Profiling June Ford

June Ford was born on March 22, 1962 and started swimming competitively in 1971 at age nine. She swam for the Green Bay YMCA until she was 18. During that time she held almost every state YMCA record for each age group, swimming mostly butterfly, backstroke and all distances of freestyle. "Since age 12, swimming in Green Bay, Wis., I have been swimming double workouts, five days a week, including Saturdays," June says.

In 1980, she attended the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee on a full swimming scholarship. The program was an NCAA Division II sport. She achieved All-American status in her freshman and sophomore years in the 100-yard butterfly.

In 1982, she transferred to the University of Hawaii at Manoa and, in 1985, graduated, with honors, with a B.B.A. While there, she competed on the UH swim team on a swimming scholarship in an NCAA Division I program. She was an NCAA qualifier in both her junior and senior years in the 200 butterfly; and in 1984, qualified and competed in the Olympic Trials in that event. As a senior she achieved All-American status in the 400 medley relay. She also competed in both short and long course Senior Nationals between 1993 and 1996, swimming both the 100 and 200 butterfly. She placed in the top 16 in the 200 butterfly all four years, finishing as high as 10th with a time of 2:00.51.

"I swam for Albert Minn in college at the University of Hawaii and have continued to train under him to this day," June says. "He has been the most influential person in my swimming career."

Al Minn has been coaching for over 50 years and has been a national coach for the U.S. Olympic Team and several U.S. National teams. He is also the founder and head coach of Aulea Swim Club, an age-group club in Oahu, where June has been an assistant coach since 1986. Al is also head coach of Humu Masters Swim Team, the Masters swim club that June represents in Hawaii.

At age 25 in 1987 she competed in her first Masters competition. At the USMS Short Course Nationals in Stanford, she won five events, breaking five national records in the 100 and 200 fly, 1000 and 500 free, and 400 IM. In the Long Course Nationals in Woodlands, she broke three world records in the 200 fly, 400 free and 400 IM.

June says that she competed in almost every short course and long course USMS Nationals competition, and finished first in almost every event from 1987 to 1992. She won the 100 and 200 fly and the 400 IM in the 1988 World Championships in Brisbane and won all six of her events in the 1989 World Games in Arhus, Denmark.

After entering the 30-34 age group she set world records in the 200 fly and 400 IM; and won the 100 and 200 butterfly in the 1994 World Championships in Montreal.

Aging up to 35 in 1997 has not slowed her down. She won the 100 and 200 fly, the 500 and 1000 free, and the 400 IM at the USMS Short Course Nationals at Federal Way in Seattle, setting a national record in the 1000 free and the 400 IM. While competing in the Pan Pacifics in Lahaina in June, 1997, she won the 100 fly, the 400 and 800 free.

June says, "While competing in college and training for Senior Nationals, I averaged 55,000 to 60,000 yards or meters a week. As a Masters swimmer, trying to juggle working, coaching and swimming into a busy schedule, I train about 4,000 to 6,000 yards or meters a week. Since I compete primarily in distance free and middle distance stroke events, my training program consists primarily of distance swimming with a lot of long stroke and IM sets."

A sample workout follows:

Swim 5 x 800 meters as shown: 
(1) free. 
(2) 200 free, 200 IM, 200 free, 200 IM. 
(3) 400 fly, 200 free, 200 IM. 
(4) 400 IM, 400 IM. 
(5) 200 fly, 200 free, 200 fly, 200 free.

Kick 6 x 100 fly with fins

Pull 3 x 200 IM

Swim 4 x 50; 25 hypoxic, 25 swim easy

Total: 5,400 meters

June K. Ford lives in Kailua, Hawaii and swims for Humu Masters Swim Team.