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.
Former Member
i would not be close to the top ten
i swim pretty hard m-fri w/ about 4-8 people and no coach
we did a few meets in the late 90's and they were fun
but not as much fun as surfing
so my weekends are designated to catch the swell!:bolt:
I don't know about national or world records, but I have made the top ten in a few events in several years since I resumed swimming in 1995, and throughout those years I have worked out with people in my age group or older who could swim faster than I can but who rarely or never went to competitions. I can also think of several people who do primarily or exclusively open water racing but who would be very highly ranked in pool events if they did them (and are when they do).
I used to swim with a guy who won the 400IM (and something else) at NCAA Div III champs at some point in the 90s. He pretty much refused to compete as a masters swimmer, though he was still pretty quick.
-jeff
The D3 record holder is an alumnus from CMU; he still gets in the pool once in a blue moon. I make it a point not to do IM those days such as not to elicit laughs.
The meets I've been to have been pretty short (2hrs max), but they've been small local meets. Usually we've been able to let the kids swim in either an adjacent pool or in an area that's not being used, so they like it. I too like competition and unless I'm racing someone else I don't push as hard, especially with practice. Meets give me a periodic deadline to meet, so I know I should go swim, lift, whatever and do so with some intensity.
:weightlifter:
Wow, in the Bay Area (Northern Cal) most of our "typical" meets run 5 to 7 hours. Start at 9am and end up between 2 and 4pm. You can get 5 events in with plenty of rest between them. :D
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:
My team probably has a good 150 to 175 active swimmers, who show up with some regularity at workouts. Of those, I'd estimate only 30-40 really do any meets (at least one a year). When we hosted nationals a few years ago, the coach gave his sob story and got more to compete for that. For a typical nationals (that isn't local) there's about 10-15 who travel to compete.
Many of our very fast swimmers are triathlon only guys/gals. We had a practice last year (Paul Smith was there) and I'd swear one lane was doing 10 x 100 SCY repeats on 1:05. Gals included in that. I'm sure some of these really fast folks would break records, but they just don't want to do meets, or don't have the time for them.
Personally, I swim as part of an overall plan to keep healthy. I also run and lift weights. Meets are typically on weekends, which interfers with getting in runs and lifting. I also love to travel and am quite often out of town when meets are happening. It is easy to say you'll arrive and leave early, but when the coach asks you to help with timing and/or compete in a relay, it is hard to say no, so a meet usually means full days for me.
Wow, you really have a way with people. :notworthy: USMS should secure your expertise to encourage new membership and more particiaption in competitions.
Thanks. They already asked...I told them I had crap to do.
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.":whiteflag:
