Caroline Krattli, 2001 Masters Swimmer of the Year

Caroline Krattli, one of two swimmers from San Diego Swim Masters honored in this year's list (the other is Jim Eubank), was not supposed to be so successful in 2001. After all, she was 39 years old, which is an age when most Masters swimmers usually coast while they wait for their 40th birthday and dream about high rankings in a new age group.

Not Krattli. She smashed all three national breaststroke yard records in her 35-39 age group with times that no one has come close to matching. She did it again in long course, establishing three world records that left swimming experts shaking their heads in wonder.

By year's end, Krattli owned 12 number one rankings. She also dabbled in several major U.S.A. Swimming meets, making it into the finals and competing against young swimmers whose mothers in some cases were younger than she was.

Maybe it's because I'm a guy. I love to know women's breaststroke times so I can compare them against my freestyle times. It's a motivator: "Coming into the last lap, he's neck-and-neck with Krattli; it's going to be close!" Join the fun! Here's what Krattli put on the board in 2001:

Short course yards: 30.08 in the 50, 1:04.96 in the 100 and 2:23.61 in the 200. Long course meters: 33.91 in the 50, 1:13.81 in the 100 and 2:41.76 in the 200

Intimidated? You should be. And just wait. The best is probably still to come. When Krattli moves into the 40-44 age group this year, expect records to fall left and right.

published in Swim Magazine, May-June, 2002