Photograph by Ben Sklar
Three decades later, I had lost 100 pounds with diet and treadmill workouts but needed something to energize me and help keep the weight off. That's when I saw a poster advertising my gym's Masters Swim Team and signed up, the oldest on the team. The first time I got back in the water was a true shock: I couldn't even swim across the pool. Clinging to the side on that first day, I told the 23-year-old coach, Stacey Van Horn, "I've made a terrible mistake. I can't do this." She looked right at me and said, "You can do this…and I will help you." Stacey showed me how to smooth out my stroke, and by the time I left that day, I was hooked again. (Lose up to 13 pounds in under 2 weeks with this liver detox plan.)
Photograph by Ben Sklar
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Good thing, too, because my doctor told me that my arteries were so caked with plaque from years of neglect, I could have a heart attack within 5 years if I didn't kick up my workouts and start taking medication. After that, I doubled the amount of yardage I was swimming. Though the workouts seemed impossible, there was no way I was going to stop. I liked the sport and the anonymity that came with it. No one knew anything about me outside the pool—not even what I looked like dry. Forming relationships on those terms was freeing.
Photograph by Ben Sklar
Today, at 73, I travel with my teammates to meets all over the country. The butterfly is my stroke, and I've won more than 32 medals in different competitions, including many silvers at the National Senior Games.
Not only has it been a lot of fun, but swimming helped save my life in more ways than I'd ever dreamed. During my last physical, my doctor told me the plaque is gone—my arteries are clear. Even more important, before I jumped in that pool, with retirement looming ahead of me, I was dreading the next phase of life. Now I'm diving in and loving every day.
