It was a treat to see a swimming article on the top of page one of the sports section of the New York Times today. Allison Wagner is swimming again, and doing pretty well to boot. She does us masters proud. Its a well written article as well.
If you don't have access to a print version, the online NYT is available for free. Of course, you will have to look carefullly beyond the Yankee (gag, cough!!) headlines to find it on the web version. Its fun to see a swimmer other than Phelps or Coughlin get recognized. Its a great story.
Former Member
I should have posted the link. Not sure if will work- you do have to register for the whole online version.
www.nytimes.com/.../01swim.html
I just talked to Allison. She doesn't know what to make of being in the NYT. She said the reporter came to her after interviewing a bunch of boring swimmers (can't imagine she thought swimmers are boring).
I've known Allison for about three years. She's very deserving of this recognition.
And to add to the story, she went 25.97 in the 50 free at Santa Clara. Not bad for a former 400 IMer.
That was a nice story. Unforunately nothing was said about swimming in USMS but maybe that was not important for the article. I know she swam at the 2004 USMS LC Nationals in Savannah and the 2005 LC Nationals in Mission Viejo. If I recall unlike this meet, she was anounced when she swam. I don't think Mark Gill would miss something like this when he announces.
I remember Allison Wagner winning the 400 IM at the Olympic Trials in 1996 but it was basically ignored because of the disqualification of Kristine Quance and all of the press and TV coverage seemed to be on that very controversial decision. Those two swimmers were basically the best IM swimmers at the time and kinda of inherited that title from Summer Sanders. In fact Sanders tried to make a comeback against those two and fell short at the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 200 IM.
Allison Wagner is the only swimmer currently to have a FINA World Record in both Swimming and Masters Swimming. The World Records are in the 200 IM and the FINA Swimming one is in the SCM at 2:07.79 that was done in Spain in December 1993. The Masters World Record was done at the 2005 USMS LC Nationals with a time of 2:21.98 in the 25-29 age group.
I noticed that she is becoming a sprinter since joining Terri McKeever at Cal. She had a great start in USMS.
www.usms.org/.../toptenind.phpwww.usms.org/.../indaa.php
Allison Wagner's 200 SCM IM World Record as just been broken this weekend at the 2008 Short Course World Championships. Allison is the only masters swimmer that I know of that held a FINA Swimming World Record and a FINA Masters World Record at the same time.
The FINA Masters World Record lasted almost 2 months back in 2005 but the FINA Swimming World Record lasted almost 15 years. The record was in the same event, 200 IM but the Masters one was in LC and the Swimming one was in SC. What a great run, almost 15 years.
www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../17840.asp
