Swimming News courtesy of Helen Gorman & blueseventy, a SwimSwam partner.
Parc Jean-Drapeau complex, courtesy of blueseventy
The 2014 FINA World Masters Championships came to a close on Sunday, August 10th after a week of stunning competition at the Parc Jean-Drapeau complex, which also hosted the 2009 elite world championships.
Holding the championships in North America meant the meet attracted many of the best US & Canadian swimmers, but they by no means had an easy run at the medals with winners coming from allover the world including New Zealand and Australia as well as Europe, South America and Asia. As well as the hugely friendly competition, here’s a few things we noted from poolside:
One
Younger does not necessarily mean faster! 41 year-old Brian Jacobson’s 23.61 in the 50m freestyle would have won the 30-34 and the 35-39 age groups, and 49 year-old Marie Therese Fuzzati (FRA) swam 1:00.07 in the 100m freestyle, the third fastest time overall across all age groups. Jacobson (USA) improved to 23.43 for a world record leading off the relay.
Two
2014 FINA World Championship medal, courtesy of blueseventy
On a similar theme, 47 year old Nicolas Granger’s 1:57.75 world record 200m freestyle was the fastest time in the meet. The Frenchman, who swam at the FINA World Championships in Montreal 20 years ago, won the 100m breast stroke in 1:06.66 and the 100m freestyle on the same day in 54.16. He also won the 200IM (2:11.35) and 400m IM in a world record 4:43.83. He’s a father of seven and has come through two bouts of cancer.
Three
There were a few complaints about the lack of enough changing facilities but us masters don’t actually seem to need them. We’ve had more practice at deck changes over the years than any other swimmers on the planet!
Four
When 1996 Olympic Champion, Claudia Poll won the 200m freestyle in 2:11.05 (40-44yrs) she punched the air with delight. Her Costa Rican fans were some of the loudest and proudest there.
Lindley Frame & Helen Gorman: 1st & 2nd in the 200 breaststroke, 40-44. The winning time for Lindley 2:40.86 (with a 39 last 50!)
Five
1991 World Champion breast stroker Lindley Frame (AUS) won all three breast stroke golds in the 40-44 age group. Her starts and turns made the difference in a very fast and competitive category that also included former European Champion Svitlana Bondarenko (UKR).
Six
Never trust iPhone weather forecasts for Montreal! Despite the constant threat of thunder, only one day (the relays) was actually distrusted by bad weather.
Seven
90 year old Anton Biedermann from Brazil won the men’s 100m free in 1:43.50. In the women’s 100m free the oldest competitor was 97 year old Kathherine Johnstone from New Zealand, and in the diving a 90+ competitor dived in the 10m platform event, proving that you are never too old to take part in masters!
Eight
The Parc Jean-Drapeau venue was fantastic with two outdoor competition pools and another outdoor 50m training pool. The open water venue was right nearby and the swimmers loved watching the divers too! Best not to mention the portable toilets at the temporary pool though.
Nine
The free travel passes were an absolute winner! Well done Montreal for putting on a great FINA Masters World a Championships!
For the latest news and blogs from blueseventy visit www.blueseventy.com. Instagram: @blue_seventy, Twitter: @blueseventy, Facebook: facebook.com/blueseventy.
About blueseventy
If you spent a day with us at blueseventy you would learn a couple things; that we’re a small team committed to open water swimming, that we don’t cover our suits in gimmicks and we certainly don’t believe in the pseudo-science that other companies push out from so called official studies. We’d rather go off real info, like which suits are chosen by swimmers and professional athletes that test them. We’ve spent 20 years developing and constantly tweaking our patterns to get a fit that works with the swimmer. Not against them. It’s that superior fit that leads to better performance and comfort in the water so our pro athletes emerge first from the water at every iconic race in the world including the Olympics and World Championships over every distance. That’s our measuring stick. And for this reason we are chosen by more swimmers than any other brand.
Open water still seems to be some kind of big party for organizateurs. Waiting 5 hours, under the sun, with no one even knowing about the medals ceremony, was really disapointing…
The people at the meet were really great, and it was equally great to finally meet some of the international swimmers I’d heard about. Heavy Montreal provided an odd soundtrack to an athletic event, though the beer truck outside the venue was greatly appreciated.
Thanks swimswam. Love articles like this about my hometown. That’s a terrific venue for a meet.