Who is the best athlete you ever swam with?

Thought it would be neat to share our stories about the best athlete we ever swam with. Note that it is not necessarily the fastest or best swimmer we have trained with. The best athlete I ever trained with was a young man that showed up for my masters swim group. He was training to pass the test to be a Navy SEAL officer. Having graduated from a non-Naval Academy college, the standards for making the officers cut were tough. He was, however, a good prospect. With no prior competitive swim background, he was able to get his 500 yard sidestroke down to a 7:30 in a matter of a few months. However, this was not the main thing that impressed me. It was the times/scores on his practice tests which I helped time him on. Here is what he could do: 500 yard sidestroke swim: 7:30 8 minute rest 2 minutes of push-ups: # done was 112 2 minute rest 2 minutes of sit-ups: # done was 110 2 minute rest max number of pull-ups (palms facing away from body): 25 8 minute rest 1.5 mile run done in combat boots and long pants: 9:05. The guy was a machine. Speed, strength, endurance, and power. Doing 25 pull-ups shortly after a hard swim, pushups, and sit-ups was impressive! The young man decided not to pursue a career in the Navy but chose to stay near family. Last I heard he had started his own business and was doing well.
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  • Former Member
    Former Member
    I have had the extreme pleasure of swimming with some amazing swimmers, both as an age grouper at Nashville Aquatic Club and in college at Texas. But none had the effect on me that Tracy Caulkins had. She was perfect in all strokes and distances, her positive attitude was incredible, just being in the pool with her made me a better swimmer. I'll never forget when we were in high school, and we did a set of descending 400 IMs in workout...I think it was 5 or 6. On the last one, she went a 4:15.80 (or something close), which just beat the American Record at that time. Pretty incredible to break an American Record in a workout in mid-season. When I could finally beat her in practice, I thought I was really something!!
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  • Former Member
    Former Member
    I have had the extreme pleasure of swimming with some amazing swimmers, both as an age grouper at Nashville Aquatic Club and in college at Texas. But none had the effect on me that Tracy Caulkins had. She was perfect in all strokes and distances, her positive attitude was incredible, just being in the pool with her made me a better swimmer. I'll never forget when we were in high school, and we did a set of descending 400 IMs in workout...I think it was 5 or 6. On the last one, she went a 4:15.80 (or something close), which just beat the American Record at that time. Pretty incredible to break an American Record in a workout in mid-season. When I could finally beat her in practice, I thought I was really something!!
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