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Who Swims Masters?

Mike Popovich. The man chiefly responsible

for the Mt. Hood Aquatic Center is Mike

Popovich, 81, who swam a 4.42.07 here in the

Men’s 200 Free, in his first swim in competition

after a shoulder reconstruction. Mike glimpsed

the future back in 1974 when he ran all the local

east Multnomah County pools. Mt. Hood

Community College was planning an indoor 25-

yard pool. The local swim clubs wanted a 50-

meter outdoor

pool, but had no

way to get it.

Mike got the

two groups

together and

formed an

unofficial

Committee of 

Fourteen. The Committee got the vote out on a

$6.28 million bond issue for the college. The

bond issue passed, and financed the $2.8 million

cost of a 50-meter competitive pool that satisfied

both the college and all the local swim clubs. Alittle over 30 years later, thanks to the vision of 

Aquatics Director Brandon Drawz and the

support of college President John J. "Ski"

Sygielski Mike’s original pool has become the

state of the art facility that is the best in Oregon.

Mike, from all of us who have swum in this

magnificent facility: Thanks so much! Your

vision of a community asset has been fulfilled

with another great national championship meet.

Dorothy Whitehead. It’s a nice summer

weekend, and whaddya gonna do for fun? If 

you’re a typical swim parent, you are going to

fill up the SUV with kids, towels and junk food

and attend yet another age group swim meet

wearing one of those T-shirts that reads, “Lord,

if this is my last day on earth, let it be a swim

meet, because they last forever.” But if you’re

Mark Whitehead from Sugarland, Texas, you do

something a little different. Your kids are

playing volleyball and soccer at home, so you

take your Mom, Dorothy Whitehead, from her

home in Indianola, Iowa, to Portland, Oregon, to

compete in the USMS Long Course Masters

Nationals, where she will swim every backstroke

event she can. You’ve been doing this for years,

and it is just one of those family things you do.

Continued, Page 2

 Pay Attention: Karlyn’s Been Breaking World Records Right and Left at these Nationals: 

Pools Edge…Staying in ControlExtended Version Originally December 2007 Swimming World Magaziine

By: Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen, Aquatic Edge 

In 2006 I was competing at a Masters meet in Crawley, England, when I found myself extremely nervousprior to swimming a 400 IM. Clutching at straws, I asked a recent acquaintance named Nicola for someadvice on how to swim my race. She looked at me and said one word: CONTROL.

I thought about it for a moment, considered its meaning, then confidently walked to the blocks and swammy event. By focusing on the word CONTROL, especially during the breaststroke leg (my nemesis), Iswam a great race and in the process I set new FINA Masters world record by over 8 seconds. The wordCONTROL often conjures up a negative connotation as in “that guy is a real control freak.” But wait aminute. Is being in control such a bad thing? I don’t think so, especially when it comes to competition.Being in control can be a GOOD thing if used to help you reach your goals. Here are four suggestions onhow you can stay in CONTROL at your next meet.

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This publication (if you want to call it that) is not the official, or any, communication of USMS, OMS, Mt. Hood Community

College, or any other responsible organization, nor is it a communication attributable to the Meet Directors, who are men of few

words (but mighty deeds in most situations). This publication is intended solely as entertainment by athletes, for athletes. The

  opinions expressed by the editors and contributors are entirely their own, God help them. Other editions available at

www.lcnationals.2008.net

 

Who Swims Masters?  continued :

As a child,Dorothy beganswimming in a

Red Crossprogram, thencompeted asan AAUathlete at theLos AngelesAthletic Club.She was

severelyinjured in an auto accident and had to quit whenshe was a senior in high school. Then, aftermarrying Ralph and raising their two children,

she took up swimming again around the age of 45, and hasn’t been out of the pool since. Shetrains faithfully, and she has attended Nationalsin Woodland, Texas; Tucson, Arizona; St Louis,

Missouri; Industry Hills, California; andMinneapolis, Minnesota. At age 73, swimmingisn’t getting any easier, but she couldn’t live aswell without swimming. Dorothy was recentlyinducted into the Iowa Senior Olympics Hall of Fame as their first swimmer. After swimming a53.13 in the 50 backstroke on Saturday night,slightly off her seed time, she said her legs feltlike lead. Fulfilling his “athletic supporter” role,Mark told her he thought she looked pretty good,and helped her down off the pool deck as shewent to do her warm down in the 25 meter pool.

Staying in Control, continued:

Control your ENERGY: How well you manage your energy during a competition will directly affect howwell you swim. Energy boosters are: eating a healthy breakfast, arriving on time and getting a good warmup, cooling down after each event, staying hydrated, taking mini-breaks from the meet, cheering forteammates, being positive and genuinely excited about the success of others.

Control your RACE: Step up to the blocks with a well-rehearsed plan for each event. For a sprint, focus ondetails like getting off the blocks quick, having a solid breakout, fast turn(s) and a strong finish. In an IMevent like the 400, a good suggestion is to swim your second 50 faster than your first (except the fly). Formid-distance or longer, many coaches recommend building your effort and speed as the race progresses.Whatever the plan is, swim your own race and try not to be distracted by swimmers in other lanes.

Control your TECHNIQUE: You often hear the phrase “just do it.” I think it’s more important to “think about what you are doing!” When fatigue sets in, it’s easy to lose focus and for technique to suffer. Toavoid this, you MUST practice holding good technique when you are tired in training. Every coach will tellyou that your habits in practice, good or bad, will surface inevery race.

Control your MIND: Attitude is the mind’s paintbrush. It cancolor any situation. One of the most important components toswimming a great race is your attitude. Try not to dwell onwhat MIGHT happen, the unknown. (For more, see Karlyn’s In

the Know, the Daily Nationals Enquirer August 15, 2008). 

Finally, have fun! If you are enjoying what you are doing andhaving fun, you will be less focused on the outcome, morerelaxed and have a better chance at swimming well.

 Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen is a recent inductee into the International Masters

Swimming Hall of Fame. Karlyn and her husband Eric own Aquatic Edge Inc in Kona, Hawaii and have hosted over 60 swim technique clinics and camps in 23 states and four countries this year. For more information, please visit www.aquaticedge.org 

Attention: Swimmers interested in real news about the meet might want to consult a real source. Trywww.swimmingworldmagazine.com, where you can find information on all the record-breaking swims,and more. They might also want to peruse the Discussion Forums at www.usms.org to read, or add theirown, observations about the meet and their fellow competitors.