By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
SOON after watching “young snippets” swim for Olympic gold in London, Keysborough’s Hazel Gillbee made her own piece of history on Saturday night.
Ms Gillbee, 84, was part of a Dandenong-based masters swimming club’s relay foursome that set a world record in their age bracket – the combined age of 360 years section.
They were the first of their vintage to complete a 4 x 50-metre relay swim.
The team swam the relay in five minutes, 45 seconds in front of a tearful crowd of about 200 people.
The world record attempt came soon after “spritely” relay member Clarice Artis, 97, of Frankston South, returned to the pool from a shoulder problem.
The four previously achieved international and national records for the 320-year section that have since been broken.
Ms Gillbee is “the baby of the group”. The other swimmers are Nancy Ayers, 89, of Glen Iris, and Trudy Bullivant, 90, of Rosebud.
All are members of the North Lodge Masters Swimming Club, the only such club in the state.
Ms Gillbee swims 1.5 kilometres – that’s 30 laps of the Olympic pool – three times a week.
“I’m getting slower but as long as I reach the end, I’m OK,” she said. “It’s just all about getting there and having that drive to swim.”
Ms Gillbee was a competitive race swimmer and a state hockey player in her prime.
When she joined the masters club on retirement she learnt butterfly stroke – in her 60s.
Fellow member Barbara Brooks said that when the club first formed in 1976 people thought its members were silly to want to keep swimming.
“They don’t think we’re silly any more.”
The club welcomes new swimming members. It meets from 7-8pm on Thursdays at 137-139 Stud Road, Dandenong.
