The National Senior Games took place in Ft. Lauderdale, FL from May 10-23, 2022. More than 11,900 athletes from all 50 States plus a smaller number of athletes representing Barbados, Bolivia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad & Tobago competed in 20 sports at venues spread out around the Greater Ft. Lauderdale area. Linette Lowe Chaney qualified for the National Senior Games Swimming Competition which was held May 13 through May 16, 2022 at the Plantation Aquatic Center. 732 swimmers ages 50 - 100 entered the swimming competition with 15 athletes over the age of 90. Two women competing were 100 years old. Linette qualified in the women's age group 70 - 74 in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle races.

Linette had first qualified at the North Carolina State Meet in 2018 to compete in the 2019 National Senior Games in Albuquerque, New Mexico. However, two weeks before the competition, Linette broke 4 ribs when she slipped off the front of their pontoon boat while taking off the boat cover and fell backwards against the rocks along the shoreline so did not go to the 2019 National Senior Games. Due to COVID no qualifiers were held for the 2022 NSG in Ft. Lauderdale. If you qualified for the Albuquerque Senior Games you automatically qualified for the 2022 NSG in Ft. Lauderdale which were originally to be held in 2021 but were delayed a year because of COVID.

Linette is a self-taught swimmer who never had the opportunity to be on a swim team. She was a former lifeguard at Pymatuming State Park (shout out to fellow lifeguard buddy Linda Dalton), and a swim team Mom for 18 years spending countless hours driving our daughter to swim practice, sitting in the bleachers or timing at meets, and traveling all over Ohio and beyond for our daughter to compete in U.S. Swimming competitions. The Ft. Lauderdale Senior Games were Linette's 3rd swim meet in her lifetime. Most of the competitors have been on swim teams since their high school and college years. However, one of the 100 year old competitors told me she started swimming at age 73 when she retired.

The first day of the meet, Linette swam a personal best in the 200 freestyle dropping 14 seconds placing 14th out of 19th in her age group. Day 2 Linette placed 18th out of 28th in the 50 yard freestyle. Day 3 Linette placed 13th out of 18th in the 100 yard freestyle. Day 4, Linette teamed up with Larry from Michigan, Kevin from Minnesota, and MaryAnn from Florida in age group 65-69 to swim the mixed 200 medley relay and the mixed 200 freestyle relay earning 6th place ribbons in both relays. Linette and Dave are now snowbirds having spent the season at our condo on Marco Island, FL and plan to be back at our Ohio lake house by Memorial weekend.

July 24, 2022 Linette will be competing in the Ohio Senior Games in Westerville, Ohio hoping to qualify for the National Senior Games to be held in Pittsburgh, July, 2023. Attached is Dave Chaney's pdf recap of Linette's first National Senior Games.

To my fellow AHS classmates, never give up on your dreams.

Linette Chaney

Thursday, 5/12, the pools were open so you could practice. Dave and I headed there for a morning swim.

Click this link to see the PDF about Linette's competition made by her husband Dave.

Linette Lowe Chaney 🏊‍