la y n ic h o vi d ed b [ ph o to pr o
er s grang
]
12.4-mile Anacapa Channel off the coast [ ph ot o pr ov id ed of Southern California on consecutive days with five teammates, breaking the course record in the first swim. His original plan was to complete eight crossings in seven days, but after swimming two, he decided two was enough. McConica is one of those rare swimmers who breaks records year after year. Now at 62 years of age, he is planning an assault on the record book in 2013. As a testament to the power of the times he puts up yearly, McConica still owns the short course world records in the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyles in the 50-54 age group, set nearly 12 years ago! JUDIE OLIVER Most swimmers have a set that’s challenging but very rewarding—one that creates a sense of dread before it starts, but a feeling of accomplishment when it’s over. For 80-year-old Judie Oliver, that set is nine 200 meter butterflys. She’s quick to note that only every third 200 is done full-stroke butterfly, but she credits the set to helping her break five world records in 2012. It’s also led to her first Swimming World Magazine World Masters Swimmer of the Year honor, and the first time a Canadian has been named, which caused her to be “stunned and flabbergasted and speechless.” Oliver has been breaking records in the butterfly events for a few years now, remarking that butterfly “comes easiest for me now.” That may be quite an understatement, given that she shattered the world marks in the 100 and 200 butterfly events—short course and long course—in 2012, as well as the short course 400 IM. Even at 80, a competitive fire still burns in Oliver. She regularly keeps track of times put up by her chief rival, Great Britain’s Jane Asher, and Oliver
by gi an lu ca
ga lz er an
o]
often trains and races with Asher in mind. “If I’m doing an IM, I have to be a pool length ahead of her going into the freestyle,” Oliver said, “because the lead will change otherwise.” It is likely Asher and Oliver will meet once again at the 2014 Masters World Championships, to be held in Montreal. With the meet being held in her home country, Oliver said she already feels a sense of excitement within herself and among those at North York Masters Aquatics, the club she founded 40 years ago. The team started with just a few members, but has grown to 80. Oliver coaches the squad once a week and gets in the pool for her own workouts twice a week—until the big meet approaches. About 10 weeks out, Oliver goes through what she calls the “fame or fatigue” phase, churning out her tough 200 fly sets, using tubing for in-water strength and weights to increase her power. Based on her 2012 results, it looks like Oliver has found more fame than fatigue. KARLYN PIPES It’s been three years since Karlyn Pipes has been on Swimming World Magazine’s list of World Masters Swimmers of the Year, but it’s not as if the Hawaii resident has been lying on a beach sipping mai tais. She did take a break from competition, but the void that was created by not traveling the world for meets was taken up by her new love of cycling. In the past three —continued on 16 April 2013
April.indd 15
15
3/26/13 3:45 PM