Theresa Ashton: Team pride is on display at the Olympic Trials pool.
Noelle Minck
I first met Theresa Ashton behind the starting blocks at the 2023 Polar Bear Swim Meet at the University of Arizona pool. Her competitive spirit and serious focus on her upcoming race impressed me, since this was my first U.S. Masters Swimming meet competing for the SaddleBrooke Swim Club (SBSC), and I was hesitant about what to expect. I later learned I had underestimated her age at the time by at least a decade, but my first impression was that she was in her 70s, because she was so feisty. Since then, we have practiced and competed together, chatted, and become friends. Theresa is highly motivated to stay in good physical shape and to meet others who compete in her age group (80-84 years old). She and her friends want to inspire others to “jump in and enjoy the sport of swimming.” She believes it is paramount to “show one can be aged, strong, and still have fun.”
Although she has swum competitively for only five years, Theresa is no stranger to national competition and recognition. Her first U.S. Masters Swimming Nationals was long course (one length = 50 meters) and held in Virginia. There she clinched a national champion title in the 50 butterfly. Her second national championship meet was in Irvine, Calif., in 2023. She did well individually but is especially proud that, as a member of two mixed relays representing Arizona, she helped set two national records in their team age group. In addition, Theresa is the first woman from SaddleBrooke Swim Club to become an All-American swimmer. That means that she is the best female swimmer in the nation in her age group in the 50 butterfly.
It is obvious that this last Nationals held in Indianapolis, Ind., in July of 2024 is her favorite. She gushed to me that she “could not pass up this meet, as I’ll have a hometown crowd,” as she is an Indiana University (IU) alumni, where the competition was held. Theresa is a born Hoosier and was especially tickled that the Olympic swimming trials would be held simultaneously nearby. Through a special deal with U.S. Masters Swimming, she was able to swim in the Olympic Trials pool. She reported, “It was the best pool I’ve ever encountered,” and “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Since Theresa was in school before the passage of Title IX, she was only allowed to join the synchronized swim club. There were no high school or collegiate teams for the ladies at that time. Theresa maintained her love of swimming by working as a lifeguard at local lakes throughout high school and college. She recalls working out with the IU men’s team, coached by the legendary Doc Councilman (Mark Spitz’s coach), prior to the 1964 Olympics. Now, U.S. Masters Swimming provides her the opportunity to compete in a sport she has always loved.
Theresa loves SaddleBrooke swimming and its coaches and members. She appreciates the support and new friends swimming has brought her. Her belief that she should “eat healthy, keep mentally and physically fit, and to challenge oneself to new experiences” has led her to begin the new journey swimming competitively provides. “As a retired physical therapist, I know movement is key to maintaining youth and function. No rocking chairs allowed.”