NORTH BETHESDA, Maryland, March 21. NINE Masters short course meters world records were set at the 2011 Albatross Open.
Leslie Livingston, 50, set a new mark in the 50 backstroke with a 30.58, obliteratng Karen Andrus-Hughes' mark of 32.13. Another Andrus-Hughes record fell later when Livingston swam a 1:09.25 in the 100 backstroke, taking down the previous mark of 1:10.35.
Livingston's final record came in the 50 butterfly when she touched the wall in 30.50, just under Traci Granger's world record of 30.60.
Dianne Uustal, 65, broke Masters world records in all three backstroke events in the 65-69 age group: 50 back (35.58), 100 back (1:19.08) and 200 back (2:56.03). Sweden's Margit Ohlsson had been the previous record holder in all three events.
Shirley Loftus-Charley, 60, set two world records in the 60-64 age group. She swam a 2:52.64 in the 200 IM to smash Bonnie Pronk's mark of 2:55.72, then posted a 6:03.26 to blow away the previous record of 6:15.26 set by Barbara Dunbar.
Also breaking a world record was 75-year-old Nancy Brown, who swam a 1:36.90 in the 100 backstroke to break the world record of 1:37.87 held by the legendary Jane Asher in the 75-79 age group.