olympics and age-ism

I tried. Better luck next time.

I'm not sure what age-ism is. But, there is no cap. I belive Mark Spitz made an attempt to swim a couple of Olympics ago but was unable to keep up with the speedy youngsters. Of course, this topic demands a foray into the late bloomer philosophy.

I don't know about luck having anything to do with it. Somewhere out there on the left Coast, our good friend Popeye is downing another can of spinach and probabaly giving this some consideration. Frankly, I think he'd have an interesting take on the matter. :) In my opinion the Games will only be that much more exciting seeing a thirty something going up on the blocks against a twenty year old. There's a doctor in the New Jersey area (Ron Karnaugh/ Garden State Masters) who intends to swim for his homeland, Poland. He's in the 35 year old age group for masters competitions. It will certainly be very interesting to see age defying performances from someone who's supposed to be past their prime.

Originally posted by dreamer They deserve just as much if not more accolades as their younger counterparts. Deserving has nothing to do with this and neighter does age. If you make the times, beat the competition, you make the team.

I know how you feel dreamer, I too have always felt the, what if's. For me I think it stems from the knowlege that these olympians train for a living, not just 5 hours a day (weight lifting, swimming, etc.) but as a way of life. Which is something we have never done, or even come close to, so we often wounder "what if we did just that." Its a thought many of us have pondered. But in reality these people have an extrodinary gift as well as an extreame Determination that seperates the people who make the trails, and the people who make the team.

Statistically speaking it is extraordinarily difficult to place 1st or 2nd in any swimming event at the US Trials. Think of the thousands of great college swimmers, age group swimmers and US Masters swimmers who are fractions of a second behind the pace. To go to the Olympic Games as a US Swimmer is as tough and competitive as it gets…..anywhere…anyplace….any sport….any time….

I believe that Rowdy Gaines started "late" (high school) when other sports didn't work out for him. Obviously he's an outstanding athlete with a lot of talent. Assuming you have some talent and natural ability, the question is whether you have the time and resources at this stage in your life to train 5 hrs/day for several years. Aquageek, I think dreamer may still be young enough to grow a few more aortas and increase his (her?) VO2max.

Ah, the ghost of "The Unspoken One" lives on...........

At the upcoming Olympic Trials, there will be many Olympic swimmers in the 30s (Thompson, Krazelberg, among many others). I think either in Swim or Splash magazine about 6 months ago there was an article discussing the myth that swimmers pass their prime in the early/mid 20s. It discussed that until a few years ago, there was so little sponsorship and funds available so most swimmers had to give it up and go into the non-swim working world to make a living. Some of these 30-something Olympic swimmers are still just as good as they were in their teens and 20s. The Olympics in Athens will be very interesting to see how swimmers of all ages. On a Masters note, I went to the Oct. 2002 World Masters Games in Melbourne, Australia and was absolutely blown away when I witnessed many of the top elite Masters swimmers with near Olympic time were all swimmers in their 40s. Although I'm a slow 36 year old swimmer still, it was awe inspiring to see such performance.

Originally posted by dcarson On a Masters note, I went to the Oct. 2002 World Masters Games in Melbourne, Australia and was absolutely blown away when I witnessed many of the top elite Masters swimmers with near Olympic time were all swimmers in their 40s. I assume they were all "early bloomers?"