Swimming World Record Holder’s Era Ends, Now He’s Our Local Hero

In the competitive world of sports, many world records last only a short time. ’s hold of the 200 metre world record lasted an amazing 13 years. It was the longest standing male record in the sport of . Which makes it a world record of a world record! 13 years was long enough for him to lower it five more times, earn Olympic gold, finish school, retire from the sport on top, develop other interests, move to the Cayman Islands and develop a new water-related profession. Barrowman first broke the world record in August of 1989 in Los Angeles. Later that month he lowered a bit in , Japan. Nearly a year later, in Seattle, WA he lowered it again. Then twice more in 1991, in Perth, Australia and Ft Lauderdale, FL. Then finally in July of 1992 at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain earning Olympic Gold. That was the one that stuck. An amazing 2:10.16. and stuck and stuck. And stuck and stuck and stuck. Barrowman has said many times he was surprised his reign lasted as long as it did. ‘Long overdue to be broken,’ was his attitude. Even at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, with the pool built to be fast and the new full body suits, it didn’t happen.

Barrowman had the benefit of inspired coaching in his journey to the top. Josef Nagy was a major force behind his success, before and after his time at University. Under Michigan’s legendary he earned NCAA titles and an NCAA record that stood for over eight years. After the Olympics, Mike and coach Nagy traveled to small towns across the U.S. talking to people who had never seen an Olympic Gold Medallist and visiting swim teams in places as remote as rural Alaska. As always, swimming was a means to an end. The clinics were about meeting new people, seeing new places, and showing Hungarian born Nagy the USA. Barrowman also spent a year as an assistant coach while finishing his degree (BA English Lit, U Michigan 1993). Swimming at high levels builds an ability to commit and a desire for excellence that translates to other areas of life. Barrowman then took up kayaking and after 18 months was a contender, earning a spot as an alternate on the U.S. Olympic kayak team.

In 1996 he was invited to Grand Cayman, as the medallist for Stingray Swim Club’s Gold Medal Swim Camp. He fell in love with Cayman and decided to try life here for a while. A job as a divemaster evolved to underwater videographer. In 2000, Shane Foster, President of CIASA (Cayman Islands Amateur Swim Assoc), at a swim meet in Jamaica, asked him to help with the languishing masters program. Even though he was working long hours producing, taping and editing video’s, he agreed. The program has blossomed under Mike’s tutelage. Today, Mike spends most of his time building a business that produces an award-winning series of children’s educational underwater videos, ‘Under the Waves’. His quest for excellence has continued in the caliber of the videos. The series has already won two big awards, a ‘Telly’ for excellence in children’s programming, and most recently was named ‘best educational series’ at the Yellowstone Film Festival. He occasionally helps National Coach David Kelsheimer with Cayman’s shockingly successful age-group program. Sometimes just by listening. A master of low-key, young swimmers know a role model when they see one. In March 2002, the challenger and heir apparent, American breaststroker Ed Moses, visited Cayman. CIASA held a lovely evening fund-raiser, that allowed many (including Sports Minister Dr Frank McField) to witness the magic moment when Moses first met Barrowman. Moses later confessed to being tongue-tied. But it wasn’t Moses that broke the record. Twenty year old Japanese went 2:09.97 Wednesday Oct 2nd at the Asian Games in South Korea. Japan is elated.

Cayman’s wide range of swimmers (age-groupers to masters, pool and open-water, tri-athletes and purely recreational) and his many friends did not allow the end of the era to pass unrecognized. Dismayed at first by the news that arrived electronically to those that subscribe to one of the many swim newsletters, word on the island quickly spread. Mike has more admirers than he may have realized. Hockey’s Wayne Gretzky has been described as ‘not remarkable to look at, not big or brawny, but your favorite- neighbor type, and then he’s a great sports star, maybe one of the greatest ever’. That’s what having Mike live in Cayman amongst us is like. As the realization of the enormity of the longevity of his dominance began to sink in, the Cayman swimming community wanted to acknowledge it. And it would have to be a surprise, as Mike wouldn’t want a fuss. Masters swimming was scheduled for that night, immediately following a large group of young age-group swimmers. Poolside (where else?) would be the time and place. A cake with a photo of Mike winning the Olympic Gold and the words: ‘Mike, 1989-2002 World Record Holder 13 years. #1 in our hearts forever” was presented. Kids crowded round for cake and photos. A little girl gave him hugs, a stuffed animal and her own little speech about ‘remarkable achievement in sports’. Mums arrived for pick-up and were shocked to find there was a world record holder in their midst and they knew nothing about it. After the kids left, the Masters produced a bottle of 1989 champagne, posed for some photos of their own. Mike seemed kind of pleased, kind of overwhelmed. Finally he pronounced, “alright, enough. Get in the water”. A last joke, the Masters changed all their swim intervals to 2:10. Mike Barrowman still holds the Olympic record. And he is # 1 in our hearts.

Overheard exiting the Lions pool Thursday night, a mother to a young ‘nurse shark’ swimmer: Mom: You’ve got cake behind your ear, wipe that off. You still have to eat dinner you know. Boy: That was cool!!! Mom: I didn’t know there was a world record holder here and that you know him! Boy: “MO-OM, that’s MIKE BARROWMAN!” (as in ‘don’t you know anything?’). “He’s nice. He’s in that TV thing. That was THE DOG.”