SSND Takes Gold at Senior Olympics Qualifying Trials
S. Eileen McCarthy, SSND, 75, of Marshfield, Mass., has won an invitation to compete in the 2009 National Senior Olympics, to be held August 1-15, 2009 in San Francisco. Sister Eileen finished first in the 50-, 100- and 200-meter backstroke in the 75-79 age group at the recent Massachusetts state qualifying meet.
Sister Eileen has only been swimming since 1999. She began swimming after she was forced to stop jogging when arthroscopic surgery on her knee revealed arthritis and a piece of broken bone on the knee cap. She decided to take up swimming because she said “it seemed easy,” though she quickly learned that summers splashing in the ocean didn’t teach her how to swim. She began taking lessons and decided to master the backstroke, again, because it looked easy, though it’s one of the most difficult strokes to do properly.
Without any real formal training, Sister Eileen competed in the backstroke, came in 40th and started taking lessons. Two years later, she was consistently finishing in 10th to 12th place on the national level. Her goal for the 2009 games is to come in 8th. Sister Eileen says she has no “illusions of medals,” since most of her competition are elite swimmers who have been coaches and trainers, and who have been swimming most of their lives. “I compete with myself and my previous times,” she said.
Since competing in her last Senior Olympics, Sister Eileen fell and broke her leg, which required a plate and six screws to heal. As soon as her outpatient therapy was completed, she was back in the pool and to her training regimen, which includes a six-day schedule of swimming, strength training and balance work such as Pilates or yoga.