Profiling James Krueger

Maui attorney James Krueger (see photo) got back into competitive pool swimming in 1990 under the tutelage of Rowdy Gaines when Rowdy was still in Honolulu. Krueger was Gaines' "older project" at the Oahu Club since he had been away from pool competition since captaining the 1960 UCLA swim team. Despite being a three-time Ironman and Boston Marathon finisher, Krueger has remained, as in college, a freestyle and butterfly sprinter and has produced times nearly comparable to his Westwood days.

No stranger to international swimming, Krueger, a USMS All-American and national champion, finished second in the men 55-59 50-LCM free at the 1996 VI FINA World Masters Championships held in Sheffield, Great Britain. At the 1998 VII FINA World Masters Championships held in Casablanca, Morocco, Krueger placed second in the men 60-64 50-LCM freestyle, third in the 100-LCM freestyle, and third in the 50-LCM butterfly. He anchored the Olympic Club’s (TOC) winning mixed 240-279 age group 200-LCM freestyle relay and swam the fly leg of the TOC gold medal mixed 240-279  200-LCM medley relay.

Krueger celebrated his sixtieth birthday in 1998 by achieving All-American status in the men 60-64 age group and a number one ranking on the 1998 USMS SCM Top Ten List in the 50-SCM breast swum at the Long Beach Holiday SCM Meet in December. In 1999 and 2000, Krueger had the fastest sprint times within the Pacific LMSC area in his age group in the 50 free and 50 fly.

Competing in Munich, Germany in the 2000 VIII FINA World Masters Championships, Krueger finished second in the 50-LCM free, third in the 100-LCM free and sixth in the 50-LCM fly.

At the 2001 U.S. Masters Swimming Short Course National Championships in Santa Clara, Calif., Krueger was national champion in the men’s 60-64 50-yard breast, winning the event in a 34.04. He also placed second in the 100-yard breast and garnered a third in the 50-yard free.

Krueger swam in the 2002 IX FINA World Masters Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand. The following year after aging up to the 65-69 year age group, he made the 2003 USMS Short Course Meters Top Ten list ranking second in the 50-SCM breaststroke (40.14) and fifth in the 50-SCM free (30.68).

Competing at the 2004 X FINA World Masters Championships in Riccione, Italy, Krueger swam times which placed him fourth on the 2004 USMS Long Course Meters Top Ten list in each of three events, the 50-LCM free (30.20), the 100-LCM free (1:10.34), and the 200-LCM free (2:46.04).

In 2006, the XI FINA World Masters Championships were held at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. This marked the second time that the international event has been held in the United States and was fourteen years after the 1992 event held in Indianapolis, Ind., a meet which Krueger also attended.  In the 2006 international meet, Krueger swam times which placed him on the 2006 USMS Long Course Meters Top Ten list. He was ranked sixth in the 50-LCM free (31.25), seventh in the 100-LCM free (1:12.54), ninth in the 50-LCM butterfly (36.67), and 10th in the 50-LCM breaststroke (42.20). Still competing for the San Francisco based Olympic Club, Krueger swam on two TOC men’s relays which also were ranked in the 2006 USMS LCM Top Ten relay list with a sixth place ranking for the TOC men’s 240-279  200-LCM free relay and an eighth place ranking for the men’s 240-279  200-LCM medley relay.

Krueger has been a USMS relay All-American in 1995, 1996, 1998, and 1999. In 1996, he was a member of the TOC Men’s 200-239 world and national record setting 200-SCM medley relay and has been a member of national record setting Olympic Club relays in 1995, 1996, and 1998. At the 2002 IX FINA World Masters Championships in Christchurch, Krueger (63) swam on the Olympic Club’s world championship winning mixed 4x50-LCM free relay which competed in the 200-239 age group. Photos are available of his teams at 1997 Pan Pacific Championships in Maui, 1998 USMS Short Course Championships in Indianapolis, and 1998 FINA World Championships in Morocco. Jim joined the Olympic Club which is located in San Francisco in 1995 and lives in Maui, Hawaii.