The International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame has announced 7 inductees to its Class of 2014, including three American swimmers.
The rules for this hall of fame require athletes to have been competing for a minimum of 16 years across a minimum of four age groups. Up to 9 inductees can be chosen each year, and they are chosen by a panel of 62 “international swimming authorities” with the help of a defined point system.
This year’s class of 7:
- Pam Hutchings (Australia)
- Jean Troy (USA)
- David Guthrie (USA)
- Timothy Shead (USA)
- Jennifer Mangum (USA – Diving)
- Ted Witte (USA – Diving)
- Radovan Mukov (Croatia – Water Polo)
The four swimmers on the list have impressive resumes worthy of such an honor, and most of them are still adding to those tallies.
54-year old David Guthrie holds 56 individual US Masters Swimming Records and 43 FINA Masters World Records. He has been in FINA’s top-10 athletes for his age group for the last 22 years, and trains with Rice Aquatics Masters in Houston, Texas.
87-year old Jean Troy holds 68 individual National Records and has been competing since 1976 and has broken 37 FINA Masters World Records in her career.
Troy is the epitome of a major branch of Masters’ swimming, having built her ‘career’ despite not starting to compete until the age of 45. Since then, while racing at three Masters World Championship meets, she’s earned 11 medals total including 5 gold medals.
While she has raced for multiple teams in her over three decades of competition, she currently trains with the Florida Maverick Masters in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Timothy Shead is an American who has left a stamp on Masters’ Swimming around the world – he lived in South Africa for more than 30 years and broke a slew of World Records while training there. He has competed in an astonishing 10 FINA Masters World Championship meets, where he’s won 17 gold, 16 silver, and 5 bronze medals, and has 32 FINA Masters World Records.
He trains with team P2LIFE in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
And finally, the lone international swimmer in the class is Pam Hutchings from Australia. She has spent 24 years in the Masters’ Top 10 and set 28 FINA Masters’ World Records. She’s raced in 6 FINA World Masters Championships since 1990, and has the biggest pile of gold medals among the four with 19 in her 27-year career.
Favorite parts of his speech
Whoever slows slowest wins
How do you know you are blessed…. You’re a swimmer
I think it’s awesome to see such successful masters swimmers inducted into the IMSHOF – amazing athletes all.
I do wonder if the HOF ever considers the potential that some swimmers may have achieved success through the use of performance enhancing substances.
I have no evidence to support the idea that any of these athletes has done anything wrong, but when you look at time progressions over the years and you see someone in their 50’s dropping double digits from when they were in their 30’s, it is cause for concern.
It’s sad to think that we may have swimmers being lauded for accomplishments that might be tainted.