81 Year Old Beth Carey To Be Inducted Into International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame

The International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF) is proud to announce that Beth Carey, USA,  will be inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2018 during the IMSHOF Induction ceremonies in Jacksonville, Florida, Friday evening, September 28, 2018.

The induction will be held in conjunction with the United States Aquatic Sports convention.

Carey has been a member of the Ramapo (New York/New Jersey) Aqua Masters since the team’s inception.  Now in her 80’s, she began swimming with the team at age 45, and has competed in the U.S. Masters Nationals since 1983. In 1992, she made her first trip to a Masters World Championship, when it was held in Indianapolis, and earned her first two World Championship gold medals. She has competed in eight Fina Masters World Championships winning 20 medals.  She has also competed in Masters World Games, Pan Pacific Masters, Pan American Masters and Canadian National Championships.

Carey has been the Aqua Masters team representative since 1994 and has been active with the overall structure of USA Synchro’s Masters program, including being a Masters Athlete representative one year at the USAS Convention. When the team looked like it might not survive, Carey was the constant that kept the team going.

Carey swam water ballet with Cortland State Teacher’s College (now SUNY at Cortland) and was quoted as saying, “There is no comparison between the water ballet of my college years with synchronized swimming of today.”  Carey got a degree in Physical Education from Cortland State Teacher’s College in 1959 which is now SUNY (state university of New York) at Cortland. We had a water ballet club based on Esther Williams swimming.  She was elected to the Cortland College Hall of Fame in 2000 for swimming as a sport for life.  Beth also won the Mae McEwan Award in 2006, which is an award given to “Someone who has made Outstanding Contributions to and best exemplifies the spirit of Masters synchronized swimming.”

Continuing to swim as much as possible, she recently received a clean bill of health after a battle with Pancreatic Cancer. She credits synchronized swimming for her good health and for giving her the energy she needs for her five children, 22 grandchildren and seven great-grands.

“Exercise,” Carey says, “is the most important thing as you age.” Now, at 81, she is still in fantastic shape. “I know that the swimming plus daily exercise is keeping me healthy as I am in my 80’s. My goal is to compete into my 90’s.”

Carey will be inducted as part of a group of nine (9) outstanding individuals will be inducted at the IMSHOF’s annual ceremony. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront in conjunction with the 2018 United States Aquatic Sports XXXVIX Convention.

The prestigious IMSHOF class of 2018 includes four swimmers, two divers, one synchronized swimmer, one water polo player and one contributor, from five (5) different countries: the USA, Austria, Germany, Brazil and Japan:

SWIMMER INDUCTEES: MAURINE KORNFELD (USA), HITOMI MATSUDA (JPN), MARCUS MATTIOLI (BRA), JURGEN SCHMIDT (USA),
DIVER INDUCTEES: MARY BENNETT (USA), IRMTRAUD BOHN (AUT)
SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER INDUCTEE: BETH CAREY (USA),
WATER POLO PLAYER INDUCTEE: WOLF-RÜDIGER SCHULZ (GER)
CONTRIBUTOR INDUCTEE: WALT REID (USA)

In addition to honoring the IMSHOF Honorees, ISHOF will be recognizing Swimming World Magazine’s Top Ten Masters Swimmers from 2017.

Swimming World Magazine‘s Top Twelve Masters Swimmers for 2017 are: Men – Rick Colella (USA), Sergey Geybel (RUS), Nicolas Granger (FRA), Karl Hauter (GER), Willard Lamb (USA), and Darian Townsend (USA); Women – Noriko Inada (USA), Maurine Kornfeld (USA), Betty Lorenzi (USA), Karlyn Pipes (USA), Diann Uustal (USA), and Laura Val (USA).

The event is open to the public and free of charge. Book Your Hotel 

About IMSHOF
The purpose of the IMSHOF is to promote a healthy lifestyle, lifelong fitness and participation in adult aquatic programs by recognizing the achievements of individuals who serve as an example for others. To be considered, honorees must have participated in Masters programs through at least four different masters age groups and are qualified by an objective point system based on world records, world top 10 rankings and World Championship performances. The IMSHOF is a division of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more information, please visit: www.ishof.org

About ISHOF
The International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc. (ISHOF), established in 1965, is a not-for-profit educational organization located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. Recognized by FINA, the International Olympic Committee’s recognized governing body for the aquatic sports in 1968, its mission is to preserve the history of swimming, celebrate the heroes, promote the benefits and importance of swimming as a key to fitness, good health, quality of life, and the water safety of all children and adults, and connect older generations of swimmers to youth.

For more information, call Meg-Keller-Marvin at 570 584-4367 or e-mail: meg@ishof.org