It was quite the fruitful weekend for six TWIM Senior Swimmers in the 2019 Washington State Senior Games (WSSG) at Briggs YMCA in Olympia. Val Thompson, Betsey Kassen, Carl Haynie, Thomas Walker, Brent Barnes, and Dan Underbrink swam away with 30 medals and set 5 state records last Sunday, July 28.
Val swam nine events at this Senior Games! She swam all four of the 25-yard races Butterfly, Back, Breast, and Free. She also did the 50 Free, the 100 Free, and the 100 IM. To round out her schedule she also did the 200 Free and the 500 Free. Final medal tally for Val: Five Gold, three Silver, and one Bronze Nice work shouldering a heavy swim schedule, Val, and kudos on all of those medals!
Betsey gave her usual stellar effort in four events: the 100 Fly, the 200 Free, the 200 IM, and the 500 Free. It was an impressive selection of events, Betsey. Congrats on four Gold Medal performances and two State Records in the Fly and IM. Nicely done!
Carl had some fun in the 25 Breast and 25 Fly events, edging out tough competitors in both. He also swam the 50 Breast and the 100 IM. Following Betsey’s plan, Carl took home four Gold Medals and set three State Records. You are an awesome performer, Carl!
The Chairman, Tom Walker, swam in three events: the 50 Breast, the 100 Breast, and the 100 IM. His finishes included a Silver Medal, a Bronze Medal, and a fourth place. Tom often professes we all just need to show up and swim. You inspire us, Tom!
Brent, the youngster in his first WSSGs, delivered flawless performances in his three events: the 50 Back, the 200 Free, and the 200 Breast. Take-home hardware for Brent were three Gold Medals! We hope to see your winning ways at many more of these, Brent!
Dan rounds out this field of performers with seven swim events. Dan swam the 100 Back and 100 Breast events (having zero fast-twitch muscle fiber, these are the shortest events Dan typically will do). In longer events Dan swam 200 Back, 200 Breast, 200 IM, 400 IM (a solo swim!), and the 500 Free. Dan also participated in the WSSGs on Saturday, running a 10K road race. Final medal count for Dan was six Gold and two Silver. Editor’s Note: Way to go, Dan!!
A big thanks to the TWIM rooting section of Vic Pace, Holly Lickwalla, and Karin Williams. We all appreciated you coming and cheering us on!
This year’s WSSGs were just for fun. Next year, this meet will be the qualifier for the 2021 National Senior Games in Fort Lauderdale, FL. We look forward to seeing all 50 and older TWIMmers at that event next year!
2 thoughts on “TWIM is Golden at Games”
I wish I could have seen All these wins. Holy is right we have the best masters swim team ever. And COB is right too…it’s all because we have the best swimmers. Once again that is quite evident here.
Great job everyone!
As always fantastic performance. I wish I could have been there to cheer you all on!