WATCH: 99-Year-Old Charlotte Sanddal Finish the 500m Freestyle Event at USMS Spring National Championship

Every once in a while, we come across stories of people that leave a mark on us. Former Arizona State Sun Devils swimmer Kyle Sockwell shared such an instance on May 2. Recently, the swimming commentator and analyst posted an inspiring video on Twitter that features 99-year-old swimmer Charlotte Sanddal. The video was shot at the venue of the 2022 US Masters Swimming Spring National Championship.

Charlotte Sanddal competes in 500m freestyle

The video captures Sanddal’s final lap in the 500m freestyle event at the Spring National Championship. Charlotte was the only participant in the 95-99 age group.

Sockwell shared the video to celebrate Sanddal’s achievement of seeing her way to the finish in the event. Although she did not beat the seed timing of 18:47.73 in the event, she received thunderous applause and resounding cheers from the crowd as she approached the finish. In the event, Sanddal clocked in at 21:21.79.

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Hinting at the strenuous efforts required to finish 500m swimming events, Sockwell jokingly says, “…something I’m not sure I could do right now at 27.” Indeed, it is a Herculean distance and competing in such an event is not for the faint of heart.

Furthermore, Sanddal is quite the star at the USMS National Championships. At 99 years, she is also a regular competitor at the meet. In 2021, she won all the five events in which she competed. In addition to that, she has two FINA Masters world records, ten USMS records, and ten individual USMS All-Americans in her list of achievements. This includes her record for the most laps in her age group.

Last year, after finishing one of her events, she joked, “I think they’re glad I’m finally finished so they can go on with the meet.”

Charlotte shares her insights on swimming by adding, “People realize that you don’t have to quit. You can keep going and enjoy it, as well as meet people from all over. It’s a good way to spend your time.”

Currently, Charlotte Sanddal competes for the Big Sky Montana Masters Swimming, a club that provides swimming programs to adults to promote fitness.

Other athletes at the event

Prominent former Olympians such as Josh Davis, Melissa Belote Ripley, Rick Colella, Josh Prenot, Dave Wharton, and Ashley Whitney competed in the meet. But former Olympians are not the only athletes that compete in the four-day meet. Swimmers from every level of experience compete in each division of the events.

Each event comprises several age groups of five-year intervals, 100-104 being the highest. However, Sanddal was the senior-most person to participate in the 500m freestyle event since the event did not have competitors in the 100-104 category; she was the only participant in her age group.

The 2022 USMS Spring National Championship took place between April 28 and May 1. By the second day of the meet, as many as 23 previous records had been broken. In addition, competitors broke an astonishing 19 records on Day 2 itself. A very unique and inspiring story indeed.

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