COMMERCE, California, December 10. THE incomparable Laura Val, 62, was at it again as she dropped six FINA Masters world records at the SPMA Short Course Championships held at the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center this weekend.
Val, in her third year of the 60-64 age division, broke a world record in every single event she swam. She started off with a 2:41.53 in the 200 IM and a 1:03.84 in the 100 free on Friday, before clocking a 1:12.72 in the 100 back and a 29.23 in the 50 free on Saturday. She closed the show on Sunday with a 1:11.47 in the 100 fly and a 33.01 in the 50 back. So, in just 7:11.80 of time this weekend, she lowered six of her own records.
The previous records were as follows:
200 IM: 2:43.50; 100 free: 1:03.94; 100 back: 1:13.87; 50 free: 29.30; 100 fly: 1:11.88; 50 back: 33.65.
Nine other FINA Masters World Records fell that we know of, three each by David Guthrie, Steve West and Richard Burns.
Burns took down the 70-74 record in 200 back record with a 2:38.01, edging Barry Young of New Zealand’s 2010 time of 2:38.73. He then smashed Young’s 2009 record of 1:14.31 in the 100 back with a 1:12.09, before sweeping the backstroke marks with a 33.51 in the 50 back to beat his August 2013 mark of 33.68.
Guthrie took a torch to the 50-54 age division breaststroke marks with a 29.84 in the 50, 1:04.54 in the 100 and 2:21.65 in the 200. Those all lowered marks he set in 2012 off 30.61 in the 50, 1:06.39 in the 100 and 2:25.70 in the 200.
Finally, West produced a 28.55 in the 50, 1:01.44 in the 100 and 2:14.36 in the 200 breaststroke events in the 40-44 division. The swims also lowered West’s 2012 marks in the 50 (28.55), 100 (1:01.97) and 200 (2:15.55).
You might remember West as the oldest man to qualify and compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials by making the meet at 39. In Omaha, he swam a 1:03.90, which was faster than he swam at the 1992 Trials when he was swimming competitively.
2012 Trials Swim