60-year-old Olympic legend Mary T. Meagher, now known as Mary Plant, is back to breaking world records.
The American swimming legend retired from swimming after the 1988 Olympic Games, but has returned to swimming in the masters realm in recent months.
Just minutes ago at the SPMS SW Zone LCM Championships in Mission Viejo, California, Plant threw down a new masters World Record in the women’s 60-64 200 butterfly. She stopped the clock with a time of 2:39.31, which eclipsed Laura Val‘s former mark of 2:41.03 from August 2011. Val is one of the most decorated masters swimmers of all-time, having broken nearly 450 world records during her masters career so far.
Plant negative split each 100, recording 36.62 on the first 50 and 36.59 on the second 50. She closed with splits of 44.10 and 42.00, respectively. She won her heat by 2.40 seconds and her age group by 1 minute and 36.97 seconds.
This was only her fourth officially-recorded meet since her return to racing.
Her most recent competition was the Augusta Blue Tides Dog Days of Summer Masters Meet on August 15, where she won the 50 fly (31.27), 100 fly (1:09.59), and 200 fly (2:45.99).
At the Rose Bowl Masters competition in March, she recorded times of 28.34, 1:04.03, and 2:29.84 in the yards versions of those races, but those swims were her first recorded long course swims since retiring from professional swimming.
Earlier that month at the Ski-n-Swim meet, she swam 42.52 in the 50-yard free in her first meet, back, and then a week later swam 28.34 in the 50-yard fly, 1:04.03 in the 100-yard fly, and 2:29.48 in the 200-yard fly. That 50 fly time was just 1.33 seconds off the USMS National Record for the 60-64 age group that was set by Ellen Reynolds earlier this year.
During her professional career, Plant won five Olympic medals, including golds in the 100 fly, 200 fly, and 400 medley relay at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She accumulated nine World Championship medals as well, two of which were gold. She held the World Record in the 100-meter fly from 1980 until 1999 and the 200 fly from 1979 until 2000, setting those records when she was 15 and 14, respectively.
Her 200 fly time of 2:05.96 from 1981 remains the U.S. National Age Group Record in that event 44 years later, one of the oldest records on the books.
1:09.07 100 fly
2:26.23 200 free
Scratched the 100 free
Crazy how far she’s fallen
She’s literally 60
When 60 years you reach, swim as good you will not
I know you’re joking, but aging really is an interesting phenomenon and unfortunately no one is spared!!
You try even surviving a 200 fly at that age! It is quite shocking when you get back in the water 4 decades later. I experienced it myself. I do very well at the gym compared to much younger women, but when I got back in the water, I was stunned at how pathetically slow I was! I am approximately Mary’s age.
I think she was out of sport altogether for decades. These are respectable times, especially if she is still early in her return to training. And records are the benchmark, the best ever for any specified age. Hard to argue with that.
A lot of people her age can’t even get up off the floor without assistance. I’d say she’s headed in the right direction.
Bravo Madame Butterfly!! And a warm welcome back!!
She looks so fit in this picture. Great to see her still cranking out LCM 200 fly! Keep succeeding Mary T.
I cant say how many times I have seen her WR video..her 2.05 would have made our Olympic teams until when??
Until NOW basically
i think this year’s trials is quite literally the first time ever that 2:05.96 would not have placed in the top 2
Yes, imagine her with a tech suit and goggles! I believe the pools are also faster now today.
Mary MFT
People talk about her 200 fly at Brown Deer as most impressive, and it is in the context of longevity, but her 100 fly WR there was astonishing. She’d already been 2:06.3 in the 200 fly in 1980, but she took the 100 fly WR from 59.26 to 57.93 in a single swim, completely hopping over 58.
And she wasn’t just a great flyer; she would have been World Champion in the 200 free in 1986 if not for East Germans. In fact, barring East Germans, she would have been the first woman to win six gold medals at Worlds (200 free, 100/200 fly, 400 MR, 400/800 FR), beating Missy Franklin to the punch by 26 years.
Swimswam, get… Read more »
And without the DDR, she would have been fourth in the 100 free as well!
it´s loooong overdue
Just to put Mary T’s dominance in perspective. If you look at what the difference is between what the world record was in the summer of 81 when she went her 205.9 in the 200 fly and what it is now, the stats are astonishing. There is a 4.2 (really 4.15) second difference between the two. And many consider the current 200 fly record to be the toughest on the books of the 200s. That makes Summer’s accomplishments all the greater in getting close to it. The difference for the 200 back is 8.6 seconds. The difference for the 200 breast is 10.8 seconds and the difference for the 200 free is 6.0 seconds. She is still in the teens… Read more »
She absolutely kicks @ss. Legend, legend, legend!