I think one of the reasons the Olympics is so popular to watch is because the feats the human body pulls off is truly remarkable. Watching someone swim, ran, jump, cycle or row better than anyone ever has in history is mind blowing and mesmerising and I am glad these athletes have a pedastal to display these performences to the world. But these are athletes at their peak physical capability, in their prime, dedicating their life to their craft. Which is why sometimes, I am ever more impressed by what I see by Masters Swimmers....
You see at masters swimming competitions all events over 50m are seeded on times not age, so when watching the last heat you will sometimes be surprised to see someone in their 60s crushing the competition who are much younger than them. As we age we are told we will get slower, weaker and basically worse, which is why I spend the majority of time at masters meets truly inspired and impressed by what as humans we are still capable of if we truly want it.
An example would be in April this year at the British Masters Championships (LCM) in Swansea, I was watching the last heat of the womens 200m backstroke. There was a close race unfolding between two ladies. The eventual winner I was very impressed by, a beautiful stroke and a tactically sound race. The swimmer, Jo Corben, swam a 2:26.14 which I shouldn't have to tell you is FAST. I didnt think much more of it until they annouced that this swim was a new WORLD RECORD... in the 50-54 age group. I am a 29 year old man and I couldn't swim a 2:26 right now!
Of course all the masters world records are impressive, that is of course why they are the world record... but I wanted to pick out 5 that I truly just can't believe. This week I will look at world records on the mens side and next week I will pick out 5 on the womens side. Lets begin....
Hideaki HARA 45-49 100 Free 49.99 (SCM)
Breaking the 50 second barrier is a big milestone in swimming. I recently swam a PB of 51.17 at 28 and have a lifelong goal of bringing that to 49 point anything but I must say I feel like I am against a ticking clock to make that happen. Fortunately Japanese swimmer Hideaki has given me hope that I may have much longer than I originally would have believed, with him being the oldest man in hostory to swim 100m Freestyle under 50, dipping under the threshold by a delicate 0.01.
I can't find too much background on Hideaki but I do know he won an asian games title in the mens 4x200 freestyle back in 1998 and also swam the same event in the final of the 2001 World Championships.
C.Arturo TRAVAINI 60-64 50 Breast 29.77 (SCM)
Talking about milestones and another classic would be the 30 second barrier for 50m breaststroke. I am not a very good breaststroker but I did give this a try in 2023 (aged 27) and due to a dodgy breakout came up short with a 30.44, which is stilly my PB to this day.
Arturo of Italy had no issues with the 30 second barrier when in his 60s crushed the mark by a whopping 0.23 of a second.
I did find the Arturo has said the following about his swimming “My workouts do not involve long extreme load cycles with few goals, but simply a certain continuity without excessive loads, swimming regularly every day, but for only 50 minutes. I prefer quality to quantity, technique and intensity rather than quantity.” He adds, “My secret is to swim a little but well and have fun.”
I couldn't agree more with these sentiments for the swimmer who has 13 masters world records.
Nicolas GRANGER 50-54 400 IM 4:29.33 (SCM)
As I looked through the lists of world records I couldn't help but find the shorter distance events seemed to have the more impressive world records. This would make sense due to less time being able to be dedicated to training meaning you can still excel over a 50m but you may not be able to dedicate the 20 hours in the pool for a 1500m. That being said French medley maestro Nicolas didn't get the memo. His 200 and 400 IM world records over a range of age groups are staggering and my pick of the bnunch would have to be the 4:29.33 he swam in his 50s.
Nicolas is as commited as they come to masters swimming. He has been competing since the 90s and been in the Masters World Topn 10 at the end of every year since. In that time has also downed a whopping 29 world records.
Jaring TIMMERMAN 105-109 50 Free 2:52.48 (SCM)
Jaring's 50 Free (and 50 Back) world records aren't simply age group records but also the world records for the oldest human to compete in a swimming race. He has single handily opened the 105-109 category and still is the only person to have competed in it.
I think one of the coolest states about Canadian Jaring is that he only started competitive swimming at 78 years old. It is never too late to join this awesome sport and I hope I am still getting a race suit on as long as I live.
Nicholas Santos 40-44 50 Fly 23.72 (LCM)
Nic is the best masters swimmer of all time. I say that because at 42 he swam a 21.78 to win his 4 world title in the 50m butterfly (SCM). To clarify that is not a masters world title but a straight up world title. If Nic had swam in more masters events he would have a lot more world records but due to the fact he was representing Brasil internationally up until 2022 (when he retired), his plate was too full with "real" events. That being said after his called it a day with international competitions in 2022, he has still be pretty active when it comes to racing, popping up all over the world at events. One of these events was indeed a masters compeitition and at 44 (not far from aging up a category) and finally he would add his name to the masters world record books. At the time he still held the SCM 50m overall world record as well.
The crazy thing was this wasn't even his fastest swim of 2024. He actually won the 1ST COPA QUERETARO INTERNACIONAL in Mexico with an even faster time of 23.47 to beat out Dylan Carter who had just the week before finished 5th at the World Chamopionships. Even crazier is that this meet did not even have wedges on the blocks. I hope Nicholas races some more masters meets this year and I am sure we will see some absurd world records in the 45-49 age group!
Its your time to shine
I am feeling motivated just reading this list back and I hope you are feeling the same with a new found excitement to see what you are capable of in the pool.
If you have been struggling with getting slower or just can't break through a plateau, I do think changing up your training is the solution. As 13x Masters World Record holder Arturo Travaini said, "I prefer quality to quantity, technique and intensity rather than quantity" and I think that is where a lot of masters swimmers go wrong, choosing quantity and lenghty aerobic session over high quality sprinting, regardless of what they are training for. Arturo holds multiple 200 breaststroke world records and never swims longer than 50 minutes at a time.
If you want to change your approach and start swimming faster than ever, I recommend my Personal Best membership where I will write your training program specific to your goals and needs. I have had over 100 swimmers all over the world shock themselevs swimming lifetime bests in their 60s and even swimming their first PB in 17 years. If yiouw ant that to be you I stringly suggest its time to sign up!
I also have a range of one off purchase that you can buy today and use to start enjoying training more than ever and crush your times on race day.
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