In 1960, Jeff Farrell became a swimming legend when he overcame an emergency appendectomy just 6 days before the Olympic Trials to qualify for the Rome Olympics and subsequently win multiple Golds and break several world records. He went on to break a combined 23 American and World Records within the year following his appendectomy. Farrell competed collegiately for Oklahoma and trained with the Navy program at Yale leading up to the 1960 Olympics.
Today, Farrell is 80 years old and competing at the Masters level. In mid-December, Farrell broke another world record, this time in the SCM 50 free for the 80-84 age group. His time of 31.25 broke the previous record of 31.74 by nearly half a second.
Farrell began swimming Masters in 1980, and over that time he has broken a number of American Records and consistently sat at the top of his age groups. Arguably the most impressive aspect of his ability to stay a world class swimmer over the course of nearly 60 years is that he’s managed to keep up with the seemingly ever-changing rules. The sport was dramatically different back when Farrell set his first world record – from huge things like the fact that swimmers didn’t where goggles back in 1960 to all the incremental mechanics changes that have occurred since then. Farrell has managed to stay at the top through all of that.
Jeff Farrell wrote an autobiography detailing his tumultuous experience at the 1960 Olympic Trials and Games called “My Olympic Story”.
Swimmers, Olympians and other friends of Jeff Farrell,
Jeff and his wife Gabrielle barely escaped the Santa Barbara fires in December, only to have their Montecito house inundated and essentially destroyed by the mudslides which occurred last week. They are facing financial disaster. As you may know, Jeff is a double gold medal winner in the 1960 Rome Olympics and the first of only 2 swimmers to be inducted into both the International Swimming Hall Of Fame as an Olympian and then 50 years later as a Masters Swimmer. He is also the legendary and inspirational swimmer who insisted on competing for an Olympic berth (and succeeding) 6 days after an emergency appendectomy (authoring the book, My Olympic Story… Read more »
A fun fact about Jeff’s club coach with the Wichita Swim Club, Bob Timmons(and I believe he was his HS coach too), is that Bob coached Jim Ryun in HS track to be the first high schooler to break 4:00 in the mile in track and field. Bob went on to be the head coach for the University of Kansas track and field team, where he coached seven Olympians. Not many coaches have coached Olympians in two different sports!
What a swim! Is there any video of this race?
None that I’ve seen!
Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit still proud of performing his appendectomy and patching him up for the trials. Trials were held at Brennan pool in Detroit which still exists. it has three-50 meter pools. the two competition pools are too shallow for a start. the diving well, which is also 50 meters, could hold a meet based on starts but does not have a place to connect lane lines or have modern starting blocks. In the 1940’s to 1960 when they held three Olympic trials they build the starting blocks out of wood.
The “starting block” in 1956 and 60 at Dettroit was a continuous wall across the starting end of pool.
Jeff was one of greatest and maintained the integrity of the U.S. selection system as no other country does the same as our you do it that day. All others can make changes. Yea for our system.
Just the swimmer and the clock and you do iit that day no matter who you are. Part of the best system in the world and why so many take a shot at making the team. Try picking thevTeam a month in advance.
31.74!!! That is lights out performance! Wow, that’s an incredible athletic accomplishment!
My hero for masters swimming is Laurie Val. Think that a women 66 years old can do a 1:06 100 yard butterfly its like a 18 year old doing 53 to 55.
Helluva swim. Well done!
did he do this sans goggles? I know a lot of the older masters swimmers I see in the 70+ category still swim no goggles up here in Canada.
impressive swim regardless of goggles.