Champion's Mojo for Masters Swimmers – Details, episodes & analysis

What if you could shatter world records while excelling as a top pediatric surgeon? Join us for a compelling conversation with Ellen Reynolds, a master swimmer extraordinaire and recently retired pediatric surgeon, who has done just that. Ellen who hails from Boise, Idaho, opens up about her journey from learning to swim at age three to setting 20 national and/or world records this year alone. We explore her groundbreaking medical career, including her innovative work with pectus excavatum patients, and discuss how she managed to balance her intense professional life with her passion for swimming. And how these two have pursuits have been synergistic.

In this episode, we delve into Ellen's meticulous training regime that evolved after 20 years of consistency in the pool. Discover how she initially focused on fitness routines involving walking, elliptical workouts, and strength training before ramping up her swimming workouts. Ellen shares the strategic importance of balancing hard and easy sessions, and why the myth of endless long-distance training is just that—a myth. Her experience illustrates how adapting workouts to fit an unpredictable career can lead to outstanding athletic achievements.

As we wrap up, Ellen offers invaluable insights into the community aspect of master swimming and the impact of hormone replacement therapy on women's health. We discuss her plans post-retirement, her personal motto, and some fun facts that give a glimpse into the champion's life outside the pool. Listen in for an episode filled with inspiration, practical advice, and the powerful message that it’s never too late to pursue your passions and achieve greatness.

The Menopause Society mentioned in the interview can be found at  https://menopause.org/

Ellen's current swimming achievements:

• Meet results for Ellen M Reynolds (389 swims)
• Top Ten achievements (255 individual, 3 relay)
• All-American Honors (14 years pool individual, 6 years long distance individual, 1 years long distance relay)
• All-Star Honors (1 years long distance, 9 years pool)
• USMS Records
  (pool individual: 53 currently held, 72 lifetime ,
  pool relay: 1 currently held, 1 lifetime,
  long distance individual: 4 currently held, 5 lifetime records)

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

Do you compete against your spouse, best friend, roommate, sibling? Ever wondered how to keep the competitive spirit alive without straining your closest relationships? Tune in to this week’s episode of Champions Mojo, where I, Kelly Palace, share five tips that will revolutionize how you compete against or alongside your loved ones. Drawing from my own experiences with my competitions with my husband Mark, who is also a competitive swimmer, I discuss how gratitude, focusing on personal milestones, and celebrating mutual victories can transform competition into a bond-strengthening activity.

Get inspired as I recount a thrilling race in the 400 IM where Mark and I finished within a hair’s breadth of each other. Plus, hear about the motivating stories of the Olympic swimming siblings sets, the Shackells and the Walshes,  who embody the perfect blend of healthy rivalry and supportive encouragement. Whether you're into sports, board games, or any competitive endeavor, these insights will help foster a nurturing and positive competitive environment. Don’t miss out on these game-changing tips!

1. Be grateful you have a shared activity that you are both passionate about
2. Focus on your own goals and personal bests
3. Allow the other person to teach you something new
4. Celebrate their successes, when they win, and give them space when you win
5. Enjoy the positive impact that competing with someone you love has on your performance. It raises you to a higher level!

Podcast mentions:
Host Kelly Palace's Husband Mark Palace
Olympians: 
Alex and Aaron Shackell
Alex and Gretchen Walsh
Erika Connelly 
Olympic Trials Finalist Catie Deloof

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

Remember that feeling of triumph when you touched the pool wall first during those childhood swim meets? We tap into that exuberant spirit with Brian Robbins, the founder and driving force behind Grown-Up Swimming, in an episode that will open your eyes to a new option for fun and competition for adult swimmers everywhere.  You'll get the scoop on Grown-Up Swimming's new partnership with US Masters Swimming and their exciting plans for expansion! 

We explore the Grownup Swimming League's mission to offer the novel idea of short format, low key swim meets, making it easy for anyone to jump in—figuratively and literally.  Like short swim races, music, social time? Then grab your swim gear, because Brian Robbins is here to remind us that the race isn't always to the swift, but to those having the most fun.

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

Control Your Mind, Olympian Natalie Hinds' 5-MIN FLASHBACK, Episode 155

This week, get your mojo from a champion in 5 minutes or less! Enjoy this powerful MOJO from  Olympian Natalie Hinds on how to control your mind! Hinds made her first Olympic team in 2020, earning a bronze medal, and says it was her new mindset that paved the way. 

LISTEN HERE to the full interview on Champion's Mojo podcast in episode #122

https://www.championsmojo.com/episodepage/nataliehinds122

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

Mute until she was 6 years old, World Champion Masters swimmer, coach, and “mountain mermaid”,  Eney Jones learned the power of observation. She joins Kelly and Maria to discuss how she approaches her own masters swimming and coaching with courage -- and why observation is such a key component of her success, both in and out of the water.  How do you overcome fear and pain to grow as an athlete and person? This episode will give you inspiration to do just that. 

Catch up on EVERY episode at ChampionsMojo.com.

MORE ABOUT ENEY JONES

Eney Jones is an entrepreneur, inventor of the EneyBuoy, a swim coach, and a writer for SwimSwam and her own blog. A few of Eney’s swimming accomplishments include:

• Masters National Champion, 100-200-400-500-1500-1650 5k freestyle multiple times
• Open Water 5k World Champion 
• Overall Champion Aumakua 2.4k Maui Hawaii, September 2008
• Waikiki Rough Water Multiple top 3 finishes
• European Record Setter and Masters Swimming Champion
• Over twenty time finalist in U.S. Swimming Nationals, including Olympic Trials 1980
• Gold medal NCAA 800 yd freestyle relay 1979, silver Medalist 200 yd freestyle 1979. 
• United States National Team 1979-1980.

During her professional triathlete career, Eney was the first woman out of the water in every Hawaiian Ironman race she participated in which was six.  Eney Online: EneyJones.com and IG @eneyjones

 Episode Mentions and Topics

 Burwell “Bumpy” Jones

EneyBuoy

SwimSwam

Triathlon

Siesta Key

Italy

Crested Butte, Colorado

Sarasota, Florida

Pain threshold

Women in sports

Takeaways

Kelly

1. “Make the bad pancake.” Just get out there and try things, even if they aren’t perfect on the first try. 
2. Allow yourself to cross the threshold of pain and not be afraid.

Maria

1. Observe, listen, watch. You will learn so much.
2. Remember that you can do what you are doing because of the people who came before you. Give credit to the amazing athletes and leaders who blazed the trail.

Quote of the Week

“Everyone has a story, or some inspiration, or a connection that can help you.” -- Eney Jones

Subscribe to the Champion's Mojo podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play.

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

 In this week's 5-MINUTE FLASHBACK Olympic Champion Swimmer Lilly King exhibits her excellent sense of humor and talks about how she and training partner Cody Miller use  distraction to get through tough swims.  Give yourself a smile by listening.

King will be competing in the 2022 World Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary June 18-24th with a chance to win all three breaststroke events.

This flashback is from episode 87, Training Partner Power with Lilly King and Cody Miller. LISTEN to the full show HERE.

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

Marc Middleton, best selling author, world record setting masters swimmer and founder of Growing Bolder media, believes that how we age is most affected by our mindset.  If we don't buy into the negative image around aging we can achieve anything we set our minds to. Marc is on a mission to change the way society views the aging process through his media company, Growing Bolder. Marc joins Kelly and Maria to talk about his passion for changing conversations about aging in America and how he became such a champion himself.

Catch up on EVERY episode at ChampionsMojo.com.

MORE ABOUT MARC MIDDLETON

Marc Middleton is the Founder and CEO of Growing Bolder, a multimedia platform redefining aging by sharing inspirational stories of those aging in a revolutionary way. He’s a speaker, educator and author of the book, Growing Bolder: Defy the Cult of Youth, Live with Passion and Purpose. 

In 2021, Marc earned 4 All-American honors in one year in the men’s 70-74 age group. But over his career Mark has earned World records, and had a #1 time in 7 different seasons since he began his Masters Swimming Career in 2009 (almost 40 year break). He is also a nationally ranked high-hurdler! 

Episode Mentions and Topics 

Growing Bolder Media

Growing Bolder: Defy the Cult of Youth, Live with Passion and Purpose by Marc Middleton

Rowdy Gaines

Florida State University

College track/high hurdling

Masters swimming

Gordy Shields

Compressed morbidity

Quilting

Takeaways

Kelly

1. There are difficulties at every age - aging is not inherently “worse” than younger phases of life. 
2. Eliminate “no” from your vocabulary so you do not deal with decision fatigue. Just assume everything will be a “yes.”

Maria

1. People who age well try new things and are not afraid of trying new things.
2. Remember that your primary care physician is yourself. 

Quote of the Week

“No matter how old you are, you never lose the ability to extract moments of joy from life.” -- Marc Middleton

Subscribe to the Champion's Mojo podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play.

Have something you want to share with us? Email it to [email protected].

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

This week's 5-MINUTE FLASHBACK is with University of California at Berkeley Head Women's Swim Coach, Teri McKeever.  In this episode she answers the question, "What is your team's culture?"

McKeever was the first ever female head coach of the U.S. Olympic women's swim team, earning this honor at the 2012 Olympics.

McKeever is under fire from allegations of former and current team members for verbal and emotional abuse. 

LISTEN HERE for to the full interview with Teri McKeever, Episode #79

More on Teri McKeever:

McKeever was the first ever female head coach of the U.S. Olympic swim team, earning this honor at the 2012 Olympics.  She has served for the past 29 seasons as the head women’s swim coach at the University of California at Berkeley.  McKeever has also been a two-time U.S. Olympic team assistant coach, seven-time U.S. World Championships team assistant coach, two-time U.S. Pan Pacs head coach and U.S. World short-course championships head coach. She’s also coached 26 Olympians who have won 36 Olympic medals.  

McKeever’s UC teams have won four NCAA titles and she’s been voted Pac-12 Coach of the Year eight times. She has won four Pac-12 team titles and an an unprecedented 11 years in a row of top three finishes at the NCAAs, She has coached six national Swimmers of the Year, including greats like: Natalie Coughlin, Missy Franklin and most recently, Kathleen Baker. Her Golden Bears have captured 65 NCAA individual or relay titles. 

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

How do you build a successful masters swim team?

World Class Masters Swimmer and Coach, Rick Walker says that difficult swim practices motivate his team, the renowned Sarasota Sharks, to work harder and that a spirit of camaraderie keeps morale high. Rick joins the show to talk about how he started the Sarasota Sharks Masters Team, his coaching and swimming successes -- and shares tips for others who aspire to do the same .

Catch up on EVERY episode at ChampionsMojo.com.

MORE ABOUT RICK WALKER

Rick Walker is a US Masters swimmer and the founder of the Sarasota Sharks, one of the most successful US Masters Swimming teams. Rick founded the Sarasota Sharks Masters in 2006 and they quickly grew to prominence, consistently carrying over 300 swimmers on their roster, which includes world record holders, national record holders, All-Americans and many happy sharks that swim for fun and fitness. 

The team has earned several YMCA National Championships and placed in the Top 10 clubs at USMS National Championships. The Sharks have also been honored as the USMS Club of the Year. In 2020 Rick earned an outstanding coaching honor, the U.S. Masters Swimming Kerry O'Brien Coaches Award. 

In 2021, Rick earned 7 FINA World #1 rankings and 9 USMS All-American honors in the men’s 70-74 age group. Rick did the swim around Manhattan in 1999 and won the 3K World Championships of Open Water in Budapest in 2016.  Over his career, Rick has earned world records, national records, and had at least one #1 in 17 different seasons since he began his Masters Swimming career in 1985. 

Episode Topics and Mentions

Sarasota Sharks

US Masters Swimming

YMCA National Championships

Kerry O’Brien Coaches Award

Deb Walker

Breaststroke

Consistency

Melanoma

Budapest

Rick Colella

The “Shark Tank”

Veganism

Hello Fresh

Talenti ice cream

Wall Street Journal

Takeaways

Kelly

1. Consistency is key -- keep showing up.
2. People like to work hard, especially people who have gone through the trouble to show up to a practice.

Maria

1. Create routine wherever you go and even in the busiest times -- it brings peace.
2. It is so much better to just get along with others. It makes it smoother for everyone. 

“I believe that all my swimmers want to work hard and get a hard workout. We go at it pretty hard.” -- Rick Walker

Subscribe to the Champion's Mojo podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play.
Have something you want to share with us? Email it to [email protected].

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

This week, get your mojo from a champion in 5 minutes or less! Enjoy this powerful MOJO from Olympic Swimming Champion, Cullen Jones! What do sports teach us?

LISTEN HERE to the full interview on Champion's Mojo podcast in episode 85, Cullen Jones: Breaking Barriers.  https://www.championsmojo.com/episodepage/cullenjones85

Email us at [email protected]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.