This weekend was our Pacific Masters Championships. It was a close battle between WCM and USF and I don't know who won at this very moment. I don't care.
You see, I left right before the 1000 today (the last event) right after the last relays. I watched some great swims today. Amazing swims. My friend Brendon swam a 2:03 200 fly and really hit his taper (as he's not going to Nationals)- we were teasing about how he does really well the week after a tapered meet. He seemed to finally figure it out this time.
My friend Stephen called me tonight and told me that Brendon also had a great 1000, was warming down, had a heart attack and died. He was 35. I was stunned. I've been crying since then trying to make sense of it all. It doesn't make sense.
I called some other friends and no one else can believe it either. Suddenly, the meet doesn't matter, swimming doesn't matter, what matters is that we lost a really great guy today. He was always so happy, funny, and loved to tell jokes. He was really good natured and fun to be around. I will miss him terribly.
Parents
Former Member
Hi All,
Karen, I'm very sorry to hear the news about Brendon Wen. He sounds like someone we all would have enjoyed meeting.
One of the most thoughtful and wonderful sentiments expressed in this thread is your idea about how USMS and Pacific Masters could remember your friend -- perhaps by naming the meet or having a special award for the butterfly events. As a member of the USMS Endowment Fund Board of Governors, I'd like to gently and respectfully suggest another idea.
Last year, when Masters swimmer David Gregg passed away at a swim meet in Virginia, I posted the attached article by John Feinstein, which was also reprinted in SWIM Magazine. That article really helped a lot of us put the event into perspective.
When we published the article in the magazine, we added the following side-bar note about memorial gifts to the USMS Endowment Fund:
USMS Endowment Memorial Gifts
The United States Masters Swimming Endowment Fund was designated as one of the recipients of memorial contributions in memory of David Gregg. As a result, several generous contributions were received by the Endowment along with numerous memorial statements about the contributions David made to his family, his team and his community.
The Endowment Fund continues to be a vehicle for memorials, celebrations and considered philanthropy by the swimming community because its good works will serve us all and help keep the spirit and memory alive of people like David Gregg, Doc Counsilman and others in the process. Because of the generosity of Masters swimmers, their friends and families, the Endowment Fund has now grown to over $150,000.00 and grants have been made in each of the last two years to support worthy research.
Information about the USMS Endowment Fund can be obtained from Doug Church, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Endowment Fund, DChurch@cchalaw.com, P.O. Box 10, Noblesville, IN 46061; 317-773-2190. The Endowment Fund is actively soliciting grant requests for the 2004 calendar year.
Following the publication of this article and side-bar, many more people contributed to the USMS Endowment fund in memory of David Gregg. In fact, it was a little overwhelming. What we discovered was that people truly appreciated having another way to remember one of their own.
Again, my condolences to you, your teammates, and the friends and family of Brendon Wen. I'm sad I never had an opportunity to meet him.
Best Wishes,
Bill
Hi All,
Karen, I'm very sorry to hear the news about Brendon Wen. He sounds like someone we all would have enjoyed meeting.
One of the most thoughtful and wonderful sentiments expressed in this thread is your idea about how USMS and Pacific Masters could remember your friend -- perhaps by naming the meet or having a special award for the butterfly events. As a member of the USMS Endowment Fund Board of Governors, I'd like to gently and respectfully suggest another idea.
Last year, when Masters swimmer David Gregg passed away at a swim meet in Virginia, I posted the attached article by John Feinstein, which was also reprinted in SWIM Magazine. That article really helped a lot of us put the event into perspective.
When we published the article in the magazine, we added the following side-bar note about memorial gifts to the USMS Endowment Fund:
USMS Endowment Memorial Gifts
The United States Masters Swimming Endowment Fund was designated as one of the recipients of memorial contributions in memory of David Gregg. As a result, several generous contributions were received by the Endowment along with numerous memorial statements about the contributions David made to his family, his team and his community.
The Endowment Fund continues to be a vehicle for memorials, celebrations and considered philanthropy by the swimming community because its good works will serve us all and help keep the spirit and memory alive of people like David Gregg, Doc Counsilman and others in the process. Because of the generosity of Masters swimmers, their friends and families, the Endowment Fund has now grown to over $150,000.00 and grants have been made in each of the last two years to support worthy research.
Information about the USMS Endowment Fund can be obtained from Doug Church, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Endowment Fund, DChurch@cchalaw.com, P.O. Box 10, Noblesville, IN 46061; 317-773-2190. The Endowment Fund is actively soliciting grant requests for the 2004 calendar year.
Following the publication of this article and side-bar, many more people contributed to the USMS Endowment fund in memory of David Gregg. In fact, it was a little overwhelming. What we discovered was that people truly appreciated having another way to remember one of their own.
Again, my condolences to you, your teammates, and the friends and family of Brendon Wen. I'm sad I never had an opportunity to meet him.
Best Wishes,
Bill
