This year’s Washington State Senior Games in Olympia went off without hitch, well almost. It would seem two of us TWIM bloggers, who will remain nameless, nearly or entirely missed them this year due to, shall we say, senior moments 😉
Attending TWIMMERs were Tom Fritschen, Carl Haynie , Betsey Kassen, and Frank Powell. The foursome swam a combined 21 events under the great coaching skill of Heather Shields. When Heather had to leave early, Valerie Powell filled in splendidly capturing all our times. Thanks Valerie!
In all, TWIMMERs took home 16 golds and 5 silvers!
Father Tom swam very strong with five first place finishes in his age group while Carl competed in four. FT nearly skipped the 200 back to save energy for his remaining races. After getting talked into it, he decided to swim it easy and ended up with a best time!
Betsey and Frank deserve “animal” awards in addition to their medals. Get this…Betsey powered through the 500 Free, 200 Free, 400 IM, 200 Breast, and 200 Fly, an absolutely amazing achievement, while Frank swam 7 events: 500 free, 200 free, 50 free, (inhale) 200 back, 100 medley relay, (inhale again) 100 back, and 50 back!
Betsey set 3 state seniors records in the 500 free, 200 free, and 400 IM while Carl set four: 100 free, 50 fly, 100 IM, and 50 back. Congratulations, you two!
Once again, it was such a joy sharing great exercise and fun competition among friends. A big shout out to the organizers of this year’s meet for making it so enjoyable for us all.
