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At an age where most retirees are doing well to simply maintain mobility, 96-year-old Willard “Wink” Lamb is traipsing across the country on a regular basis, swimming a mile’s worth of laps daily and breaking age-related national and international swim records. Holding 91 world records and more than 150 national records, the 96-year-old is a member of the Southern Oregon Masters Aquatics swim team. He recently returned from the 2018 international Pan American Masters Championships, where he reaped another slew of records, including a best time for the 200 freestyle in which he broke his own record by 2 seconds, finishing in 4:04.74 despite getting tangled with a lane line. The Orlando, Florida event marked the first international meet among the 90 meets he has competed in. While his focus is to have fun and stay active, the records are a source of admitted pride for the near centenarian who didn’t learn to swim until he was almost a teen. Born Christmas Eve, 1922, with his twin brother Millard, Lamb’s early swim experience came from lakes and shallow rivers. “We swam in Lake Sacajawea. I was 12 years old and I decided, ‘I think I’ll try to overhand swim, I guess.’ I’d go as far as I could with one breath, then do it again and again. That was in 1935.” When Lamb was a high school freshman in 1937 and already playing basketball, a school coach only a few years his senior, Andrew Holden, invited him try out for the swim team. Holden, who died in 2012 and held 24 lifetime swim records, would become Lamb’s lifelong mentor. One of Lamb’s first records came at R.A. Long High School in Longview — he swam for distance and his brother Millard was on the dive team. That record is still a source of pride — and might never be broken. “When I started in high school, freshman year, I knew a lot of kids don’t start out swimming distance. I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll make my letter if I can swim 220,” Lamb recalled. “In 1940, during high school, I set the 220-freestyle record. After I got out of the service, I found out they’re not swimming the 220 anymore. Now it’s just 200. I guess I’ll get to keep that record.” While excited to continue swimming during his college career, Lamb left after his first year of college, following the bombing of Pear Harbor. He first worked to build dry docks for the government — earning $1.20 an hour for 60 hours each week — but was soon drafted into the Army’s first Airborne Division and served three years in the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Following his time in the Army, Lamb, a carpenter by trade, returned home and would spend 52 years working primarily for a plywood co-op. Retiring in 2002 at age 80, Lamb focused on his late wife’s health and staying active. In a twist of fate, he reconnected with Holden, who encouraged him to return to swimming competitively, which he did beginning in 2006. Lamb’s coach, Ashland-based Matt Miller, said Lamb is an inspiration to swimmers half his age. Miller is amazed that Lamb, while living with his adult son, Doug, still drives himself to meets around the U.S. “He swam five kilometers in May in Eugene,” said Miller. “It took a little over two hours. He just kept at it. Not a lot of people can even do that. This is a guy who grew up swimming in creeks and rivers. They didn’t even have goggles or special gear when he swam in college. He’s an inspiration to be around. He never complains and he’s so positive and so excited about whatever he’s doing.” While experienced at distance swimming, Willard admitted the 5k was a lot of time in water, noting, “I consider that one of my worst swims. It was also my longest. I was so impatient to just get it over with … 100 laps.” Friendly and humbled by the chance to still swim in his mid-90s, Lamb estimates he has held 91 world records and 153 national records during his lifetime. Admiration between coach and swimmer is mutual. “Matt was swimming next to me (during the 5k) and he did a 10k. He’s twice as fast as I am. He’s the swimmer,” Lamb said, attributing good old-fashioned luck and decent health for his ability to keep swimming. “I guess I have been fortunate enough that I am reasonably agile, but like anyone else my age if I sit down for a while, I get up and I’m pretty stiff,” he said. “But then I walk around a little while and I’m alright. I’ve been active my entire life. That’s the trick, I guess. Just keep on moving.” In September, Lamb will be honored as one of the year’s top 12 World Masters Swimmers of 2017 at the International Master Swimming Hall of Fame. For more on the Southern Oregon Masters Aquatics organization, see http://somaswim.org . Reach freelance writer Buffy Pollock at [email protected] .