Today at the Arizona state meet legend Ron Johnson after setting a new American Record in the 200 breastroke suffered a severe heart attack in the warm down pool. Thankfully the lifeguards and masters swimmer/physician Kurt Dickson and others we're able to start immediate life support until paramedics arrived and rushed him to the hospital
As of 5pm this evening all I know is that Ron had had regained consciousness, appeared to have not suffered brain damage and was breathing on his own...however he did have 5-6 clogged arteries and was going into immediate open heart surgery.....please send your prayers and thoughts this evening for his recovery....
It's incidents like this that make me question the obsessive focus on competition (of many different varieties) that seems to pervade much of masters swimming. Isn't the experience of enjoying our favorite sport and the comaraderie of other like-minded folks enough?
No. It's individual preference. Some people swim for fitness. Some people swim for fitness and compete because they enjoy it. I fall into the latter category. Moreover, just because I am tired or half dead at the end of a race does not mean I should avoid competing. It just means I swam hard.
As for the alleged "obsession" with competition, most people on my team don't compete.
It's incidents like this that make me question the obsessive focus on competition (of many different varieties) that seems to pervade much of masters swimming. Isn't the experience of enjoying our favorite sport and the comaraderie of other like-minded folks enough?
No. It's individual preference. Some people swim for fitness. Some people swim for fitness and compete because they enjoy it. I fall into the latter category. Moreover, just because I am tired or half dead at the end of a race does not mean I should avoid competing. It just means I swam hard.
As for the alleged "obsession" with competition, most people on my team don't compete.
