How do these swimmers swim so fast?

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. Isobel, Going back to your original question.......... The secret to swimming fast at 65 is to have been fast at 18. (to old forumites this might sound a bit "ion-esque" but it is true) In the shorter stuff, i.e. the 50, a 65 y/o shouldn't have to train that much. I swim 3 times a week, sometimes 4 (total about 8000 to 9000 metres a week) and do weights once or twice a week and usually make the top 3 in the FINA world lists. To do well in long distance, I assume you have to do the 5 to 7 days a week that you are hearing about. In general, the really good guys are not the 65+ but the 55's and younger. The competition is also much tougher/deeper with the younger age groups so even the sprinters seem to be in the water 5 days/week (like you, I wonder how they find the time). At college, these younger guys were also a lot faster than we (65+) ever were, so expect the older records to keep falling as these guys age up. Going for records is not the reason to swim - they always get broken. I swim so that I can eat & drink whatever I like. Ian.

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. Isobel, Going back to your original question.......... The secret to swimming fast at 65 is to have been fast at 18. (to old forumites this might sound a bit "ion-esque" but it is true) In the shorter stuff, i.e. the 50, a 65 y/o shouldn't have to train that much. I swim 3 times a week, sometimes 4 (total about 8000 to 9000 metres a week) and do weights once or twice a week and usually make the top 3 in the FINA world lists. To do well in long distance, I assume you have to do the 5 to 7 days a week that you are hearing about. In general, the really good guys are not the 65+ but the 55's and younger. The competition is also much tougher/deeper with the younger age groups so even the sprinters seem to be in the water 5 days/week (like you, I wonder how they find the time). At college, these younger guys were also a lot faster than we (65+) ever were, so expect the older records to keep falling as these guys age up. Going for records is not the reason to swim - they always get broken. I swim so that I can eat & drink whatever I like. Ian.