Rise of the "Professional" Masters Swimmer?

Yeah but Art.. all that training is allowing you to keep up with you kids which is as valid as any WR or Top Ten--provided it's what you want. I play drums a bit what do you play? No band or jam group yet though. don't get me wrong, i enjoy getting into top 10 times, hope to do it again for SCM this year, we'll see what happens. The only thing that stinks about top 10 is it doesnt matter how fast you swim, all that matters is if 10 other people swam faster than you. I had a 200 back SCM time a few years ago that I thought was a shoo in, based on the year before but it wasn't meant to be... missed it by hair ... grrrr.. I play guitar, play a little bass too ... lets jam!

I feel very comfortable in writing this. Athletic greatness comes in many forms and waves of certain people and I am almost certain that their greatness is NOT just based on their training and their ability to train. Some people have something extra that allows them to gravitate toward greatness. On the other hand, many have a personal longing to be the best and will sacrifice, both good and bad, for it to achieve it. For some, greatness is their bottom line and if they have a propensity for swimming, they will go to any degree in their life to achieve it. But if their entire purpose is for the recognition, I sometimes wonder if their personal life suffers for the ability to say "this or that" of their achievements. It all depends on what is important for them and to them. Physical achievement is a marvelous thing to a point. I know this well as I have had the opportunity to swim with some of the best a long time ago. And after their Olympic achievements and mine, many wanted to do other things because they had achieved their goals. Masters produces a pile of fast swimmers and many are between 30 and 50. I am constantly amazed by the times I see posted. What a terrific thing, and I commend each and every one of them. So as to not rattle on, I think a person who leads that healthy lifestyle, swims fast, and has a wonderful family life, that is the Masters Professional I want to associate with. And to be perfectly honest, I am the type of person who would have loved to have stayed on TOP forever, but chose life, friends, socialization instead. Until August of 2008. Donna

I say, more power to them. I sit back and am impressed, and inspired. I agree, Steve. Every time I go to a major competition and see swimmers my age and older putting up times that would be competitive at the senior level it makes me want to train even harder.

7000 yards? I just about do that a week LOL

I sat next to a swimmer in the stands at the Colony Zones. He told me that this was his first meet since he was in HS and the first since finishing chemo. He was pleased with his swims so far. He subsequently told me that he wished he could train half the day instead of working like some of the swimmers we were watching because then he would really accomplish something. Granted, he was a type-A, highly competetive individual, but I felt that in focusing on "elite" or "semi-pro" status, he was missing the magnitude of his accomplishment.

Fortress, I agree with you! Swimming in the 45-49 age group is a constant challenge.....but one that makes me try even harder to improve. We have some AMAZING women that are all about the same age we are. Aging up is usually a cause for celebration.....not so in this age group! They follow us every step of the way! They are all obviously passionate about swiming and many don't seem to be slowing down! If you make it into the top ten in our age group, it is a huge accomplishment! I am honestly jealous of swimmers that have the time and ENERGY to train more than me. I can only do about 4-4500 max in a workout before I start hurting my shoulders. If I want to beat these women in the 90-95 age group, I'll just stick to that. It may take that long for me to catch up with them! :joker: I think it is a personal choice and a matter of what your priorities are. Not sour grapes....just awe and inspiration!

If times are getting faster, could it be partly because Masters swimming is growing, meaning that there is a bigger pool (ha ha) of talent to draw from? Could it also be that we are seeing the benefits of increased opportunities for women in sports as some of the top women in the 40+ age groups represent a group with more opportunities to participate in athletics as kids than those who were in those age groups a decade or more ago? Could the same technique improvements that have allowed USA swimmers to get faster be contributing to better USMS times as well (SDKing, new breaststroke style, etc.)? I don't know the answers to these questions, but thinking back to Fortress's orginial question, I wonder if they might be factors. As for semi-professionalism in Masters, I think you do see it in triathlon and running, so perhaps it isn't that surprising. I suppose swimming could have separate "elite" divisions of races like running and triathlons do, but for some reason that is hard to articulate I am not sure I really like that idea. There is something cool about being in a heat with an Olympian, even if it means getting creamed. :notworthy:

I think it's pretty natural when seeing an incredible swimmer to wonder what they're doing to allow them to swim so fast. Are they training more? Are they training the same or less than you, but just have natural talent? I think most of us, in our hearts, hope it's the former. That's a lot easier to swallow than the realization that no matter what you do you probably aren't going to beat these people. I think this is pretty interesting, Kirk, because for me it is the opposite, and I think that is because people see what they lack in the explanation. To me, seeing people who were always fast continuing to swim fast is kinda "eh." I don't begrudge them, but I can't say it is like "wow" either. You were fast; you are fast. Okay. But then again, I have plenty of time and no swimming background, so to me that is the difference. Likewise Fort has the background and no time. But your point holds: we want it to be what we aren't, so we can always say "if only." And why not?

I am 48 and amazed at the speed of the fastest 45-49 guys. Guys like Steve Wood, Paul Smith, Jon Blank, etc.... I don't know any of these guys though I know a little about a few of them. One thing I know is that they didn't quit swimming after high school like I did and start again after 25 years off. Some of these guys were NCAA champions. I'm not envious of the time they have to train - I have no idea how much they train. I wish instead that I had taken the sport more seriously in high school. I was just an above average AAU/HS swimmer. I wish I stayed more active during my 25+ years away from swimming. Then I'd be faster now. As it is I'm pleased I broke 25 in 50 (SCY) free this spring and think I have a chance to break 1:00 in the 100 IM. I continue to improve and wonder more about when I reach the point where I stop improving (hence my sig).

Go Feisty!!! Yay Engineers!! :banana: :cheerleader: Freaking nerds!...linear this, exponential that... ...asymptote...y=mx+b...yadda yadda Just swim hard... I bet my tiling came out squarer than either of you could do...I'm anal! ;):duel: :rofl: