Garrett McCaffrey, American Badass and Other Stories from Master's Nationals

Most of the attention at this past weekend's Masters Nationals duly focused on the usual stories. Retirees that can embarrass college swimmers, a former Olympian making a comeback- these things are all par for the course by now at the most athletically diverse swim meet in the country. Lost amid everything was the dramatic comeback by Garrett McCaffrey, who now holds the title of "Fastest in the Swimming Media"

What's that you say? Rowdy Gaines calls the Olympics, is about 25 years older and beat him in the 50 free? Well, at least we can say that he's the fastest guy at Swimming World. Except for Jeff Commings. Damnit Garrett, I tried.

But the Garrett McCaffrey story perfectly symbolizes the year spectacle that Masters Nationals has become and promise it shows for the future. Just when you thought you'd seen the most impressive thing in swimming, someone else comes around and tops it. I can remember in 1992 when Mark Spitz made an ill-fated comeback. He put up some impressive times in the 50 and 100 fly. Maybe he couldn't beat Matt Biondi, but he had to be the fastest flyer ever in his 40s. Or was he? Bill Specht ended up being that man, but since has seen his records broken. And so on. Even in the course of a single meet there are things that defy your expectation.

This year's meet was a little shorter on records than the previous two renditions, a condition that should be expected after last year's meet being the last with the full body 2009 era suits. Still, Rowdy Gaines was able to shave a couple hundredths off his 2009 time in the 50, and he wasn't the only record setter at the meet.

Looking beyond the records you may find the most impressive swimming at the meet. I for one, enjoy watching Jeff Farrell step up year after year and continue to swim a fast 50 free. Farrell, at age 74 (he'll be aging up next year) recorded a 25.37. What's impressive about this swim is that in the prime of his college career over 50 years ago, Farrell swam a 22.5. Baseball fans were wowed when Nolan Ryan stayed close to his prime velocity into his 40s. What if he had done so another thirty years?

Alas, I can't deny that my personal interest in the meet did focus on Ed Moses. Moses looked pretty well on his way, putting up a 53.4 in the 100 breaststroke. How this bodes for his 100 long course is still to be determined, particularly when you take into account his wall work. I feel certain that Ed could be sedentary another 10 years and still beat most of the world on a pullout, and he'll only get two when he tries to qualify for the Olympics. As a fan, however, I'm still living the dream, watching that sweet stroke come together for one more try.