A Life in the Fast Lane

Member Brent Barnes recounts his aquatic journey from Kansas toddler to Kyushu record-breaker.

Brent Barnes first made a splash at 3 years old.

“My parents threw me in the pool and told me to swim,” the Kansas native recalls. “They were swim coaches, so I guess it was in my DNA.”

That early introduction to the pool led to a scholarship to the University of Kansas, where Barnes became a Big Eight (now Big 12) conference champion in the men’s 50-yard freestyle.

Graduation saw him hang up his competition goggles, and he “stayed wet” to keep in shape. But in 1991, while at a community pool in Japan, a Japanese coach invited Barnes to join the local masters team.
Back to swimming regularly, he was immediately drawn to the pool when he joined the Club in 1998. For the past decade, he has divided his time between Tokyo and Singapore. And when he’s in town, he says he looks forward to diving into the Sky Pool.

“When I’m back for a week or two, I jump in,” he says. “It’s always good to get back and see [Sky Pool manager Haldane] Henry and the gang and run into people I’ve known over the years. It’s wonderful that we still have a great pool and great people working there.”

Like the Club’s aquatic scene, Barnes’ pace has improved over the years.

“I swam faster when I was 51 than I did when I was 21 and was a Big Eight champ,” he says. “My 50-meter time then was 24.13 [seconds]. At 51, it was 24.03.”

Improved performance, Barnes says, lies in his less-is-more approach to training.

“When I was at KU, we were swimming 12 kilometers a day,” he says. “Now I swim one or two. It’s higher quality. It’s just smarter. The mantra in so many sports is ‘more is better.’ But there’s a decreasing marginal return. Swimming 12 kilometers a day equates to Usain Bolt running a marathon every day, which he would never do.”

In August, Barnes, now 65, put his training methods to the test at the World Aquatics Masters Championships in Fukuoka. Eleven other Club swimmers also competed in events during the 10-day competition.

In the 50-meter freestyle, Barnes touched the wall in 26.35 seconds, setting a championship record for his age category (65 to 69). Of his previous 18 world records since 1998, two still stand—one in the ages 50 to 54 category and one for ages 55 to 59.

“It’s the same adrenaline rush that you felt as a child,” he says of his most recent win. “That doesn’t go away.”

Barnes’ competitive spirit also shows no sign of dimming, as he cites the achievement of Mieko Nagaoka, who set a world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle in 2015. She was 101.
So will he still be competing as a centenarian?

“I like to think I could, and it’d be fun,” he says. “The great thing about swimming is that there’s always the next race.”