Kurt Olzmann
Current Age Group: 74-79. I will age up to 80-84 in 2025 and will once again be able to challenge my CA friend, Mike Freshley.
Team you are a part of: BK Training Systems
When did you start competitively swimming? I started at age 8. My parents both came from Germany and were members of a Detroit German/American Club, the Detroit Turners. My father competed in gymnastics and I wanted to do the same. I struggled for 4-5 years. I had no sense of balance since I could not hear in my right ear or see with my right eye. So reluctantly I started swimming competitively for the Detroit Turners. I continued swimming competitively afterwards in High School and then took a sabbatical from swimming until 2008 when I started swimming again at the Older Persons Commission in Rochester. I began swimming competitively through the Michigan Senior Olympics (MSO) in 2010. I was honored to be elected to the MSO Hall of Fame 2018.
How long have you been in Michigan Masters? I began swimming with the Michigan Masters 2012. A former Detroit Turner swimmer and friend, Frank Cody, found me and encouraged me to join him to go after the SCY 65+ U.S. Masters Swimming 400 Medley Relay record early 2012. I swam the breaststroke leg and he did the fly. We nailed the record…by a couple tenth of a second.
What is your favorite swim event/race? My favorite swim event is any breaststroke.
So far, what was your favorite Masters Swim Meet? The 2023 Michigan Masters State Championship meet at the Holland Aquatic Center in April. I swam and won 5 events (50yd all strokes and the 100IM) pain free 6 weeks after some minor knee surgery. Needless to say the breaststroke whip kick wasn’t the best.
What is your favorite set? After cool down, I like doing 2 to 4 50yd swims. The first 25yd is an easy swim followed by a 25yd timed sprint after about a 30 second rest. Each sprint is a different stroke.
What is something you need to improve or constantly working on in the pool? I want to get back to swimming the 200IM. The fly requires the most work. The underwater dolphin has progressed. I have to work on the arms now. And of course, coordinating them with the kick.
What are your big swim goal(s)? My swim goal is to stay healthy and swim well into my 90s. I have been fortunate to beat prostrate cancer and I’m in remission from CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia). The chemo treatments for CLL really sapped my strength, but it’s coming back gradually.
Favorite swim Olympian? By far Dara Torres.
What do you like to do outside the pool? I like gardening, reading, and sea cruises. During the football season, I enjoy stretching out on the couch with a good book with the game on TV and on mute and soft music in the background…and then typically falling asleep.