard long past the age when most people become couch potatoes. I am in awe of both of them, but we shouldn't use them as measuring sticks for everybody.
