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Grain Valley, MO —
Don Yellman has been swimming since he was a high schooler in California back in 1965. But about six months ago, he decided to kick things up a notch.
The 62-year-old Grain Valley resident works out regularly at the Lee’s Summit Aquatic Center. At the start of the year he decided – after some encouragement from swimming buddy Dave Noble of Belton – to join the Missouri Valley Masters Swimming team.
This wasn’t Yellman’s first foray into competitive swimming – he competed regularly in the early ’90s before health issues forced him to give it a temporary break. But after about three months of training, Yellman competed in a Masters swim meet at the Lee’s Summit Aquatic Center in April and qualified for nationals in Omaha, Neb.
From July 5-8, Yellman proved himself as one of the top senior swimmers in the country while helping his squad to a third-place finish. In a meet that featured 1,257 swimmers, Yellman left with seven medals – including one for his first-place finish in his age group in the 50-meter freestyle.
Yellman said that performance surprised even him.
“On a personal level, I thought I was doing OK,” he said. “But when you get to the level of nationals and you’re swimming against the top swimmers in the country, I really didn’t think I would be coming in first in the 50 free. ... But like with a lot of athletes, I think it’s all in preparation and training and the nutrition and that you take care of yourself.”
That prep work was something Yellman paid a great deal of attention to. His routine included five workouts per week. He also made major adjustments to his diet, cutting way back on the Diet Cokes and sugars. That helped him drop his weight from 190 pounds to about 182.
“It helped me,” he said. “It really did. Even now, since I lost that weight I’m trying to keep it off. It makes me feel a lot better.”
Individually, Yellman’s progress has been impressive enough. But he’s quick to note the team’s success, finishing second among local teams. He called the meet a reason “for the entire group to really celebrate.”
And that collective joy was one of the biggest reasons Yellman decided to start taking swimming more seriously in the first place.
“It’s been a great opportunity for me to meet new people and get some camaraderie,” he said. “I met a lot of great people up in Omaha who I’ve never met before, so I think probably the biggest reason I got back into it is for the conditioning and to meet new people, make some new friends.”
Don Yellman has been swimming since he was a high schooler in California back in 1965. But about six months ago, he decided to kick things up a notch.
The 62-year-old Grain Valley resident works out regularly at the Lee’s Summit Aquatic Center. At the start of the year he decided – after some encouragement from swimming buddy Dave Noble of Belton – to join the Missouri Valley Masters Swimming team.
This wasn’t Yellman’s first foray into competitive swimming – he competed regularly in the early ’90s before health issues forced him to give it a temporary break. But after about three months of training, Yellman competed in a Masters swim meet at the Lee’s Summit Aquatic Center in April and qualified for nationals in Omaha, Neb.
From July 5-8, Yellman proved himself as one of the top senior swimmers in the country while helping his squad to a third-place finish. In a meet that featured 1,257 swimmers, Yellman left with seven medals – including one for his first-place finish in his age group in the 50-meter freestyle.
Yellman said that performance surprised even him.
“On a personal level, I thought I was doing OK,” he said. “But when you get to the level of nationals and you’re swimming against the top swimmers in the country, I really didn’t think I would be coming in first in the 50 free. ... But like with a lot of athletes, I think it’s all in preparation and training and the nutrition and that you take care of yourself.”
That prep work was something Yellman paid a great deal of attention to. His routine included five workouts per week. He also made major adjustments to his diet, cutting way back on the Diet Cokes and sugars. That helped him drop his weight from 190 pounds to about 182.
“It helped me,” he said. “It really did. Even now, since I lost that weight I’m trying to keep it off. It makes me feel a lot better.”
Individually, Yellman’s progress has been impressive enough. But he’s quick to note the team’s success, finishing second among local teams. He called the meet a reason “for the entire group to really celebrate.”
And that collective joy was one of the biggest reasons Yellman decided to start taking swimming more seriously in the first place.
“It’s been a great opportunity for me to meet new people and get some camaraderie,” he said. “I met a lot of great people up in Omaha who I’ve never met before, so I think probably the biggest reason I got back into it is for the conditioning and to meet new people, make some new friends.”
