World Records On The Unconventional Path: Doug Springer, EP 306

Doug Springer is 80 years old, but looks and swims like he's 20 years younger. He joins us to unpack the swims that led to four world records, including a jaw-dropping 400 IM where he took 17 seconds off the world mark and cleared the national record by 35. If you love masters swimming, training for longevity, or simply want proof that performance doesn’t expire, this conversation delivers real fuel.

We dig into the details that make Doug’s approach so fascinating. He’s a self-described breaststroker, yet he leans into unconventional solutions across strokes, including breaststroke kick during butterfly and a double-arm backstroke paired with that same kick. The bigger takeaway isn’t “break the rules,” it’s “know your strengths,” then build technique you can repeat under fatigue while protecting your shoulders and joints. For adult swimmers and older athletes, that mindset can be the difference between plateau and progress.

Doug also shares a practical, repeatable masters swim training rhythm: sprint-focused days, distance-focused days, and a realistic weekly schedule built around work and recovery. We talk favourite sets, why 50s are a staple for many older swimmers, and how he helped build a thriving masters program in a retirement community, using USMS Adult Learn to Swim to welcome beginners and dual meets to make racing feel inviting. If you’ve ever wondered how to stay fast, connected, and motivated in the pool for decades, press play.

Subscribe for more stories and coaching-grade tips, share this with a lane mate, and leave a review if the show helps you swim and live better. What’s one part of your training you’d change to swim strong for life?

Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

You can learn more about the Host and Founder of Champions Mojo at www.KellyPalace.com

Transcript

Record-Breaking Opening Moments

SPEAKER_02 0:00

I broke the world record by 17 seconds. It broke the national record by 35 seconds. And I do a double arm backstroke with a dress through kick.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hello, friends. Welcome to the Champions Mojo podcast, where we bring you interviews and topics to help you live well and swim well, conversations especially meaningful for master swimmers and anyone striving to perform better in the water or in life. We're here to champion you. And now your host, Kelly Palace.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

I'm here with Doug Springer. Doug, give us your team, your age, and where are we and what are we doing?

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Okay, we're at the long distance meet in Oro Valley, Arizona. And we are the club that's putting it on is Saddlebrook Swim Club from Saddlebrook, Arizona.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

And are you from are you on the Saddlebrook team?

SPEAKER_02 0:55

I started the Saddlebrook team in 2003. Uh and it was head coach for 20 years and then gave it up after that. Just an assistant coach now.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

So what is your age?

SPEAKER_02 1:08

I'm 80 for meters. For meters, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

And you uh I I told was told that you got five world records at rowdy games.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

No, I got four.

unknown 1:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Four. And to me, it panned out very well because the first day was the 400 IM. Um and I broke the world record by 17 seconds. It broke the national record by 35 seconds.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Wow. Okay, so also tell us a little bit about your unconventional butterfly and backstroke during these world records.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Yeah, basically, I'm a breaststroker. I am her, but it's so nice to be able to do breaststroke kick during the butterfly, which I do. Then I do a double arm backstroke with a breaststroke kick. And then of course I do breaststroke, and I wish I could do it for freestyle, but I have to swim flutter kick.

Training Schedule And Weekly Volume

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Oh, that would be an interesting stroke, right? Freestyle arms with a breaststroke kick.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Tell us a little bit about your training regimen.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

I just train being this age, we train sprints on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and we train more distance on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. But I work Saturday, Sunday, so I only practice four days a week, take Wednesday off.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

So how much uh yardage are you doing on those days?

SPEAKER_02 2:25

I'm doing 2,500 to 3,000 a day, so it's not too bad.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

What are you working at at 80?

SPEAKER_02 2:31

What am I working at?

SPEAKER_01 2:32

You said you work on Saturday and Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

All right, I work for the HOA. We used to open swimming pools and get those straightened up, but I do maintenance as well, too.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Wow, that is so cool. What would be one of your very favorite sets?

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Very favorite set. You know, I'm basically at this age, and I think other swimmers of my age like to do a bunch of 50s. So sit different sets of 50s are fine by me. Uh, we try to stay with 50s on freestyle, and then every once in a while odd stroke, but and then 25's odd stroke on short rest interval.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Okay. Um what if you could have lunch with an Olympic swimmer, who would it be?

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Well, I know quite a few Olympic swimmers.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Yeah, I mean, they can be a historic.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

It'd be nice to sit down with Don Scholander for once because he's my age. So we'll see, you know, how he stands out at that age. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Uh and is there anything that you've learned over 20 years of being a master's coach and that you might want to share with the masters community?

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Actually, I've been a master's coach. Uh, I started swimming in six, I mean coaching in 65. Oh, wow. Okay. So it's been over 60 years of coaching. And it started with age group, and then I I coached the PM Games in 71 for Puerto Rico. And I coached with Bill Campbell at the University of Maryland, and um, and I coached Galliadek College, which is a school for the deaf in Washington, D.C. And that was interesting too. But, you know, basically starting a team, this is a retirement community, and everybody pretty much is the older sets, and it's it's kind of fun watching them start, and we have a let's swim program that gets you started. Uh we have all the alts at Adult Learn to Swim Program through USMS. Uh, and then we just bring them into our practices, and we have about 120 on the team, and our average age is probably 72, 73.

Dual Meets And Community Competition

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Wow, you have 120, and your average age is 72. Do these uh do they do meets?

SPEAKER_02 4:35

Yeah, well, about 40 of them do. About 40 of them do. Um, we we also have like with Jeff Cummings' team, Dolphins of the Desert, we're gonna have a dual meet with them to get our beginner people into a dual meet scenario. And we have two other dual meets, one named after Jack Fritz, who's here swimming now, he's 93. Uh, and the other one is under Glenn Peterson, who passed away a couple of years ago.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

So, how far is Jeff Cummings from here?

SPEAKER_02 5:03

Jeff practices in this pool.

Why This Distance Meet Matters

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Oh my gosh, I love Jeff. He's been on uh Champions Mojo a couple of times. He's got one of the most popular uh shows that we've ever had on tapering. And uh, I didn't realize that this is where he was because we're, you know, we're from Florida, we're here visiting at your beautiful facility. Give us a pitch on why everybody should come back and do your meet next year.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

I think it's just a great opportunity to for distance swimmers, especially. Um we started this uh I think hang on for a second. Bill Brenner met with Jack, Jack and I, and we started putting this meet together. The first one was 2018, and then COVID hit. We we kind of fell apart a little bit, but we're building it back up again. But we decided this would be a great thing for distant swimmers because distance swimmers don't get a lot of pool time. Usually you go to a meet, you say, well, you can swim the 800 or you can swim the the 1500 if you're meters or you know sixteen to it's just an opportunity for you to get away this time of year, and it's a good opportunity for people that are aging up to also have a good shot at law enforcement meters.

SPEAKER_01 6:14

Yes, yeah. Distance swimmers, we go to a national, so you have to swim the mile and and the six thousand on the same day, and then you're kind of trash for the rest of the meeting. So this is great. Well, thank you so much for spending this time and uh good luck with all your records and look forward to seeing you at another meet.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

Okay, dude. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Thank you for listening to the Champions Mojo podcast. Would you consider leaving us a five star review on Apple? That's like getting a best time for us. Kelly and our team would be so grateful. See you next week for another boost of mojo.