Age. Who’s counting?
Certainly not Willard “Wink” Lamb, who turns 95 later this year.
Records. Who’s counting?
Lamb definitely is. The Vancouver resident had already set world freestyle records at five distances at the U.S. Masters Swimming Summer National Championships earlier this month. He wasn’t going to let a sixth get away.
At the urging of his coach Matt Miller, Lamb put on a “jammer” swim suit, which covers more of a swimmer’s legs than a traditional speedo.
“That suit he wanted me to get into was so tight,” Lamb said. “He just jammed me into it.”
It helped Lamb set a world record in the 50 meter freestyle by two seconds on the final day of the meet Aug. 2-6 in Minneapolis, Minn. He also added three world records in backstroke events.
That gives Lamb 49 world records and 104 national records across various age groups. Because he turns 95 this year, he is eligible for records in the 95-99 age group.
Not bad for someone who rediscovered competitive swimming at 86 years old. Before 2006, Lamb hadn’t swam competitively since he won the 220-yard state championship at R.A. Long High School in 1940.
Now Lamb can’t imagine not swimming. He trains at Lake Shore Athletic Club and competes in several meets a year with the Portland-based Oregon Reign Masters Swimming club.
The low-impact nature of swimming has helped Lamb to train and stay competitive long after athletes in other sports have called it quits. His only swim injury came in 2012, when he needed surgery to repair two torn tendons in his shoulder.
The secret to Lamb’s success and longevity?
“I didn’t have a desk job, for one thing,” he said.
Lamb worked as a carpenter at a Portland plywood mill for 51 years before retiring in 2002. Wanting to stay physically active, he hopped back into the pool.
He wasn’t as fast as he used to be, not by a longshot. But Lamb discovered he could keep going and going.
At competitions, he swims many distances but specializes in longer races. His 1,500 meter time of 37 minutes, 6 seconds is a 95-99 age group world record by more than 10 minutes.
Lamb also set records for 100, 200, 400 and 800 meters at the Minneapolis meet. Some of those were achieved as “splits” during longer races.
But the 50-meter record proved elusive. Miller wanted Lamb to get it, so the coach put him as the opening swimmer in one relay race each of the last four days. Individual records are recognized if they’re accomplished in the first leg of a relay.
“That really stood out because my coach really pushed for me to get that record,” Lamb said.
Lamb keeps his race results and records in a hand-written log. The passage of time and exposure to humid pool environment has turned the pages slightly beige.
But Lamb keeps chasing those records. And if he has his way, that written log will have plenty more entries.
