March 7, 2025 • 31 mins
In this inspiring episode, we have an engaging conversation with 47-year-old Steve Gold, a swimmer located in Jacksonville, Florida who swims for the Bolles School Sharks Masters. Steve has redefined personal excellence through the sport earning All-American Honors while being a busy working Dad of four! After nearly 25 years away from competitive swimming, Steve's remarkable journey back into the water demonstrates the power of resilience and the transformative impact of pursuing one's passions. He shares insights on his time as a swimmer at Yale, where he served as team captain, and his subsequent hiatus from the sport as he navigated career challenges and family life. Listen for:
• Introduction to Steve Gold, his training regimen and comeback story
• Importance of mental health in sports and exercise
• The role of community and training environment in master swimming
• Tips on balancing competitive swimming with family and work life
• Insights into setting realistic goals as a master swimmer
• Encouragement for adults to engage in competitive swimming
With a background in mental health, Steve passionately discusses how swimming has revitalized not only his physical condition but also his mental wellbeing. He highlights the intrinsic connection between physical fitness and mental health, illustrating how swimming can be both an individual pursuit and a communal experience that fosters teamwork and support. Through Steve’s story, listeners will learn about the importance of finding balance in life while pursuing competitive goals.
As he prepares for upcoming master swimming events, Steve provides valuable advice on how to set realistic expectations, integrate swimming into busy schedules, and the advantages of training within a community. Whether you’re a seasoned swimmer or just beginning your journey, this episode will inspire you to make waves in your own life and encourage you to embrace the joy of competition at any age.
Join us to explore Steve's extraordinary story, filled with determination, passion, and camaraderie—a heartfelt reminder that swimming is not just a sport; it's a lifelong journey towards excellence. Remember to subscribe, share, and leave a review!
Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Champions Mojo.
Join us for conversations thatinspire and empower you as an
adult athlete, fitnessenthusiast or master swimmer.
Our goal is to make eachepisode insightful and
inspirational and to discoverwhat it takes to build or keep a
life of personal excellence.
(00:22):
I'm your host, Kelly Pallas,and we're here to champion you.
All right, we have a wonderfulshow today.
This is Kelly Pallas, the hostof Champions Mojo, and our guest
today is Steve Gold.
His story is so unique andwonderful because Steve swam at
(00:46):
a high level in high school.
He was a swim team captain atYale, but his US master swimming
record is pretty much blankuntil he turns 45.
And so he has such a greatstory of resurgence to coming
back to swimming.
So, Steve, Such a great storyof resurgence to coming back to
swimming.
So, Steve, welcome to Champions.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Mojo Thanks, Kelly.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yes, well, I want to start with the fact that it
looks like these are preliminaryresults.
But even though you've justcome back to swimming, you've
had a lot of top tens.
You've had a lot of top tens butit looks like you're going to
pull off your first All-Americanhonor for master swimming in
the 2024 season in the 200 IM.
(01:30):
You're really well-rounded.
I looked at your profile.
You've got you swim all thestrokes so it would make sense
that you have the number one 200IM time from last year.
But start with where you cameback to master swimming and how,
in such a short time, you'rekind of swimming at a very high
level.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Swimming growing up.
It was always a passion, youknow, for me, and I started
swimming when I was, you know,an eight and under and in a YMCA
in New Jersey, actuallySomerset Hills YMCA.
It was still a very good YMCA,you know swimming program and
and grew up in that environmentto, you know, going to bowls, um
(02:11):
, and then in Jacksonville, andI lived there, I boarded at the
school really to try to take myswimming career to the next
level.
Ultimately, like you said, Iended up going to Yale and swam
there and was, you know, electedcaptain my senior year, which,
at Yale, is a, it's really agreat honor.
There's just one.
They have one captain per sport.
(02:32):
It's a Yale tradition wheresome of the other Ivies or most
of the other you know schoolsand Ivies have usually three
captains per sport.
Yale is, you know, a singlecaptain, elected by by the peers
.
So the team will vote at theend of the prior season on who's
the you know who's going to bethe captain for the next year.
And then, like most swimmers,you know you're tired, you are
(02:53):
burned out.
You know you've put a lot ofeffort into the sport and I was
ready for a break and reallyconcentrated on my career and
then, ultimately, my family aswell.
I have four kids.
But my career was busy.
You know I did a lot ofdifferent things.
I'm a lawyer by training, but Iended up going into the
(03:15):
business world and founded acouple of companies that I ended
up growing in the healthcarespace.
But ultimately, when I found apause, you know, in those
careers where you know, maybe Iwould have a company sell or a
different owner would come inand recapitalize my business and
I would find, you know, breaksand pauses I was looking for
(03:36):
something to do that wascompetitive again really, and I
love racing, I love competing,and so I'm not one of the master
swimmers that you know, justpractices.
I really enjoyed the competing,and so I'm not one of the master
swimmers that you know, justpractices.
I really enjoyed the racing andso I really got into the racing
almost right away, like I,maybe I trained for a couple
months and was already startingto race, because that's really
(03:59):
what I missed and what I loved,and I do think I had such a good
base of training.
Bowls was really well known asa distance program back in the
nineties when I was there and wehad a couple Olympians that
were distance swimmers and so wewould swim.
You know, some of the sets.
If I repeated them, you knowyou'd be like, oh my goodness.
(04:19):
You know the people don't trainlike that anymore and we
probably did overtrain.
But I think for that reason itwas kind of easier for me to get
back into the pool and get backinto swimming shape, just
because I had such a foundationlaid, you know, in my early
years.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
That's wonderful.
And so when you did starttraining, I do know a lot of
master swimmers don't like torace so I always try to
encourage them because I quotethis a lot Nobody's really
watching and master swimming,you're just there having fun, so
people are nervous.
But when you came back to a lotto a lot of people but I love
the 800.
(04:56):
You dropped in one year from a1024 at Shark Tank meet to a 958
at this recent Rowdy Gainesmeet.
How does that happen in a year?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Well, at that particular event I ended up
getting a split and so it's alittle it's apples.
So that was the split at theShark Tank meet of my 1500, the
mile.
So it was 800 on my feet.
But you know, if you do look atthe events, there has been
improvement.
And even like an event like the50 Breast which I just did this
(05:40):
weekend too at the Rowdy Gains,and I had done it I think I did
it at a solstice meet up inMaryland but but I dropped like
0.3, which is a, you know, yearover year, which is a, you know,
for a 50 breast short coursemeters.
I think that that I was veryhappy, you know to, to be able
to drop.
And I'm being more consistentwith my practices.
(06:00):
I'd say I'm getting in moreoften.
You know I'm trying to mix insome strength training, you know
as well, into my routine.
But yeah, it's mainly justgetting in more consistent and I
work hard in practice.
I've always kind of worked hardin practice.
So I enjoy, you know, even, theracing aspects of a practice.
(06:21):
And at Bowles, where I swim youknow where I went to high school
, but also we've now created amaster's practice and at Bowles
where I swim, where I went tohigh school, but also we've now
created a master's team and I'mback here in Jacksonville after
spending time up in New York andPhiladelphia and other areas.
But I think having a team totrain with is really obviously
also beneficial, even as amaster's swimmer.
That's been helpful for me too,whereas in the beginning years
(06:45):
of my master's training I wasdoing a lot more on my own.
I'm trying to you know, maybeit's twice a week, three times a
week get in with a team youknow and be able to train with
the team, and then maybe I'msupplementing the two or three
times with another one or twotimes a week, just kind of
swimming, loosening up on my own.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
So that sounds like you're swimming about five to
six days a week.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Yeah, that's probably right.
You know, sometimes I get inand just do a thousand, just
nice and easy.
And I've also done a coupleopen waters as well which you're
not going to see on the USMSkind of top 10 lists.
But those have also been reallyfun, you know, and interesting
for me and different than what Ihad kind of done in the past.
(07:32):
And so sometimes I'll just getin and you know I'll just do a
straight thousand or a straightmile and I can get it done in
whatever you know, 15, 20minutes just in the middle of my
day and then get back to work.
(08:03):
So having four kids and afull-time job has got to be a
challenge with the training thatyou're doing.
Can you talk about how you fitit in and how that three of your
four kids are swimmers and whatthat looks like when they say,
hey, dad's fun, they count forme, right?
Like if I get to bring them tothe meets, like that, I think
that that's really fun and I doget to count for them.
You know, in their USA swimmingmeets they need counters.
Now you know the parents chipin and do that.
So it's a great kind ofrelationship that we have and
you know they see that.
(08:23):
You know dad can still swim,and you know, and I can give
them tips here or there whenthey want to listen.
Still swim, and you know, and Ican give them tips here or
there when they want to listen.
But yeah, I mean it's squeezingin the time.
And then when you travel,obviously you're, you know,
travel for work the week is kindof shot.
You're just trying to get in asmuch as you can.
So I think you have to haverealistic expectations.
As a master swimmer, likeyou're not going to be able to
(08:44):
stick to like a set scheduleevery single week and that's.
That's quite all right.
I think you just try to get inwhen you can, and whether that's
a midday you know you got 20minutes in the middle of the day
, you can get in or whetherthat's early in the morning or
late at night.
I think you just have to beflexible and kind of do do what
you're able to do.
You know, in that given week ormonth or whatever it is, and
(09:08):
you know.
Again, I think I'm thankfulbecause of the foundation that I
have.
It's kind of allowed me to, youknow, have better weeks where
I'm able to get in moreconsistently, and then weeks
where I'm not able to get in atall but for whatever reason,
ultimately I'm still able torace and compete at a decent
level, you know, as a masterswimmer.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
So it sounds like you took about 20 to 25 years out
of the pool.
Were you doing anything else,or what were you doing during
those 20 years?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yeah, I'd say sporadic weightlifting and
sporadic running, but runningbeing like a mile or two I'm not
a distance runner and then youknow, maybe I would swim a mile
or two, not a I'm not a distancerunner and then you know, maybe
I would swim like once or twicea year if that.
(09:58):
But yeah, it wasn't a lot, butenough to.
You know, I was always kind oftrying to maintain like some
athleticism, but it was really,um, my competition during those
years was really.
One was first academics, and Ihave two masters in addition to
my law degree, so I was inschool for a good bit of time.
And then you know my work andtrying to grow companies.
(10:19):
It's really when you're afounder and you're all in and
there's a competitiveness tothat and there's a time
allocation to that.
That's, you know, sometimes allencompassing, and so that was
really my main focus duringthose years.
But again, I would try to dothings here or there.
It just it was not consistentLike I have been over the last,
(10:41):
you know, probably two, threeyears now.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
So, doing a little research on your work background
, it looks like a couple of thecompanies that you either
founded or worked for were inthe mental health industry.
How do you correlate those twofor swimming and mental health
in general and what we see froma lot of swimmers talking about
mental health?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
It's huge, you know, and I think when I so I
graduated in high school in 95and college in 99, it was not
something that, frankly, wereally even talked about.
We would talk a little aboutsports, psychology and
performance and things of thatnature, but it wasn't really.
Like mental health is today andhow important it is to think
(11:25):
about your mental health as wellas your physical health.
So that is also a passion ofmine, like swimming, and I think
that they are related.
I definitely feel like mymental health is better, you
know, and I feel more positiveand more energetic.
Frankly, if I could get in aswim, you know, during the day,
(11:48):
and even if I, you know, likethe Rowdy Games meet this
weekend, it's exhausting to dothe.
You know you do the warmups andyou swim your race and you do
the warm downs and it takes alot of time and energy.
But there is that, you know,whatever endorphins and runner's
high that they call it, but youfeel positive about yourself.
(12:09):
Even if you didn't have a greatswim, you still you did it, you
know you competed.
It's great for your health andso I think they go hand in hand
and so I'm thankful for myopportunity that I've had to
kind of grow mental healthcompanies and help people, help
therapists, help psychologists,help psychiatrists, you know, in
(12:31):
their practices and help themhelp more people.
Especially during the COVIDepidemic I think that was really
a monumental kind of change inour country, with people being,
you know, really locked in theirhomes and apartments and even
swim facilities.
A lot were closed and here inFlorida they closed the ocean,
(12:54):
the beaches.
You know you couldn't even goon the beach for I think it was
a month.
So you know people were reallyrestricted in what they could do
and a lot of them thankfullyturned to counseling and therapy
and so forth to talk about whatthey were going through.
So I do think swimming,exercise in general, is really a
(13:15):
positive for people's mentalhealth.
It's been proven kind of timeand time again.
And master swimming inparticular is just a wonderful
community, it's a wonderfulprogram.
You could find a meet to go toalmost every single weekend if
you wanted to.
You know, within some radius ofwhere you live.
It's really a great thing.
(13:36):
And I tell other adults, youknow, that don't even swim like
they should look at you know thepotential of, of master
swimming.
You know the the other sportsthat you know what you can't do
football when you're an adultvery well, or you know that you
have adult basketball leaguesand things of this nature.
But I think really swimming,running, triathlons, like these
(13:56):
kinds of sports, are reallylifelong sports and really
amazing to watch the otherathletes.
You know when they're in their.
You know their later years.
You know you get to see the 80,90, sometimes there's a hundred
plus year olds.
You know their later years.
You know you get to see the 80,90, sometimes there's a hundred
plus year olds.
You know swimming at nationalsand it's just unbelievable to
watch them and you kind of hopethat you're able to swim down
(14:17):
the pool when you're their age.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Yes, absolutely.
The a hundred year old woman atsenior games that did a 500
free, all with flip turns, wasamazing.
Charlotte Sandel We've had heron the show.
She's amazing.
So obviously prioritizingswimming and fitness in your
life has been one of your keysto success, but with so much
(14:40):
success that you've had Steve.
What are some other rituals orroutines, things that you kind
of are go-tos to get things done?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Well, I mean I think today.
I mean, well, you know, you getup and you help with the
routine on getting the kids toschool.
I mean, I think that that's thefirst part of the day and then
you jump into your work.
Right now I'm working remotelyand traveling a good bit, so I
think you're balancing thetravel with when can you either
(15:12):
get in the water or do a quickrun or hit the gym or and could
you do that that day and then Ithink, ultimately, like sleep
you talk about mental healthlike sleep is vital.
I really do try to get thateight, nine hours of sleep per
night when I'm able.
And again, travel doesnegatively impact that when I'm
(15:34):
having to do my work, travel,but when I'm able, and again,
travel does negatively impactthat when I'm having to do my
work, travel, but when I'm not,it really is important that
you're kind of getting to bed,you know, at a reasonable time
and thankfully I've really nothad problems.
You know, really like sleepingor getting my phone out in the
middle of the night, things likethat I do make sure.
And again, I'm up to date onall the studies about, you know,
(15:55):
technology and mental healthand cell phones and things of
that nature, and I say I'mpretty good about putting the
phone away, you know, after acertain hour at night and just
kind of turning it off andletting my mind, you know, get
ready for bed, you know, beforeyou ultimately go to bed.
You know, get ready for bed,you know, before you ultimately
(16:17):
go to bed.
I think that that is reallycrucial to being well rested and
really letting your bodyrecharge and heal overnight.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
So, if you want to talk about it, what goals do you
have for your future in masterswimming?
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Well, kind of like what you said, it looks like I'm
getting my first All-American,which is wonderful and, you know
, happy and not really expected,but that's again wonderful.
I won a couple events thissummer at the Senior National
Championship in California forMasters, which was great, ended
up winning, I think, twobreaststrokes and also, I think,
(16:53):
the 200 IM there at that meet.
Those were goals of mine.
I'd like to continue.
I'm doing all the virtual andyou can't see that either, but
I've been doing the virtualnational championships too,
which are, you know, the Januaryis like an hour as far as you
can swim, and then there'susually a 5,000 and a 10,000
(17:16):
over the summer and then a threeand a six in the fall, and so I
did all of those last year andthen the year before I did all
of them, except for didn't dothe hour swim in January because
I didn't really know about it.
But I like using those fortraining purposes too.
It keeps me motivated and doingthose is something that I want
to continue, you know, yearafter year, try to do those
(17:40):
every year.
The virtuals, you know I liketo get to, you know, maybe one
or two open water events youknow, per year I have been going
to both of the nationals, youknow, both the spring and the
summer, at least for like a dayor two.
I'd like to continue to try todo that.
So those are kind of my.
My goals aren't really liketime related at this point, it's
(18:01):
more just.
These are the events I'd liketo do and compete and show up
and if I happen to do a besttime kind of as an adult you
know I can't compare myself towhen I was a kid, but if I can
do a best time as an adult, allthe better and that's great as
well.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Yeah, I only look at a best time within an age group,
like, okay, this is my besttime in this age group, and then
I'm in a new age group and it'smy best time in that age group.
So the January one hour swim isshort course yards correct.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yep, that's right.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
And how far did you go in one hour I?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
can't remember.
It's in the results, but maybeit's close to 5,000, if I
remember right 5,000 would seemabout right with your 10 minute
800.
I think it was maybe 47, 48, 49, if I remember right.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yeah.
So I would love for you toshare this passion that you have
for racing, because I have ittoo, and it's not to go beat up
on anybody or even get the goldFor me, it's wanting to prove
myself and challenge myself.
Like, if I don't put that onthe calendar and go say, okay,
this is what I did this year,this is what I did last year,
(19:17):
then I don't do it.
And also it's the fun, most funtime to see my friends are at
meets.
But I just would love you knowyou and I both have this, this
love for racing go and race,because you're so right.
You opened the show by saying alot of master swimmers don't
(19:39):
race, so put your attorney haton and plead to the jury why we
should go to the meets.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Well one.
I view it as a training right.
It's a workout.
You are doing a workout.
It's harder than you wouldlikely work out on your own, for
sure, but even in a groupenvironment and a practice.
So I do think the meet is a wayto improve your physical
fitness, right.
And then mental fitness andmental toughness.
(20:07):
Like you're signing up forevents that are very hard and
challenging and even someonethat loves racing or loves
competing, there's part of youthat's like you know, I don't
really want to do a 400 IM today, you know, like should I do it?
And like you're questioning it,and that's natural.
But if you, if you do get inand do it and you finish it,
(20:30):
like the feeling of you knowthat completion feeling is
something that I think you can'treally genuinely get in a
practice environment.
So I like it and I and kind oflike you, like sometimes I'll
sign up for events, I'll stickthem on the calendar and I want
to go to the mall, but sometimesI can't, and that that's okay
(20:51):
too, you know, like it's adonation to, you know, the local
swim club that was hosting theevent and hopefully next year,
if I sign up I can go, you know,but if you don't sign up and
you don't put on your calendar,you're never, you're never going
to that event, right, you don'tgo and realizing like that's
(21:16):
quite all right because you'renot going to be able to go to a
mall, but I enjoy it.
I enjoy the friends there are.
You know, I get to see somepeople that I swam against in
college and sometimes even inthe YMCA swimming in New Jersey,
and even different age groups.
You know, again, I wore a YaleI don't know whether it was a
bag or a parka or something atone of the events and it was a Y
Nationals actually.
(21:37):
And there was another Yaleswimmer, completely different
decade than me, that I wouldhave never known, but he came up
to me, we chatted and now wesee each other a couple times a
year at various meets, and so Ithink it's really a great
opportunity, like you said, tomeet other swimmers, to
reconnect with swimmers that youhaven't seen in years and years
(21:59):
.
And I'm also trying to get someother swimmers that are around
my year in college and also inhigh school to kind of get back
into swimming and join me.
You know whether it's in thepractices or whether it's at
some of the meets, so it's achance to reconnect with people
around the nation.
That could all come, you know,and you could see them at
(22:22):
nationals and so forth.
But again, I think everyoneneeds encouragement because
everyone's just busy in life andtrying to stay afloat, so to
speak, in their work and homelives and sometimes to think to
add in another element, whetherthat's training or whether
that's racing in a meet, peoplejust think that's too
(22:44):
overwhelming.
But again, I think what you said, people are not watching you
right, like you can go to a meetand, you know, just complete
the event is an accomplishment.
You know, obviously I'm alwaystracking my best and I want to
do well, but the expectationsare not like you're swimming at
the NCAA championship or the IvyLeague championship or the
(23:08):
Harvard Yale Princeton dual meet, where everyone is watching and
you want, you need to performbecause you want your team to
win.
It's master swimming and we'reall doing it really primarily
for fitness purposes and to stayhealthy and to hopefully be
that hundred year old swimmeryou mentioned that you had on
your program that did a 500 free, I mean with flip turns.
(23:29):
That's completely, you know,unbelievable and I think that
that's a, that's a goal thatmaybe all of us should try.
You know unbelievable, and Ithink that that's a goal that
maybe all of us should try, youknow, to be able to do those
kinds of things when we're thatage.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Yes, and I love, love , love and I've said it before,
you're kind of twins with me onthis is that enter the meet, you
know, put it on the calendar,pay the fee and it's like a
donation.
The number of meets that I haveentered that I don't show up at
are many, many.
So I love, love that steve.
So, um, the second to lastquestion before I ask you.
(24:04):
The last question is any um ofyour bulls, sharks, master
swimmers you want to give ashout out to, or what you're?
You know who you train withwith there, or what that
training group looks like?
Speaker 2 (24:16):
We have everyone from people that really never
competitively swam, that arethere just for fitness and
really learning strokes even, totriathletes that you know just
swimming a portion, you know,and probably swimming is their
weakest of the three legs, butyou know excellent runners and
bikers and compete, you know,kind of nationally and
(24:39):
internationally.
And then we have people thatswam in college, that didn't go
to bowls, and then we havepeople that went to bowls and
that are alums and swam incollege and then kind of came
back.
We have a wonderful coachingstaff.
The head coach of the Masters,sean Abbey, is also one of the
(25:00):
kind of head age group coachesfor the Bulls Sharks, and then
we get a rotation of really allthe coaches that are on the
Bulls staff will rotate throughthe Masters program, including
the head coach, Peter Verhoff.
So it's been, you know, anamazing program for us to be a
(25:21):
part of and to get coached by,you know, real, real high level
coaches in a master's programand I was part of the group that
kind of got it going.
There was a program maybe 20, 30years ago and then they didn't
have a program at all, um, untilit's probably been two, three
years ago now, and now we're anofficial master's program and so
(25:44):
forth and and we've had somemeets.
Now we've had two meets.
We're going to continue to tryto have a couple local meets
there.
There haven't been, forjacksonville is a pretty big
metro, um now, and there justhave not been meet options for
master swimmers here inJacksonville and so that's also
really exciting for me to be apart of you know kind of like
(26:05):
that master's community and andeven for our inaugural meet we
don't really have captains butI'm like a unofficial captain of
the team and ended up donatingyou know medals so that we could
hand out like a medal at ourfirst you know kind of inaugural
bowls swimming meet, which wasprobably like a year and a half
(26:25):
ago now.
One short course yard, you knowmeet and then in the summer long
course meters meet you knowkind of regularly.
That's the goal for us as amaster's program to be able to
offer that opportunity to peoplein Northern Florida.
(26:45):
Traditionally there's a lot ofswimming in Orlando, where Rowdy
has his meet in the RosenCenter down there, and then in
Sarasota, of course with theSharks program they have a
couple meets per year and thenin Sarasota, of course with the
Sharks program.
They have a couple meets peryear and then Fort Lauderdale
usually has a few meets downthat way.
But in Northern Florida there'sjust not a lot of opportunities
one for master's programs butalso to compete in the meets.
(27:09):
So that's something that I'mproud of, that we've been able
to do and accomplish.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
That's awesome.
I love your passion forswimming.
It sounds like you've picked upyour captain mantle again there
, and I'm sure the areaappreciates your leadership.
Okay, the last question beforethe sprinter round.
Is there anything that I havenot asked you that you would
like to share with our listeners?
Speaker 2 (27:40):
No, I don't think so.
I mean, I love that you'redoing these podcasts.
Number one, I think it's it'sgreat for the sport and swimming
is one of these sports thateveryone rediscovers every four
years, you know, for theOlympics, and everyone loves it
then.
And it's great that more andmore people, I think, are
interested in the sport and thekids are getting faster and
faster, right Like you.
Watch the times and it's justunbelievable what they're able
(28:01):
to do today, you know.
So I'm just thankful thatyou're doing this podcast and
thank you again for having me on.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
Well, thank you.
Yeah, master Summers have suchunique, great stories.
You know everybody's doing likea full-time job and raising
kids and doing all kinds ofstuff, so it's fun to hear it.
All right, I know you tendtowards distance, but these are
quick one-word or two-wordanswers.
Are you ready?
Speaker 2 (28:26):
Ready.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Take your mark.
What is your favorite sandwich?
Speaker 2 (28:32):
I'd say like a chicken Parmesan sub, you know
toasted.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Okay, what do you own that you should throw out?
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Well, I'd say right now.
My son had two big Oscars thatdied that he had for years and
years.
They're huge and the tank issitting in his room like just
smells awful.
I'm trying to figure out whatto do with everything right now,
so it's something that we mayneed to throw out.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
I've never had that answer.
That is a really good one.
It's usually t-shirts or tennisshoes.
Okay, serious animal.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Was in Wisconsin this week, so I'd say a badger is
pretty scary.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Honey badger, that's bad.
Okay, is there a celebrity thatyou would like to meet?
Speaker 2 (29:17):
I guess I would probably say like a Warren
Buffett while he's still alive,I think would be an unbelievable
person to sit down and speakwith.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
You and my husband.
All right.
What is the hardest swimmingevent in the pool to you?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
I'd say 200 fly.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
All righty Favorite movie.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
I'll go with.
I'm an 80s kid, so I'll go withBack to the Future, the
original.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Oh, good one, good one.
Yeah, Favorite smell.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Maybe like fresh popcorn oh nice one.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Do you make your bed every morning?
No, no, okay, all right,kickboard or no kickboard.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
I actually did no kickboard.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
We diverge on that.
Okay, if you had to listen toone song for the rest of your
life, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Fish bouncing around the room.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
I like it.
What word comes to mind whenyou dive in the water?
And this is kind of a spiritualword, like, when you dive in
that water, what goes throughyour mind?
Speaker 2 (30:18):
It's blank, but maybe it's like go, you know.
But it really part of what Ilove about swimming is your mind
really does go blank a lot.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah, yeah.
That's what Katie Ledeckyalways says, that she's just
blank when she goes in.
I love it All right, steve,your passion for swimming is
such an inspiration.
The reason I do this is becauseevery time I talk to someone
like you, it just renews my lovefor the sport.
And thanks for spending thistime with us today.
Really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Thanks so much for having me.
It's been great.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Thank you for listening to the Champions Mojo
podcast.
Did you enjoy the show?
We'd be grateful if you wouldleave us a five-star review on
iTunes to help others find us,and we'd also love to hear from
you.
We're on all social mediaplatforms or you can reach us at
championsmojocom.
Welcome to Champions Mojo.
Join us for conversations thatinspire and empower you as an
adult athlete, fitnessenthusiast or master swimmer.
Our goal is to make eachepisode insightful and
inspirational and to discoverwhat it takes to build or keep a
life of personal excellence.
(00:22):
I'm your host, Kelly Pallas,and we're here to champion you.
All right, we have a wonderfulshow today.
This is Kelly Pallas, the hostof Champions Mojo, and our guest
today is Steve Gold.
His story is so unique andwonderful because Steve swam at
(00:46):
a high level in high school.
He was a swim team captain atYale, but his US master swimming
record is pretty much blankuntil he turns 45.
And so he has such a greatstory of resurgence to coming
back to swimming.
So, Steve, Such a great storyof resurgence to coming back to
swimming.
So, Steve, welcome to Champions.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Mojo Thanks, Kelly.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yes, well, I want to start with the fact that it
looks like these are preliminaryresults.
But even though you've justcome back to swimming, you've
had a lot of top tens.
You've had a lot of top tens butit looks like you're going to
pull off your first All-Americanhonor for master swimming in
the 2024 season in the 200 IM.
(01:30):
You're really well-rounded.
I looked at your profile.
You've got you swim all thestrokes so it would make sense
that you have the number one 200IM time from last year.
But start with where you cameback to master swimming and how,
in such a short time, you'rekind of swimming at a very high
level.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Swimming growing up.
It was always a passion, youknow, for me, and I started
swimming when I was, you know,an eight and under and in a YMCA
in New Jersey, actuallySomerset Hills YMCA.
It was still a very good YMCA,you know swimming program and
and grew up in that environmentto, you know, going to bowls, um
(02:11):
, and then in Jacksonville, andI lived there, I boarded at the
school really to try to take myswimming career to the next
level.
Ultimately, like you said, Iended up going to Yale and swam
there and was, you know, electedcaptain my senior year, which,
at Yale, is a, it's really agreat honor.
There's just one.
They have one captain per sport.
(02:32):
It's a Yale tradition wheresome of the other Ivies or most
of the other you know schoolsand Ivies have usually three
captains per sport.
Yale is, you know, a singlecaptain, elected by by the peers
.
So the team will vote at theend of the prior season on who's
the you know who's going to bethe captain for the next year.
And then, like most swimmers,you know you're tired, you are
(02:53):
burned out.
You know you've put a lot ofeffort into the sport and I was
ready for a break and reallyconcentrated on my career and
then, ultimately, my family aswell.
I have four kids.
But my career was busy.
You know I did a lot ofdifferent things.
I'm a lawyer by training, but Iended up going into the
(03:15):
business world and founded acouple of companies that I ended
up growing in the healthcarespace.
But ultimately, when I found apause, you know, in those
careers where you know, maybe Iwould have a company sell or a
different owner would come inand recapitalize my business and
I would find, you know, breaksand pauses I was looking for
(03:36):
something to do that wascompetitive again really, and I
love racing, I love competing,and so I'm not one of the master
swimmers that you know, justpractices.
I really enjoyed the competing,and so I'm not one of the master
swimmers that you know, justpractices.
I really enjoyed the racing andso I really got into the racing
almost right away, like I,maybe I trained for a couple
months and was already startingto race, because that's really
(03:59):
what I missed and what I loved,and I do think I had such a good
base of training.
Bowls was really well known asa distance program back in the
nineties when I was there and wehad a couple Olympians that
were distance swimmers and so wewould swim.
You know, some of the sets.
If I repeated them, you knowyou'd be like, oh my goodness.
(04:19):
You know the people don't trainlike that anymore and we
probably did overtrain.
But I think for that reason itwas kind of easier for me to get
back into the pool and get backinto swimming shape, just
because I had such a foundationlaid, you know, in my early
years.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
That's wonderful.
And so when you did starttraining, I do know a lot of
master swimmers don't like torace so I always try to
encourage them because I quotethis a lot Nobody's really
watching and master swimming,you're just there having fun, so
people are nervous.
But when you came back to a lotto a lot of people but I love
the 800.
(04:56):
You dropped in one year from a1024 at Shark Tank meet to a 958
at this recent Rowdy Gainesmeet.
How does that happen in a year?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Well, at that particular event I ended up
getting a split and so it's alittle it's apples.
So that was the split at theShark Tank meet of my 1500, the
mile.
So it was 800 on my feet.
But you know, if you do look atthe events, there has been
improvement.
And even like an event like the50 Breast which I just did this
(05:40):
weekend too at the Rowdy Gains,and I had done it I think I did
it at a solstice meet up inMaryland but but I dropped like
0.3, which is a, you know, yearover year, which is a, you know,
for a 50 breast short coursemeters.
I think that that I was veryhappy, you know to, to be able
to drop.
And I'm being more consistentwith my practices.
(06:00):
I'd say I'm getting in moreoften.
You know I'm trying to mix insome strength training, you know
as well, into my routine.
But yeah, it's mainly justgetting in more consistent and I
work hard in practice.
I've always kind of worked hardin practice.
So I enjoy, you know, even, theracing aspects of a practice.
(06:21):
And at Bowles, where I swim youknow where I went to high school
, but also we've now created amaster's practice and at Bowles
where I swim, where I went tohigh school, but also we've now
created a master's team and I'mback here in Jacksonville after
spending time up in New York andPhiladelphia and other areas.
But I think having a team totrain with is really obviously
also beneficial, even as amaster's swimmer.
That's been helpful for me too,whereas in the beginning years
(06:45):
of my master's training I wasdoing a lot more on my own.
I'm trying to you know, maybeit's twice a week, three times a
week get in with a team youknow and be able to train with
the team, and then maybe I'msupplementing the two or three
times with another one or twotimes a week, just kind of
swimming, loosening up on my own.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
So that sounds like you're swimming about five to
six days a week.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Yeah, that's probably right.
You know, sometimes I get inand just do a thousand, just
nice and easy.
And I've also done a coupleopen waters as well which you're
not going to see on the USMSkind of top 10 lists.
But those have also been reallyfun, you know, and interesting
for me and different than what Ihad kind of done in the past.
(07:32):
And so sometimes I'll just getin and you know I'll just do a
straight thousand or a straightmile and I can get it done in
whatever you know, 15, 20minutes just in the middle of my
day and then get back to work.
(08:03):
So having four kids and afull-time job has got to be a
challenge with the training thatyou're doing.
Can you talk about how you fitit in and how that three of your
four kids are swimmers and whatthat looks like when they say,
hey, dad's fun, they count forme, right?
Like if I get to bring them tothe meets, like that, I think
that that's really fun and I doget to count for them.
You know, in their USA swimmingmeets they need counters.
Now you know the parents chipin and do that.
So it's a great kind ofrelationship that we have and
you know they see that.
(08:23):
You know dad can still swim,and you know, and I can give
them tips here or there whenthey want to listen.
Still swim, and you know, and Ican give them tips here or
there when they want to listen.
But yeah, I mean it's squeezingin the time.
And then when you travel,obviously you're, you know,
travel for work the week is kindof shot.
You're just trying to get in asmuch as you can.
So I think you have to haverealistic expectations.
As a master swimmer, likeyou're not going to be able to
(08:44):
stick to like a set scheduleevery single week and that's.
That's quite all right.
I think you just try to get inwhen you can, and whether that's
a midday you know you got 20minutes in the middle of the day
, you can get in or whetherthat's early in the morning or
late at night.
I think you just have to beflexible and kind of do do what
you're able to do.
You know, in that given week ormonth or whatever it is, and
(09:08):
you know.
Again, I think I'm thankfulbecause of the foundation that I
have.
It's kind of allowed me to, youknow, have better weeks where
I'm able to get in moreconsistently, and then weeks
where I'm not able to get in atall but for whatever reason,
ultimately I'm still able torace and compete at a decent
level, you know, as a masterswimmer.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
So it sounds like you took about 20 to 25 years out
of the pool.
Were you doing anything else,or what were you doing during
those 20 years?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yeah, I'd say sporadic weightlifting and
sporadic running, but runningbeing like a mile or two I'm not
a distance runner and then youknow, maybe I would swim a mile
or two, not a I'm not a distancerunner and then you know, maybe
I would swim like once or twicea year if that.
(09:58):
But yeah, it wasn't a lot, butenough to.
You know, I was always kind oftrying to maintain like some
athleticism, but it was really,um, my competition during those
years was really.
One was first academics, and Ihave two masters in addition to
my law degree, so I was inschool for a good bit of time.
And then you know my work andtrying to grow companies.
(10:19):
It's really when you're afounder and you're all in and
there's a competitiveness tothat and there's a time
allocation to that.
That's, you know, sometimes allencompassing, and so that was
really my main focus duringthose years.
But again, I would try to dothings here or there.
It just it was not consistentLike I have been over the last,
(10:41):
you know, probably two, threeyears now.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
So, doing a little research on your work background
, it looks like a couple of thecompanies that you either
founded or worked for were inthe mental health industry.
How do you correlate those twofor swimming and mental health
in general and what we see froma lot of swimmers talking about
mental health?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
It's huge, you know, and I think when I so I
graduated in high school in 95and college in 99, it was not
something that, frankly, wereally even talked about.
We would talk a little aboutsports, psychology and
performance and things of thatnature, but it wasn't really.
Like mental health is today andhow important it is to think
(11:25):
about your mental health as wellas your physical health.
So that is also a passion ofmine, like swimming, and I think
that they are related.
I definitely feel like mymental health is better, you
know, and I feel more positiveand more energetic.
Frankly, if I could get in aswim, you know, during the day,
(11:48):
and even if I, you know, likethe Rowdy Games meet this
weekend, it's exhausting to dothe.
You know you do the warmups andyou swim your race and you do
the warm downs and it takes alot of time and energy.
But there is that, you know,whatever endorphins and runner's
high that they call it, but youfeel positive about yourself.
(12:09):
Even if you didn't have a greatswim, you still you did it, you
know you competed.
It's great for your health andso I think they go hand in hand
and so I'm thankful for myopportunity that I've had to
kind of grow mental healthcompanies and help people, help
therapists, help psychologists,help psychiatrists, you know, in
(12:31):
their practices and help themhelp more people.
Especially during the COVIDepidemic I think that was really
a monumental kind of change inour country, with people being,
you know, really locked in theirhomes and apartments and even
swim facilities.
A lot were closed and here inFlorida they closed the ocean,
(12:54):
the beaches.
You know you couldn't even goon the beach for I think it was
a month.
So you know people were reallyrestricted in what they could do
and a lot of them thankfullyturned to counseling and therapy
and so forth to talk about whatthey were going through.
So I do think swimming,exercise in general, is really a
(13:15):
positive for people's mentalhealth.
It's been proven kind of timeand time again.
And master swimming inparticular is just a wonderful
community, it's a wonderfulprogram.
You could find a meet to go toalmost every single weekend if
you wanted to.
You know, within some radius ofwhere you live.
It's really a great thing.
(13:36):
And I tell other adults, youknow, that don't even swim like
they should look at you know thepotential of, of master
swimming.
You know the the other sportsthat you know what you can't do
football when you're an adultvery well, or you know that you
have adult basketball leaguesand things of this nature.
But I think really swimming,running, triathlons, like these
(13:56):
kinds of sports, are reallylifelong sports and really
amazing to watch the otherathletes.
You know when they're in their.
You know their later years.
You know you get to see the 80,90, sometimes there's a hundred
plus year olds.
You know their later years.
You know you get to see the 80,90, sometimes there's a hundred
plus year olds.
You know swimming at nationalsand it's just unbelievable to
watch them and you kind of hopethat you're able to swim down
(14:17):
the pool when you're their age.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Yes, absolutely.
The a hundred year old woman atsenior games that did a 500
free, all with flip turns, wasamazing.
Charlotte Sandel We've had heron the show.
She's amazing.
So obviously prioritizingswimming and fitness in your
life has been one of your keysto success, but with so much
(14:40):
success that you've had Steve.
What are some other rituals orroutines, things that you kind
of are go-tos to get things done?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Well, I mean I think today.
I mean, well, you know, you getup and you help with the
routine on getting the kids toschool.
I mean, I think that that's thefirst part of the day and then
you jump into your work.
Right now I'm working remotelyand traveling a good bit, so I
think you're balancing thetravel with when can you either
(15:12):
get in the water or do a quickrun or hit the gym or and could
you do that that day and then Ithink, ultimately, like sleep
you talk about mental healthlike sleep is vital.
I really do try to get thateight, nine hours of sleep per
night when I'm able.
And again, travel doesnegatively impact that when I'm
(15:34):
having to do my work, travel,but when I'm able, and again,
travel does negatively impactthat when I'm having to do my
work, travel, but when I'm not,it really is important that
you're kind of getting to bed,you know, at a reasonable time
and thankfully I've really nothad problems.
You know, really like sleepingor getting my phone out in the
middle of the night, things likethat I do make sure.
And again, I'm up to date onall the studies about, you know,
(15:55):
technology and mental healthand cell phones and things of
that nature, and I say I'mpretty good about putting the
phone away, you know, after acertain hour at night and just
kind of turning it off andletting my mind, you know, get
ready for bed, you know, beforeyou ultimately go to bed.
You know, get ready for bed,you know, before you ultimately
(16:17):
go to bed.
I think that that is reallycrucial to being well rested and
really letting your bodyrecharge and heal overnight.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
So, if you want to talk about it, what goals do you
have for your future in masterswimming?
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Well, kind of like what you said, it looks like I'm
getting my first All-American,which is wonderful and, you know
, happy and not really expected,but that's again wonderful.
I won a couple events thissummer at the Senior National
Championship in California forMasters, which was great, ended
up winning, I think, twobreaststrokes and also, I think,
(16:53):
the 200 IM there at that meet.
Those were goals of mine.
I'd like to continue.
I'm doing all the virtual andyou can't see that either, but
I've been doing the virtualnational championships too,
which are, you know, the Januaryis like an hour as far as you
can swim, and then there'susually a 5,000 and a 10,000
(17:16):
over the summer and then a threeand a six in the fall, and so I
did all of those last year andthen the year before I did all
of them, except for didn't dothe hour swim in January because
I didn't really know about it.
But I like using those fortraining purposes too.
It keeps me motivated and doingthose is something that I want
to continue, you know, yearafter year, try to do those
(17:40):
every year.
The virtuals, you know I liketo get to, you know, maybe one
or two open water events youknow, per year I have been going
to both of the nationals, youknow, both the spring and the
summer, at least for like a dayor two.
I'd like to continue to try todo that.
So those are kind of my.
My goals aren't really liketime related at this point, it's
(18:01):
more just.
These are the events I'd liketo do and compete and show up
and if I happen to do a besttime kind of as an adult you
know I can't compare myself towhen I was a kid, but if I can
do a best time as an adult, allthe better and that's great as
well.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Yeah, I only look at a best time within an age group,
like, okay, this is my besttime in this age group, and then
I'm in a new age group and it'smy best time in that age group.
So the January one hour swim isshort course yards correct.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yep, that's right.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
And how far did you go in one hour I?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
can't remember.
It's in the results, but maybeit's close to 5,000, if I
remember right 5,000 would seemabout right with your 10 minute
800.
I think it was maybe 47, 48, 49, if I remember right.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yeah.
So I would love for you toshare this passion that you have
for racing, because I have ittoo, and it's not to go beat up
on anybody or even get the goldFor me, it's wanting to prove
myself and challenge myself.
Like, if I don't put that onthe calendar and go say, okay,
this is what I did this year,this is what I did last year,
(19:17):
then I don't do it.
And also it's the fun, most funtime to see my friends are at
meets.
But I just would love you knowyou and I both have this, this
love for racing go and race,because you're so right.
You opened the show by saying alot of master swimmers don't
(19:39):
race, so put your attorney haton and plead to the jury why we
should go to the meets.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Well one.
I view it as a training right.
It's a workout.
You are doing a workout.
It's harder than you wouldlikely work out on your own, for
sure, but even in a groupenvironment and a practice.
So I do think the meet is a wayto improve your physical
fitness, right.
And then mental fitness andmental toughness.
(20:07):
Like you're signing up forevents that are very hard and
challenging and even someonethat loves racing or loves
competing, there's part of youthat's like you know, I don't
really want to do a 400 IM today, you know, like should I do it?
And like you're questioning it,and that's natural.
But if you, if you do get inand do it and you finish it,
(20:30):
like the feeling of you knowthat completion feeling is
something that I think you can'treally genuinely get in a
practice environment.
So I like it and I and kind oflike you, like sometimes I'll
sign up for events, I'll stickthem on the calendar and I want
to go to the mall, but sometimesI can't, and that that's okay
(20:51):
too, you know, like it's adonation to, you know, the local
swim club that was hosting theevent and hopefully next year,
if I sign up I can go, you know,but if you don't sign up and
you don't put on your calendar,you're never, you're never going
to that event, right, you don'tgo and realizing like that's
(21:16):
quite all right because you'renot going to be able to go to a
mall, but I enjoy it.
I enjoy the friends there are.
You know, I get to see somepeople that I swam against in
college and sometimes even inthe YMCA swimming in New Jersey,
and even different age groups.
You know, again, I wore a YaleI don't know whether it was a
bag or a parka or something atone of the events and it was a Y
Nationals actually.
(21:37):
And there was another Yaleswimmer, completely different
decade than me, that I wouldhave never known, but he came up
to me, we chatted and now wesee each other a couple times a
year at various meets, and so Ithink it's really a great
opportunity, like you said, tomeet other swimmers, to
reconnect with swimmers that youhaven't seen in years and years
(21:59):
.
And I'm also trying to get someother swimmers that are around
my year in college and also inhigh school to kind of get back
into swimming and join me.
You know whether it's in thepractices or whether it's at
some of the meets, so it's achance to reconnect with people
around the nation.
That could all come, you know,and you could see them at
(22:22):
nationals and so forth.
But again, I think everyoneneeds encouragement because
everyone's just busy in life andtrying to stay afloat, so to
speak, in their work and homelives and sometimes to think to
add in another element, whetherthat's training or whether
that's racing in a meet, peoplejust think that's too
(22:44):
overwhelming.
But again, I think what you said, people are not watching you
right, like you can go to a meetand, you know, just complete
the event is an accomplishment.
You know, obviously I'm alwaystracking my best and I want to
do well, but the expectationsare not like you're swimming at
the NCAA championship or the IvyLeague championship or the
(23:08):
Harvard Yale Princeton dual meet, where everyone is watching and
you want, you need to performbecause you want your team to
win.
It's master swimming and we'reall doing it really primarily
for fitness purposes and to stayhealthy and to hopefully be
that hundred year old swimmeryou mentioned that you had on
your program that did a 500 free, I mean with flip turns.
(23:29):
That's completely, you know,unbelievable and I think that
that's a, that's a goal thatmaybe all of us should try.
You know unbelievable, and Ithink that that's a goal that
maybe all of us should try, youknow, to be able to do those
kinds of things when we're thatage.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Yes, and I love, love , love and I've said it before,
you're kind of twins with me onthis is that enter the meet, you
know, put it on the calendar,pay the fee and it's like a
donation.
The number of meets that I haveentered that I don't show up at
are many, many.
So I love, love that steve.
So, um, the second to lastquestion before I ask you.
(24:04):
The last question is any um ofyour bulls, sharks, master
swimmers you want to give ashout out to, or what you're?
You know who you train withwith there, or what that
training group looks like?
Speaker 2 (24:16):
We have everyone from people that really never
competitively swam, that arethere just for fitness and
really learning strokes even, totriathletes that you know just
swimming a portion, you know,and probably swimming is their
weakest of the three legs, butyou know excellent runners and
bikers and compete, you know,kind of nationally and
(24:39):
internationally.
And then we have people thatswam in college, that didn't go
to bowls, and then we havepeople that went to bowls and
that are alums and swam incollege and then kind of came
back.
We have a wonderful coachingstaff.
The head coach of the Masters,sean Abbey, is also one of the
(25:00):
kind of head age group coachesfor the Bulls Sharks, and then
we get a rotation of really allthe coaches that are on the
Bulls staff will rotate throughthe Masters program, including
the head coach, Peter Verhoff.
So it's been, you know, anamazing program for us to be a
(25:21):
part of and to get coached by,you know, real, real high level
coaches in a master's programand I was part of the group that
kind of got it going.
There was a program maybe 20, 30years ago and then they didn't
have a program at all, um, untilit's probably been two, three
years ago now, and now we're anofficial master's program and so
(25:44):
forth and and we've had somemeets.
Now we've had two meets.
We're going to continue to tryto have a couple local meets
there.
There haven't been, forjacksonville is a pretty big
metro, um now, and there justhave not been meet options for
master swimmers here inJacksonville and so that's also
really exciting for me to be apart of you know kind of like
(26:05):
that master's community and andeven for our inaugural meet we
don't really have captains butI'm like a unofficial captain of
the team and ended up donatingyou know medals so that we could
hand out like a medal at ourfirst you know kind of inaugural
bowls swimming meet, which wasprobably like a year and a half
(26:25):
ago now.
One short course yard, you knowmeet and then in the summer long
course meters meet you knowkind of regularly.
That's the goal for us as amaster's program to be able to
offer that opportunity to peoplein Northern Florida.
(26:45):
Traditionally there's a lot ofswimming in Orlando, where Rowdy
has his meet in the RosenCenter down there, and then in
Sarasota, of course with theSharks program they have a
couple meets per year and thenin Sarasota, of course with the
Sharks program.
They have a couple meets peryear and then Fort Lauderdale
usually has a few meets downthat way.
But in Northern Florida there'sjust not a lot of opportunities
one for master's programs butalso to compete in the meets.
(27:09):
So that's something that I'mproud of, that we've been able
to do and accomplish.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
That's awesome.
I love your passion forswimming.
It sounds like you've picked upyour captain mantle again there
, and I'm sure the areaappreciates your leadership.
Okay, the last question beforethe sprinter round.
Is there anything that I havenot asked you that you would
like to share with our listeners?
Speaker 2 (27:40):
No, I don't think so.
I mean, I love that you'redoing these podcasts.
Number one, I think it's it'sgreat for the sport and swimming
is one of these sports thateveryone rediscovers every four
years, you know, for theOlympics, and everyone loves it
then.
And it's great that more andmore people, I think, are
interested in the sport and thekids are getting faster and
faster, right Like you.
Watch the times and it's justunbelievable what they're able
(28:01):
to do today, you know.
So I'm just thankful thatyou're doing this podcast and
thank you again for having me on.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
Well, thank you.
Yeah, master Summers have suchunique, great stories.
You know everybody's doing likea full-time job and raising
kids and doing all kinds ofstuff, so it's fun to hear it.
All right, I know you tendtowards distance, but these are
quick one-word or two-wordanswers.
Are you ready?
Speaker 2 (28:26):
Ready.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Take your mark.
What is your favorite sandwich?
Speaker 2 (28:32):
I'd say like a chicken Parmesan sub, you know
toasted.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Okay, what do you own that you should throw out?
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Well, I'd say right now.
My son had two big Oscars thatdied that he had for years and
years.
They're huge and the tank issitting in his room like just
smells awful.
I'm trying to figure out whatto do with everything right now,
so it's something that we mayneed to throw out.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
I've never had that answer.
That is a really good one.
It's usually t-shirts or tennisshoes.
Okay, serious animal.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Was in Wisconsin this week, so I'd say a badger is
pretty scary.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Honey badger, that's bad.
Okay, is there a celebrity thatyou would like to meet?
Speaker 2 (29:17):
I guess I would probably say like a Warren
Buffett while he's still alive,I think would be an unbelievable
person to sit down and speakwith.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
You and my husband.
All right.
What is the hardest swimmingevent in the pool to you?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
I'd say 200 fly.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
All righty Favorite movie.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
I'll go with.
I'm an 80s kid, so I'll go withBack to the Future, the
original.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Oh, good one, good one.
Yeah, Favorite smell.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Maybe like fresh popcorn oh nice one.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Do you make your bed every morning?
No, no, okay, all right,kickboard or no kickboard.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
I actually did no kickboard.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
We diverge on that.
Okay, if you had to listen toone song for the rest of your
life, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Fish bouncing around the room.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
I like it.
What word comes to mind whenyou dive in the water?
And this is kind of a spiritualword, like, when you dive in
that water, what goes throughyour mind?
Speaker 2 (30:18):
It's blank, but maybe it's like go, you know.
But it really part of what Ilove about swimming is your mind
really does go blank a lot.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah, yeah.
That's what Katie Ledeckyalways says, that she's just
blank when she goes in.
I love it All right, steve,your passion for swimming is
such an inspiration.
The reason I do this is becauseevery time I talk to someone
like you, it just renews my lovefor the sport.
And thanks for spending thistime with us today.
Really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Thanks so much for having me.
It's been great.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Thank you for listening to the Champions Mojo
podcast.
Did you enjoy the show?
We'd be grateful if you wouldleave us a five-star review on
iTunes to help others find us,and we'd also love to hear from
you.
We're on all social mediaplatforms or you can reach us at
championsmojocom.
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