USMS Members Enjoy Pan American Masters Championships

The nearly 100 U.S. Masters Swimming members who competed at the UANA Pan American Masters Championships in Medellin, Colombia, last month made the trip with varying personal goals and expectations.

Some went for times and medals. Some went for personal reasons and goals. Others went to meet people from different cultures who came together from different countries and different continents.

Lina Bot, who coached the USMS swimmers, helped her swimmers have a successful meet, highlighted by 45 gold, 32 silver, and 19 bronze medals. On top of that, her swimmers had 96 fourth- through 10th-place finishes.

“It was amazing to see so many swimmers show love for their country while swimming for their own clubs,” says Bot, a member of Wellington Swim Club. “Most of our swimmers were not used to the altitude at the time but eventually acclimated, which they demonstrated by many personal bests.

“This was the very memorable way to experience my first international swim meet as a coach and as an athlete. We look forward to Pan Ams in 2024.”

Here are the stories of three USMS competitors.

Taras Polakoff, Beaver Swim Club

Taras Polakoff, one of the many athletes who went to Colombia focused on her times, finished with one personal best (50 breaststroke) and two near-bests (50 butterfly and 50 freestyle), as well as three gold (50 breaststroke, 50 backstroke, and 100 backstroke) and two silver (50 butterfly, 50 freestyle) medals in the 18-24 age group.

A 23-year-old from California, Polakoff has been swimming since he was 9 and continues to expect more from himself and the sport.

“I’m very happy with these swims as I am chasing times I set during club swimming,” he says. “I have been swimming for the past 14 years and will hopefully continue for the next 70-plus. The sport brings me so much joy and never lacks challenge as it helps me develop not just in the pool but in life as a whole.”

Pan Ams were Polakoff’s first international competition after a collegiate career at Babson College.

Although he admits it was a “bit surreal” walking out during the opening ceremony and racing with the U.S. flag across his cap, standing behind the blocks before his first race, the 50 butterfly, he remembers the pool looking stunning in that moment.

“I was really able to feel the magnitude of the meet compared to all of my previous domestic meets,” he says. “(In that race,) I would go on to miss out on gold by 0.02 seconds to my soon-to-be new Colombian friend Santiago. We would go on and race again later in the week, the 50 freestyle, where I was able to get my turn in getting my hand on the wall first.”

Polakoff went to the meet to not only the moment and have some fun, but also get close to his best times from age-group swimming.

“I hope to be able to continue to compete in this sport for as long as I can,” he says. “I look forward to racing at many more international competitions and am excited about the stories to come as well as the friends that I will make along the way.”

John and Anika Rubocki

Like everyone else, John and Anika Rubocki went to Colombia with swimming goals but also to stay in shape—John to keep his health in check and Anika to keep sharp for her college swimming this fall at Bowdoin College.

But their ultimate goal was to enjoy a father-daughter trip to a country they hadn’t visited together.

“Knowing we were going to compete at our first international swim competition together kept us honest,” says John, a member, just like his daughter, of Sawtooth Masters.

For fun and to make it more interesting, they both competed in the same events: the 400 individual medley, 200 backstroke, 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly, and 200 butterfly. 

John says the highlight of the meet was meeting other swimmers from around the world, as well as meeting and hanging out with their U.S. teammates.

“Another personal highlight (and a crazy coincidence) is my daughter and I placed in the exact same spots for each of our events,” John says.

To commemorate their parallel accomplishments, they took a father/daughter picture together on the awards stand, adding another element of fun and challenge after each event. 

With it being their first trip to Colombia, when they weren’t swimming, they took time to explore the country, which included paragliding together.

Overall, John says, the country was beautiful and provided a great experience. The people were friendly and accommodating, and things from food to souvenirs to tourist attractions were inexpensive.

“The city was alive and fun with plenty of activities and nightlife to suit anyone's desires,” John says. “Everything was so colorful. I think a great aspect of Masters swimming is to allow for opportunities to travel and compete with your kids, something you can do well into old age.

“There are not many other sports where you can have such a wonderful bonding opportunity. We created memories that neither of us will forget.”

Kathleen Kessler, Paseo Club Masters

Even though she’s three months pregnant, Kathleen Kessler never questioned making the trip to Colombia to compete.

Her goals going into the meet were to push herself to continue to stay healthy and reach for new goals and one day tell her little one about this journey.

“Overall, my experience was one to remember,” she says. “Highlight of my trip was spending time with my team and competing in the relay together and cheering each other on.

“The biggest challenges on this trip were adjusting to swimming at that elevation and managing through morning sickness and nausea.”

She competed in the 50 and 100 freestyle, as well as the 200 freestyle relay with her Paseo Club Masters in California.

She has been competing with USMS for just over a year, returning years after swimming in high school and working as a lifeguard and teaching swimming in college.

She got back into swimming to stay healthy, so she joined Paseo Club Masters and quickly remembered why and how much she loved swimming.

Her goal moving forward is to keep swimming as long as she can during the pregnancy and to make sure this meet and trip aren’t her last.

“I had never been to Colombia before this and had a great time, ate great food, and saw beautiful sites with great people,” she says. “The venue was amazing. This was my first time competing internationally for the USA. Most of the other swim meets were against surrounding cities or counties. It was exciting and nerve-racking at times. It was a ton of fun.”