A 9-Foot Gator Took Her Arm, But She Saw a Silver Lining and Maybe Angels: Rachael Lillienthal, Masters Swimmer, ENCORE EP 288
Outswim for Masters SwimmersShow Notes
What happens when a perfect Florida swim turns into a fight for your life from a 9-foot alligator grabbing onto your arm? In this riveting encore episode, Masters Swimmer Rachael Lilienthal takes us stroke by stroke through her 2015 alligator attack, the breath that steadied her in a death roll, and the unlikely chain of strangers who became heroes with a kayak paddle, a firm grip, and a medical-grade tourniquet. From river chaos to a trauma bay within an hour, the details are visceral, human...
More from Outswim for Masters Swimmers
Big news friends! Champions Mojo for Masters Swimmers is officially changing the name to the Outswim Podcast for Masters Swimmers. After eight incredible years, over 325 episodes, 9 podcasting awards, and more than 1 million downloads, we are officially evolving into Outswim for Masters Swimmers. What does it mean to Outswim? It’s more than dropping tenths of a second on the clock. It’s what happens when you dive in and choose to keep moving forward, we can: Outswim the age-curve: As we age o...
We talk with All-American masters swimmer and physical therapist, 55-year-old Margaret Conze, about the day she suffered a sudden stroke at a swim meet despite being in peak shape, and the split-second choice to call 911 that got her life-saving treatment in time. We also dig into the hidden causes behind unexpected health events in active adults, how she returned to racing even stronger, and what masters swimmers can do to train hard while staying health-aware. The subtle first warning signs...
Are you logging thousands of yards each week only to watch your pace stay frozen in time? Most masters swimmers and triathletes fall into the same trap: they try to engineer their stroke into looking smooth and effortless, yet they find themselves stuck grinding out laps at a single, unchanging speed. In this episode, we sit down with Brenton Ford, the mastermind behind Effortless Swimming. Having coached thousands of athletes worldwide—from beginners to elite triathletes and national champio...
What do you do when the body that carried you to Olympic Legend Status changes in the blink of an eye? How do you stop comparing yourself to the athlete you used to be and build unshakeable mental resilience in the face of life-altering obstacles? In this episode, six-time Olympic gold medalist Amy Van Dyken sits down with Kelly Palace to share how she completely redefined her identity, athletic drive, and relationship with her body after a traumatic 2014 ATV accident left her paralyzed from ...
Breaststroke is notorious for sidelining adult swimmers with groin, hip, and knee strain. But what if joint degradation isn't an inevitable part of competitive aging? How do you step away from the sport for 13 years, return at age 40, and capture 13 World Aquatics Masters titles and nine individual world records—all while racing the most joint-punishing stroke on the program? In this episode, City of Cardiff, Wales, UK, swimmer and Freestyle Media Podcast host Helen Gorman joins Kelly Palace ...