MONTREAL, Canada, August 4. IN what is being viewed as one of the slowest Masters world championships in many years, only two world records have been set after two days of competition in Montreal.
Typically, we’d be applauding nearly a dozen world records at this point in the competition across multiple age groups. In Montreal, even perennial record breaker Laura Val, one of Swimming World Magazine’s World Masters Swimmers of the Year, has not broken a record.
The first record fell at the hands of Frederik Hviid, representing Germantown Masters, in the 200 backstroke. Hviid, 40 years old, posted a 2:11.56 in the 200 back, beating out the world record of 2:12.77 by Mark Vogel set in 2010. Hviid was born in Spain and competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. Formerly a distance freestyler, Hviid appears to be branching out into backstroke in his first year swimming in Masters.
Swimming in the 70-74 age group, Kenneth Frost swam a 1:23.65 in the 100 breast, smashing David Gildea’s world record of 1:24.12 set last year. The 70-year-old holds the world record in the 65-69 age group with a 1:18.11.
Nicolas Granger nearly made it three world records with a 1:06.66 in the men’s 100 breast today, missing the world record of 1:06.35 by Vladimir Pylypchenko in the 45-49 age group.
Hi Jeff
Thanks for recognizing my teammate Ken Frost. By way of explaining relatively poor performances here in Montreal your reporting should probably also identify some of the issues associated with why there are less than stellar times. There is quite a bit of criticism about the facilities inability to accommodate this event. The “secondary” pool, while a bona fide Myrtha pool, is located some walking distance from the main complex. There is no warm up or warm down facilities, bathrooms, showers, shade cover or other expected amenities that make a venue viable. Coupled with no reliable communication between pools swimmers guess when to begin the pilgrimage from their warmup in the main pool to their swim. If in your anxiety about missing your start you misjudge the timing you sit in very uncomfortable conditions for way too long. Add a whole lot of additional obstacles and you may have some good reasons why records are not falling.
Rich Burns
After reading Rich’s comments I was glad I decided to skip Worlds and go to USMS Nationals in Maryland. After looking at the event schedule (would have taken 6 days to swim my 4 main events) and then understanding that there would probably be a ton heats in every event which makes the meet go very slowly…finally looking at the cost of travel, hotel as well as being gone 8-9 days, it was just not worth it. Most of my teammates and quite a few of my swimming friends all thought the same thing. So we ended skipping Worlds and focusing on USMS Nationals.
I should clarify…not that I would have set any records, but was expressing that many fast swimmers I know had the feelings I expressed above.
Another world record was set this morning in the men’s 400 IM by Alek Shestakov (USA) of Oakwood Athletic Club Masters (in Lafayette, CA) in the 65-69 age group. Alek went 5:50.98, breaking the old record of 5:52.50 set by George Wendt (USA) in 2012. Congrats Alek!
That’s awesome, T. Williams! We’ll definitely have a full report of the day up tonight! Congrats to Alek!