Making Waves at 70

By Frank Sodonis

This past April, I competed at the 2026 Ontario Masters Swimming Provincial Championships in Etobicoke. After being away from competition for nearly 10 years, the feeling of getting back into the pool was truly exhilarating. Reconnecting with old friends, coaches, and teammates brought back many wonderful memories. To top it all off, I was fortunate to be part of a Canadian record-breaking relay team alongside three incredibly inspirational teammates.

That experience inspired me to continue on to the 2026 Speedo Canadian Masters Championships in Windsor during the weekend of May 23. More than 700 swimmers from across Canada and the United States attended the event. I swim with Technosport Ottawa, a team that brought 35 athletes to compete. Masters Swimming Canada’s motto is “Fun, Fitness, and Friendship,” and all three were everywhere you looked throughout the weekend.

The friendships were especially meaningful. My best friend and neighbour completely surprised me by flying to Windsor just to cheer me on. Needless to say, the pressure was suddenly on!

One of the fun things about Masters Swimming is how relays are organized. In Masters relays, the combined ages of the swimmers determine the age category. Teams try to build the fastest relay possible while staying near the lower end of a 40-year age bracket.

At Provincials, I was the “youngster” at age 70 on our relay team that broke the Canadian record in the 320–360 age group. My teammates were 84, 84, and 85 years young.  At Nationals, the roles were reversed, and I became the “old guy” on each of my seven relays! On one relay team, my teammates were 33, 37, and 60 years old, placing us in the 200–240 age category.

By the end of the meet, I brought home to Lanark Highlands:

• 2 Silver Relay Medals 

• 4 Bronze Relay Medals 

• Individually, 3 Silver Medals and 1 Gold Medal 

• The Gold Medal came in the Men’s 70–74 50-Metre Backstroke.

One of the wonderful things about Masters Swimming is that you can compare your times with the all-time Canadian rankings for your age group. I am very proud to say that my performances at both Provincials and Nationals now rank between Top 6 and Top 10 all-time in Canada for events in my age group.

I admit that part of my motivation for writing this is to puff out my chest a little bit. But more importantly, I want to share this story with other seniors.

As we age, most of us experience setbacks, injuries, or health challenges along the way. Mine have included a serious ATV accident about 15 years ago that left me in the Trauma Unit in Ottawa for 10 days and wearing a clam-shell back brace for three months after suffering two breaks in my back. Three years ago, I underwent a heart ablation procedure, and 18 months ago I had arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery.

Life has a way of knocking us down from time to time.

But there is wisdom in the old saying, “Get back on the horse.”  Or maybe more relevant to life in the Highlands...get back in the Kayak after tipping over when the ice has only been gone for a week.

To me, it means facing setbacks, adjusting your mindset, and trying again.

As seniors, it is so important that we keep trying. Keep moving. Keep challenging ourselves in small ways every day. Those small daily efforts build confidence, strength, and purpose.

If there was something you loved doing when you were younger, don’t automatically set it aside forever. Don’t convince yourself that it is too late.

Maybe you can still do it. Maybe you can do it differently. But maybe... just maybe... you can surprise yourself.

I know I did.