Did you consider Rowdy Gaines? I believe he quit for a while after graduating from Auburn. He then came back to win the gold medal in the 100 free in LA. So, certainly it measures up in terms of success, but I think the layoff was short.
I do remember when Rowdy retired from swimming and it was in the spring of 1981 after the NCAA meet and the 100 Free World Record that he swam in a time trial short after that. He was back swimming by the end of the year and he broke his own World Record in the 200 Free in the summer of 1982. I think he was out of swimming for 6 to 8 months, tops.
That was about 3 months less than Mary T, so maybe he belongs on the list. Unlike Gaines, Stewart and Sanders were out a little more than 2.5 years and they both did not come close to times they did in 1992, where Rowdy actually did in a little over a year from retirement and the 200 Free World Record is proof of that.
Rowdy's real comeback that I forgot about was 1988. With very little training, he was very close to making the 1988 Olympic team in the 400 Free Relay getting 7th at the Olympic Trials and missing making the team by .04 seconds. So this comeback because of the length of time should probably be on the list.
Did you consider Rowdy Gaines? I believe he quit for a while after graduating from Auburn. He then came back to win the gold medal in the 100 free in LA. So, certainly it measures up in terms of success, but I think the layoff was short.
I do remember when Rowdy retired from swimming and it was in the spring of 1981 after the NCAA meet and the 100 Free World Record that he swam in a time trial short after that. He was back swimming by the end of the year and he broke his own World Record in the 200 Free in the summer of 1982. I think he was out of swimming for 6 to 8 months, tops.
That was about 3 months less than Mary T, so maybe he belongs on the list. Unlike Gaines, Stewart and Sanders were out a little more than 2.5 years and they both did not come close to times they did in 1992, where Rowdy actually did in a little over a year from retirement and the 200 Free World Record is proof of that.
Rowdy's real comeback that I forgot about was 1988. With very little training, he was very close to making the 1988 Olympic team in the 400 Free Relay getting 7th at the Olympic Trials and missing making the team by .04 seconds. So this comeback because of the length of time should probably be on the list.
