Courtesy: Kelly Palace
Extraordinary isn’t a strong enough word to describe the performances of Ellen Reynolds in 2024. Reynolds, new to the Women’s 60-64 age group in 2024, has set an unprecedented 26 Masters World records this year between Long Course and Short Course Meters, solidifying her legacy as one of the greatest Masters swimmers in history. She’s also been a part of 5 world-record-setting relays as a member of Team Redbird Masters.
Reynolds, who was a recent guest on Champion’s Mojo: The Masters Swim Pod, said she started Masters swimming in her 40s and attributes her success to two decades of consistency, discipline, and adaptability. “It’s taken me 10 to 20 years to get to where I am now,” she shared. “I just work as hard as I possibly can on whatever it is I want to do.”
Her records span a remarkable range, from the shortest sprints, like the 50 backstroke and fly, to the grueling 1500-meter freestyle, showcasing her versatility. Despite her impressive achievements, Ellen remains humble and focused on enjoying the sport. “If I had to stop swimming tomorrow, I think I would be good.”
One of the more interesting stats is that Ellen holds a world record in every event except the 50 free, 50 breast, 100 breast, and 200 fly. And she didn’t just break these world records—she demolished them by large margins.
Balancing a demanding career as a pediatric surgeon with her swimming, Ellen just retired in September after 25 years in the field. Her work ethic as a surgeon often influenced her approach to swimming. “No parent wants me to come out from an operation and say, ‘Oh, I got tired, I can’t do it.’ I apply that same determination to my swimming.” This year, Ellen isn’t just grateful for her fast swimming. She said, “I’d like to say thank you to all of the volunteers running the swim meets. I couldn’t have done it without them!”
To hear more about her training and preparation for such a feat, you can listen to her Champion’s Mojo Podcast interview here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1273526/episodes/15702527-world-record-setter-and-surgeon-ellen-reynolds-raises-the-bar-ep-255.mp3?download=true.
Ellen Reynolds’ World Record-Breaking Achievements in Masters Swimming (2024)
Long Course Meters (LCM)
- 100 Freestyle: 1:03.70 (08-25-24)
- 200 Freestyle: 2:16.57 (08-22-24)
- 400 Freestyle: 4:48.61 (08-25-24)
- 800 Freestyle: 10:16.64 (07-06-24)
- 1500 Freestyle: 19:10.59 (07-06-24)
- 50 Backstroke: 32.68 (07-07-24)
- 100 Backstroke: 1:10.22 (02-28-24)
- 200 Backstroke: 2:30.58 (02-27-24)
- 200 Breaststroke: 3:00.11 (03-02-24)
- 100 Butterfly: 1:08.24 (08-24-24)
- 200 Individual Medley (IM): 2:32.30 (07-27-24)
- 400 Individual Medley (IM): 5:30.07 (03-03-24)
Short Course Meters (SCM)
- 100 Freestyle: 1:01.80 (12-06-24)
- 200 Freestyle: 2:13.66 (05-24-24)
- 400 Freestyle: 4:42.58 (05-25-24)
- 800 Freestyle: 9:43.40 (12-08-24)
- 1500 Freestyle: 18:47.25 (05-26-24)
- 50 Backstroke: 31.55 (05-26-24)
- 100 Backstroke: 1:07.82 (04-21-24)
- 200 Backstroke: 2:25.55 (04-20-24)
- 200 Breaststroke: 2:51.23 (04-20-24)
- 50 Butterfly: 30.18 (12-07-24)
- 100 Butterfly: 1:07.79 (05-25-24)
- 100 Individual Medley (IM): 1:09.11 (05-24-24)
- 200 Individual Medley (IM): 2:28.63 (04-19-24)
- 400 Individual Medley (IM): 5:22.55 (12-07-24)
About The Champion’s Mojo Podcast for Masters Swimmers:
With over 5 years, 260 episodes published and 8 podcasting awards, Champion’s Mojo has interviewed some of the top swimmers, thought leaders and coaches in our sport. Their special focus is on topics that are interesting and important to Masters Swimmers. They are a podcast that inspires and empowers adult athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and Masters swimmers to live with personal excellence. Each episode delves into the heart of what it takes to become a champion—not just in sports, but in life. Hosted by world record-setting athlete Kelly Palace, this show is filled with insightful conversations, deep questions, and real stories that motivate you to reach your full potential. Join us as we speak with champions, coaches, and experts who share their secrets to success and well-being. Ready to unlock your champion mindset? Visit ChampionsMojo.com for more.
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Masters Swimming needs to start drug testing just like the other masters sports, cycling and track and field. Not even Ledecky or Phelps broke records in every stroke and every distance. Sorry to be a downer, but some things are just too obvious. USMS doesn’t even have a rule against PED’s, and they are readily available.
Does she have any college eligibility left. Someone should sign her
Very impressive, what an accomplished person!
I appreciated and enjoyed this interview, thanks for sharing.
Those times are no joke (1:03 100fr would be considered pretty damn fast for even a 40 year old masters swimmer), and the range is even more impressive.
This is really amazing!!! I would really like to know how she got there, her workout, swimming and nutricional plans… could you share with us, normal human beings? 😉
These are some wild times for a 60 year old woman
They sure are. In masters the 100 yards back and Fly are only 1:03 for the 60 to 64. Doing a 100 meter fly in 1:08 at 60 years old is unreal.
where did she swim in college? She had to have been an olympian to be able to throw times like that down at 60.
Ellen did not swim in college. She was focused on her academic career and later on medical school. She started training in late 30s, early 40s and broke her first WR at the age of 45 in 50 back. She never trained with the team due to the nature of her work. Her mother and her designed training program for her – they are both physicians, curious and understand physiology well
Amazing! I bet she would have been an outstanding swimmer in her youth if she had had the training at that time.
She did summer league at a young age and Water Polo and Swimming in high school. WP is the 2nd best aquatic sports for swimming. Its in the broadcast. There are several real good older masters swimmers that didn’t do the year round club team or college swimming. It depends upon the person.
I’ve been looking at these times and posts because this is weird. There are some “good” older Masters swimmers who weren’t year round club or college swimmers but none anywhere near this level. Her records are across all strokes and sprint/distance events. I also read that her 2-back time at Masters World Champs was faster than the men’s winning time and record in that event. She has more than 10 times in the all-time top 10 men’s times in the 60-64 age group. She has nearly all the Masters LCM and SCM national records (over 20 of them) for 60-64 age group, and the few she doesn’t hold (for events she probably didn’t swim) are shared among different Masters swimmers who are all former… Read more »
There is no Masters swimmers who swims that fast and doesn’t have a former swimming background. Not necessarily elite. Many super fast Masters I know did not swim competitively during college/Uni but they did learn to swim well, with proper technique, when they were kids or teenagers. Some of them took a 10-20 year break from the sport, then they returned. But they already “knew” how to swim. Once you have a solid technique, taking a break from the sport does not make the technique disappear, it’s just a matter of getting the fitness part back. It is like going on a bicycle, once you learn as a child, that’s it, the skill stays with you forever. It’s much harder… Read more »
This is not possible. The muscle memory and neural pathways you develop as a youth club and college swimmer from thousands of hours of repetition using the proper technique are impossible to replicate in the same way that much later in life. An older Masters swimmer who was not an elite club swimmer cannot compete with former elite club and college swimmers of the same age who had junior national or Olympic qualifying cuts and who also take it seriously and train vigorously, just like a rec tennis player who started training in his 40s could never beat a D1 college tennis player of the same age, no matter the training. It would be nice to hear more about her youth age… Read more »
Perhaps an Olympian. You certainly would have been a pretty elite swimmer in your youth. All the women setting these national and world records such as Laura Val, Erika Braun, Karlyn Pipes, and others were all former junior national champs, had Olympic qualifying times or nationally ranked competitive swimmers in their youth or may have been Olympians like Gabrielle Rose. At age 60 it is physically impossible to match your 15-18 age group pr times no matter how hard you train. It’s a matter of how hard you work from that base of literally thousands of hours and millions of yards in the pool in your teens. To set records like this in 400/800/1500 meters free you would be near the level of a… Read more »
Wow that is fast