This new thread occurred to me while reading posts comparing Spitz to Phelps, as well as reflecting upon mortality considering heart attacks etc. In swimming we immortalize individuals or teams for various feats or contributions, but do little to preserve a feeling for subsequent generations of enthusiasts about what it was like to train and compete 'back in the day'. Just what day am I talking about? Exactly: there have been many 'days' or more properly 'eras' that can be narrowly characterized by differences in equipment, distances swum and trained, coaching methods or more widely by larger factors: world war, global depression, racial segregation, inequality of the sexes. All of these can contribute to very different experiences than what are common today to the younger swimmer; hence, 'what was it like'. I visualize a thread that continues to be added to as new people read it and remember their own experiences. As well, experience can vary with national origin, not just era. There have already been posts on this topic scattered in various threads, please feel free to copy or quote material from them to here.
Please remember that this is not about how fast a particular swimmer was, but about the conditions that defined competitive swimming of that day.
We also have a priceless resource out there: aging swimmers in their 80's or 90's who may be less likely to read or hear of this thread; why not ask them for some of their memories or impressions and pass them on to us, while we still can?
Parents
Former Member
In my parents' day,
Open wagering on age group races at the Shamrock Hilton pool in Houston as the fashionable, inebriated elite lounged at the poolside bar. (1950's)
Re: Lycra: my mother ran the swim shop for our team, was on good terms with a national supplier, and had the latest clones of East German lycra suits express mailed to a meet as soon as they came out in the US in early 1973. The men's versions came a few months later. Major revolution.
The pool I swam in in Houston was a sad copy of the Mexico City Olympic pool. In Mexico City, the gutter was quite deep and separated from the pool by a molded plastic (soft edges) perforated screen. At our pool, the gutter had no depth at all and the screen was perforated steel (sharp edges). Boy, if that didn't teach you to keep your elbows high and your turns brief!
DV
In my parents' day,
Open wagering on age group races at the Shamrock Hilton pool in Houston as the fashionable, inebriated elite lounged at the poolside bar. (1950's)
Re: Lycra: my mother ran the swim shop for our team, was on good terms with a national supplier, and had the latest clones of East German lycra suits express mailed to a meet as soon as they came out in the US in early 1973. The men's versions came a few months later. Major revolution.
The pool I swam in in Houston was a sad copy of the Mexico City Olympic pool. In Mexico City, the gutter was quite deep and separated from the pool by a molded plastic (soft edges) perforated screen. At our pool, the gutter had no depth at all and the screen was perforated steel (sharp edges). Boy, if that didn't teach you to keep your elbows high and your turns brief!
DV
