I was just wondering if anyone out there knows of masters swimmers who don’t compete and that have achieved Top Ten Times, American Records, World Records, etc. in practice. I know that stories have circulated around about swimmers like Mark Spitz who have done this (although I think he did compete :)). I was just wondering if there are similar stories in the masters ranks. It seems to me that it would be highly probable in masters swimming because so many of its members do not actually swim at meets. Therefore, I would think there are people out there who achieve these (unofficial) times during a practice session and are relatively unknown. If you’ve got a story to share, please do.
I agree with aquageek, most meets don't last that long. When you are swimming 9 events, three to four hours sessions are not that long. I believe there are two groups of masters that do not compete. There are the self-actualized types who have nothing left to prove or do not care about competition anymore. Then there are the chickensh*ts who are afraid to compete. Within this group are 2 subgroups--c.s. because they have not put in x amount of yardage in preparation and c.s because they truly suck (both of which are simply afraid of perceived failure).
The only reason I compete is so I can do the mile, 1000, 400 I.M and 6 other events in one weekend in order to claim the coveted 3 dollar cooler Arizona state high-point award from WalMart. To each his own I guess.:wave:
I agree with aquageek, most meets don't last that long. When you are swimming 9 events, three to four hours sessions are not that long. I believe there are two groups of masters that do not compete. There are the self-actualized types who have nothing left to prove or do not care about competition anymore. Then there are the chickensh*ts who are afraid to compete. Within this group are 2 subgroups--c.s. because they have not put in x amount of yardage in preparation and c.s because they truly suck (both of which are simply afraid of perceived failure).
The only reason I compete is so I can do the mile, 1000, 400 I.M and 6 other events in one weekend in order to claim the coveted 3 dollar cooler Arizona state high-point award from WalMart. To each his own I guess.:wave:
