Bob Best

From Openwaterpedia
The Old Men and the Sea Relay with 84-year-old Don Baker, 80-year-old Dr. Bill Spore, 81-year-old Dave Radcliffe, 84-year-old Graham Johnston, 82-year-old Bob Best, 85-year-old Robert Beach, and 82-year-old Norm Stupfel
The Old Men and the Sea's Catalina Channel crossing is nominated for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year

Bob Best is an 82-year-old American competitive swimmer and open water swimmer of Grand Terrace, California who helped set a national medley-relay high school record at California’s Redlands High School before competing in three NCAA Championships at Iowa State University. He competes regularly in United States Masters Swimming events and open water events, and was a member of the Old Men and the Sea Relay, a group of octogenarian relay American open water swimmers who crossed the Catalina Channel on 20 August 2015 in 12 hours 15 minutes from Santa Catalina Island to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Their relay is nominated for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year by the World Open Water Swimming Association.

Old Men and the Sea Members

  • 84-year-old Don Baker from La Jolla, California who also participated on the La Jolla's Swell Guys Too relay. He swam for Oregon State University before he resumed competition in his 60s, and has won 10 individual and eight relay gold medals at the U.S. Masters Swimming national championships
  • 80-year-old Dr. Bill Spore from Carlsbad, California earned All-America honors before participating at University of California Berkeley on both the water polo and swim teams. The retired obstetrician-gynecologist, competes regularly in open water swims.
  • 81-year-old Dave Radcliffe from San Diego, California who lives in Oregon and 1956 Melbourne Olympic 1500m freestyle swimmer. He was an All-American swimmer at San Diego High School and the University of California at Berkeley
  • 84-year-old Graham Johnston of Houston, Texas is a South African native who won a swimming scholarship at the University of Oklahoma. He was a three-time All-American swimmer before representing South Africa at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics in the 400m- and 1,500m freestyle and swam the opening leg of the 800m freestyle relay that finished seventh.
  • 82-year-old Bob Best of Grand Terrace, California, helped set a national medley-relay high school record at California’s Redlands High School before competing in three NCAA Championships at Iowa State University. He competes regularly in United States Masters Swimming events and open water events.
  • 85-year-old Robert Beach of St. Petersburg, Florida is a California native and retired Florida circuit court judge; also has won numerous master swimming events. On his 50th birthday, he attempted an English Channel crossing, only to succumb to shifting tides 11 hours into the event.
  • 82-year-old Norm Stupfel of Santa Rosa., California and former San Francisco State University swimmer and water polo team member, was the alternate swimmer.

External links

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