ISHOF HALL OF FAMER TIM GARTON PASSES AWAY
FORT LAUDERDALE, TIM GARTON passed
away early Monday morning at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, KS, with his
wife Mara at his side. He was 73 years old.
Tim courageously battled cancer the last 25 years of his life and was
one of the most dominant swimmers in the history of Masters Swimming. In 1997, Tim, along with Gail Roper, were the
first two Masters Swimmers to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall
of Fame.
Tim learned to swim at age two and a half in Elkhart,
Wisconson and joined an AAU program in high school, but his first opportunity
to train in a serious program when he attended Yale University from 1960 to
1964. Yale workouts were approximately 2,000 yards in distance and represented
a 500% increase over his minimal high school program. While his times improved
greatly at Yale, and twice earned All-American status on relays, he failed in
his dream to make the 1964 Olympic team.
Working
as a real estate developer in Vail, Colorado, in 1972, Tim read about the
results of the Masters National Championships and decided to train for the 1973
championships in the 25-29 age group. He was the surprise newcomer, winning
three events and setting the first of hundreds of national and world records as
he aged up.
In
1991, Tim was diagnosed with lymphoma, considered an incurable cancerous
disease of the lymph system. During chemotherapy and radiation treatments, he
continued to train at reduced levels. When his cancer was declared in
remission, in August 1991, some of the doctors credited his devotion to
swimming as being largely responsible. In 1992, he started competing again and,
in the FINA World Masters Championships in Indianapolis, he won his 100th
national and international victory by winning the 100-meter freestyle.
“The Fox lived his life
fully,” says Hall of Famer and Olympic gold medalist Steve Clark. “He was one
of my best friends for the last 55 years, and on a regular basis kicked my ass
in Masters swimming through every age group we entered….At Yale, he took me
under his wing and taught me the virtues of wine, women and song…If ever there
was a man whose life can be described by a baseball metaphor, he was that man:
after rounding the bases at full speed, at the end he slid into home plate full
of dirt and grime collected from having played the game to the very upmost. He
will be missed.”
“We’ve
lost one of the fastest post-college swimmers ever,” says the legendary Olympic
and Masters Swimming Hall of Famer Jeff Farrell. “Tim could never catch Steve at Yale but
clobbered him constantly years later, with many national and world record
swims. He was a special person to watch and to be with. Steve’s
description was an admiring – and accurate – memory of a special guy.”
“He loved swimming,” says Yale Alum Greg Lawler. “He loved his
family, loved his friends, and loved his stories, most of them involving
swimming. He was particularly proud of one – about swimming against
his best friend Steve Clark. Steve had
set the world record in the 100 free at the Tokyo Olympics, but at a masters
meet in Japan years later, with both swimming absurdly fast for not young people Tim beat Steve in a 100 race.. When asked by a reporter asked how he had beat
Steve, he answered –‘some people age like fine wine, others like a ripe
banana.’ Tim was very proud of that insult, proof of his affection for
Steve.”
“Tim
always seemed a bit larger than life,” says Masters Swimming Hall of Fame
Contributor Phil Whitten, ”a Rabelaisian figure who always had time for friends
and was happy to help out the sport he loved. Never bound by conventional
expectations, he had no intention of quitting swimming when he was diagnosed
with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma 25 years ago and told he’d never be able to compete
at the elite Masters level again. Tim never bought that prognosis and in
short order was winning gold in the Masters World Championships.”
Tim
was passionate about his love for swimming and he will be missed.