Swimming Records

SWIMMING RECORDS have been broken frequently in recent years, although sometimes the difference comes down to only fractions of seconds. But almost 20 years elapsed before a swimmer shaved any time from the women’s 200-meter butterfly mark.

The Sydney Aquatic Center’s “fast pool,” built for the 2000 Games, had proved to be a great place for record-breaking performances with six world marks falling in three days at the previous summer’s Pan Pacific Championships. So when the 2000 Australian Olympic trials were held there, the competition was primed for more record-setting races.

Mary T. Meagher’s 200-meter butterfly record set in 1981 at Brown Deer, Wisconsin, however, remained at 2:05.96. But Australia’s Susie O’Neill, who had gone undefeated in the butterfly since 1994, vowed to take advantage of the opportunity. For the trials, she opted to wear a conventional neck-to-knee swimsuit rather than the newly developed full-length Fastskin to avoid controversy over her time.

At the 50-meter mark, O’Neill clocked 28.51, well inside the 29.53 world-record pace. Her split at 100 meters totaled 1:00.24, still over a second faster than the time needed to set a new mark. Through 150 meters, the 1996 Olympic gold-medal winner maintained a world-record margin. With the crowd of 10,126 roaring to urge her on, O’Neill touched the wall in a time of 2:05.81, breaking the old mark by 0.15 seconds.

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POINT Decades-old records offer extra incentives for athletes. Conquering a time no one else has beaten in a generation makes the feat particularly special. And Susie O’Neill didn’t want her world mark tainted by excuses of “It wasn’t really Susie. It was the new Fastskin.” So she chose to compete in a regular suit.

But as glorious as Susie O’Neill’s record swim and other athletes’ accomplishments are, no one on earth will ever touch God’s greatness. He spoke everything into creation—even water for swimming. He scooped out the oceans and lakes. The Lord traced the rivers and streams with his fingers. He is awesome!

GOAL! Spend time outside enjoying God’s world. Go fishing, swimming, or canoeing. Thank him for a glorious creation.