Looking at one-hour results, and just finishing New England Masters SCY Championships at Harvard, how is it that older swimmers are getting faster and faster, and pretty much everyone is getting faster and faster compared to a few years ago when there seemed to be more mortal swimmers?
What are older (45+ women; at this point 65+ men) swimmers doing that keeps them at such elite levels? Weights? Extensive training? How much of both? How do they have jobs and families and train? The field of fast swimmers is getting deeper and deeper. Anyone have idea as to why?
I want to know the secrets. Are the people who race now self-selecting more and more as elite swimmers? Has everyone swum all their lives? I know to swim hard you have to train hard, but I am baffled by sudden increase in amazing fast times and so many records getting broken.
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Former Member
We're all on steroids. :weightlifter: :roids:
In all seriousness..
We're learning more and more that back in the 70s and 80s we were doing far too many yards/meters. Techniques have changed. Technology has improved. Pools are faster. Swimming is now professional and as such is practiced at the elite level by older and older swimmers, which has inspired more and more masters swimmers to get back in the water. The growth of cable tv and the ability to watch elite competition more than once every 4 years. The internet. Tied to the professionalization of the sport, major investment in the promotion of the sport (and the consumer products).
That's just a short list.
We're all on steroids. :weightlifter: :roids:
In all seriousness..
We're learning more and more that back in the 70s and 80s we were doing far too many yards/meters. Techniques have changed. Technology has improved. Pools are faster. Swimming is now professional and as such is practiced at the elite level by older and older swimmers, which has inspired more and more masters swimmers to get back in the water. The growth of cable tv and the ability to watch elite competition more than once every 4 years. The internet. Tied to the professionalization of the sport, major investment in the promotion of the sport (and the consumer products).
That's just a short list.
