Who is the best athlete you ever swam with?

Lunn Lestina on the Curl swim team 85-86. swam next to Charlie Cline (low 20-second 50 free) at a H.S. meet. www.pvswim.org/.../screagmi.htm

I swam against Neil Walker once at an age group meet in Wisconsin. He was already a big deal in college swimming and I guess he just happened to be in town and decided to go to the meet with his old age group team. I was the anchor leg for the 200 freestyle relay for my team and he was the anchor for his... I had a big lead but let's just say he went slightly faster than me. I haven't seen someone go that fast in person since then.

+1 on Olympian Radcliff. Great, personable guy out of the pool, and a brutal competitor in the water. I lined up next to Dave for my first ever LCM 800 last spring. A couple months prior to the 800, I'd had good luck with my first ever SCY 500 pacing off a woman whom I knew to be a seasoned distance swimmer. I just stayed on her hip throughout, then was able to crank it up enough in the last 75 or so to pass her. I figured this strategy would serve me well for the 800, as Dave and I had similar seed times. It worked like a dream, as Dave and I were basically in lock-step through about 700m, me just back at his hip. I cranked it up some after the 700 wall, and was a little surprised that I was still on his hip -- as opposed to pulling away -- at the 750 turn. No worries, though. "You're going down, old man," thought I at the turn (Dave is 74), and I poured on the coals I had left for the last 50. At about 775m I realized I had a serious race on my hands, and I gave it all I had. At about 792m I realized I was not going to pass him. And I didn't. Dave told me later he'd watched my 500 race, and figured I'd try to do the same with him, so he was watching and waiting for my big push at the end. Great competitor. We still laugh about that race, too. Or at least he does.

I swam against Olympian John Kinsella in college. A very humbling experience. Come to think of it, everyone I swam against in college was a humbling experience. :)

Having swam at Cal in the mid 1980s, I will let other posters comment on the best swimmer I ever swam with. The list includes but is not limited to: Bengt Baron Peter Rocca Dave Wilson Pelle Holmertz Thomas Lejdstrom Par Arvidsson Michael Soderlund Paolo Revelli Rickie Gill Adrian Moorhouse Matt Biondi John Mykkanen Sean Killion Mary T. Conny van Bentum My votes: Most talented - either Biondi, Rickie Gill or Dave Boatwright Hardest worker - Arvidsson, Lejdstrom, Mykkanen or Killion, though there were lots

Dave Radcliff for me. Not only his swimming speed but his technique and most of all his attitude in and out of the water. He is someone I admire. Dave is a great athlete and a great guy.When I was in Houston I swam with Graham Johnson who is also amazing.On the women's side I have swum with Laura Val,and she is frankly unbelievable.Finally I see Don Schollander a couple of times a week at the pool. He is very friendly and down to earth and I have known him for a few years yet I am still in awe of him.

When I was a kid I trained with a girl named Beth Scott. I don't think I ever swam in the same lane as her, and I don't think I ever talked to her. She used to walk by me like she didn't even see me. Because she mostly didn't see me. She was legally blind. She won multiple golds and set multiple WR's in the Barcelona Paralympics (B3 classification). You can look it up. As I've been reading through this thread I keep coming back to Beth Scott as the best athlete I have ever swum with. I swam with Beth at both Good Counsel High School and at RMSC, she's a year older than me. She's an incredible swimmer and great person. I saw her a few times last summer, she doesn't still swim. I remember her being featured in one of the swimming magazines years ago when I was just getting into masters swimming. We were helping out GC swimming last year together and as we drove to and from their meets she told me swimming stories that were just insane! She probably worked harder than anyone at RMSC at the time and it showed in her performances.

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. Hi, Since everyone else thinks athlete=swimmer, I'll nominate my partner, Kari Bachman, as the best athlete I have ever swum with. Most swimmers that I know can't run. They don't have much dryland coordination or depth perception (part of being and aquatic animal). There are exceptions as usual, but very few excel in other sports. Shelia Tamornina (sp) is the exception and may be the best swimmer/athlete. I give credit to the swimmers that others have cited, but from my perspective, swimming is just one sport. To be a really great athlete, you have to demonstrate excellence in more than one sport. And I think that is Elise's point. We have a little race in New Mexico that happens every March. It's called the Bataan Death March and it celebrates the survivors of the March. Our little race is nothing compared to what the survivors went through on the march and afterwards - nothing! To begin, the event is a certified 26.2 mile marathon on mostly sandy roads. It starts at 4000 feet and climbs to about 6000 feet. The first 8 miles are flat, then there is the climb to the peak of Mineral Hill (about 10 miles uphill), with a shorter up and down portion to the sandpit. It is 800 meters of ankle deep sand that is uphill. Once you get past the sand pit, its about 7 miles of rolling hills to the finish. I've done four of them and finished in the light category. I have yet to place, but I'm very proud that I finished. Why do I nominate my partner, Kari Bachman, as the best athlete I ever swam with? They have a heavy category for the Bataan Death March. You carry a 35 pound weighted backpack (weighed before and after the finish) plus water and food. If you have every backpacked, you know how your legs, back and shoulders feel after hiking a few miles with a load. Just think of how you would feel after running 26.2? She has won three women's heavy titles and the amazing thing is that she is only 120 lbs and 5'7". I've seen some pretty tough guys and gals on the course: Rangers, AF Special Ops (Hurlburt),British Commandos and Navy Seals on the course and she has beaten them to the finish. A lot of people start, but not everyone finishes. Because she hurt her knee, she has started swimming. Not surprisingly, she is a distance swimmer. No age group, no high school, no college swimming experience. In her mid 40's, she has been ranked in the USMS SCM top ten and is only getting stronger. In my mind, she is the best athlete that I have ever had the honor of swimming with. Kindly, Philipp

Philipp, I'm right there with you on the definition of athlete. Sure, a lot of the aforementioned names are great swimmers (and for the record, Katie Hoff and I shared water once), but I'd challenge everyone to think of someone who can do something well other than swim. Philipp is right on the money. I can't think of anyone I'd like to praise at the moment.

Phillip and Muppet - You are right in what I was thinking. I swam with a couple of USA teams and had the luck to train with a few who swam in Olympic Trials. I was in awe of these swimmers without a doubt. In terms of athleticism, however, I have never swam with a person that possessed more natural athletic talent than the young man I mentioned. There are many swimmers who have athletic abilities that set them apart from their peers. For example, they may have an incredible vertical jump, amazing speed in water and on land, the ability to lift an incredible amount of weight, the ability to throw a baseball at lightening speed, perfect balance, or the ability to endure what others can't. Of the swimmers in the Olympics this past summer, I have read that Jason Lezak is quite the athlete. Apparently he excelled in a number of sports and I have a feeling would likely stand out from his fellow elite swimmers on measurements of strength, explosive power, and speed on land. It scares me to think how many pull-ups Lezak could probably do.