Laura Val Among Masters Record Breakers, History Makers at Pacific Championships

PLEASANTON, California, March 31. LAURA Val set a Masters short course yards national record over the weekend at the Pacific Masters championships, one of four to claim new records.

Val, 62, swam a 2:06.13 in the 200 freestyle to lower her own national mark in the 60-64 age group by one hundredth of a second. Val is prepping for the U.S. Masters national championships, set for early May in nearby Santa Clara, so we could see this record fall further in four weeks.

Val’s name can be found on many national short course yards records in multiple age groups, but that number was reduced by one when Margee Curran, 52, posted an 18:37.22 in the 1650 free to erase Val’s 12-year-old mark of 18:42.24. That’s Curran’s first 1650 freestyle in competition since 2011, and her third-fastest time in Masters. She still has a best of 17:54.48 from 2007 to her credit.

Alex Shestakov became the oldest swimmer in history under five minutes in the 400 IM, posting an incredible 4:59.32 to give the 65-year-old the record in the 65-69 age group. Richard Burns previously held the record with a 5:12.42 from 2010.

Katie Glenn took down Cynthia Lewis’ national record in the 50 breast for the 35-39 age group, posting a 29.54 to erase Lewis’ 29.63. Glenn chased Lewis’ mark of 1:03.46 in the 100 breast, posting a 1:04.30.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use