Local club places two athletes on elite list
Tamalpais Aquatic Masters features pair of world’s best
Swimming World Magazine recently recognized 12 athletes from around the world as its 2019 Swimmers of the year and a sixth of them compete for a small club team based in San Rafael.
San Anselmo’s Richard Burns and Santa Clara’s Laura Val — who both swim for Tamalpais Aquatic Masters in San Rafael — were honored by the magazine, which hands out the awards based on how many age-group world records each swimmer set that season.
“I wish I had a secret,” TAM coach Marie McSweeney said.
“It’s just who they are as individuals. It’s pretty stunning to have two from the same small team.
“I think everybody looks up to them for their discipline and dedication. It raises the level of competition on the team.”
Although the Tamalpais Aquatic Masters club is made up of just 65 swimmers, Burns and Val have pulled off this feat before. Burns has made this elite list on four previous occasions in three different age groups while Val has been honored for a staggering 14 consecutive years.
“There’s always younger people coming up and aging into the group that are fast and you always have a target on your back,” Val said.
Val completed her fifth year in the 65-69 group and is set to age into the 70-74 group this coming season. As such, a lot of the records Val broke were her own and she’s swimming faster times than she did four years ago.
“Marie is a great coach and she really knows how to get a swimmer to do well when it counts,” Val said. “Everybody (at the club) drops their times when they have to drop their times at a big meet.”
Val set five records in 2019 — three for shortcourse swimming and two for long-course swimming. Three of those marks came in the backstroke (50, 100, 200) while the others came in the 100 butterfly and the 400 freestyle.
“I am most proud of the length of time I have been able to do this,” Val told Swimming World Magazine. “Getting this each year is exciting for me because it means I am getting better every year. I am in the fifth year of my age group now, so if I can come close to those times or do better than I did five years ago, it is a real boost.”
Burns broke six records — 50-100-200 back, 50 fly, short-course 200 IM and long-course 200 IM — during his second year in the 74-79 age group.
“Backstroke is my stroke,” Burns said. “As I’ve aged it seems like the competition in that event has fallen off more sharply. Those are been relatively low-hanging fruit in terms of records to break.”
Both athletes competed at a high level in high school and college then recommitted to the sport after a break. Val qualified for both the 1968 and 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials. Burns has been swimming with Tamalpais Aquatic Masters since 1976.
“We do this for fun,” Burns said. “It’s not life and death. There’s no money in it — just your ego and self esteem and health. In that regard, it will be a blessing to get back in the pool.”
Val’s plan was to focus on the butterfly in 2020 but the spread of the coronavirus has impacted the world of Masters swimming. Championship events in April and June have already been canceled.
There’s also the challenge of staying at a peak level of fitness during a time where getting in the pool has been completely taken off the table.
“I’m doing some things here at home like sit-ups and push-ups,” Val said. “I just ordered a stationary bike to try and get some cardiovascular in. It’s tough because this is going to go on for a while.”
Both Burns and Val have adjusted their workout routines but long for a day when they can return to the pool.
“This coronavirus thing has made me realize that this is part of my routine,” Val said. “I get up every morning, I swim and then I do it all again the next day. … Before I didn’t realize how much of a part of my life this is. Rich and all of my friends (at the club) feel the same way. It’s just something that we do and if we have success at it, it’s just icing on the cake.”