Ron Armstrong sets world swimming record

Pictured is Ron Armstrong, originally from Ingersoll and now a resident of New Hamburg, with the gold medal he won in the 400-metre individual medley at the Ontario Masters Swimming Championship on Apr. 25-27 in Markham. Armstrong’s time of 6:20.44 set a new world record in the men’s 75-79 division. (Contributed Photo)

Spencer Seymour, Echo Contributor

Ron Armstrong, a Masters Swimming competitor originally from Ingersoll who now resides in New Hamburg, added eight Canadian records and his first world record to his storied swimming career earlier this year.

According to Armstrong, swimming has been a constant and central part of his life.

“My dad loved to swim, so I basically grew up swimming,” Armstrong told the Echo. “My two brothers, Ken and Jim, and I were always around the Maude Wilson Memorial Pool in Ingersoll. It was our babysitter all summer long. All three of us were on the local swim team. It was just a summer playground-type swim team, as we had no indoor pool at that time. When we became teenagers, I went to Woodstock to swim on their YMCA team, and Ken became a diver. My mom sacrificed a lot of sleep, waking up at 5:30 in the morning to drive me to Charles Street in Ingersoll and I would hitch-hike from there to Woodstock. Ken went on to become a Canadian Olympic Diver and Olympic Coach in both Canada and the USA.”

During his teenage years, Armstrong detailed how he could have moved away from swimming, but for one phone call from the man who first taught him how to swim.

“One day that changed my whole life with regards to swimming was when I was in high school and turning 16. I had applied for a job at the Voyager restaurant on the 401, which is now called OnRoute, in between Woodstock and Ingersoll, and a lot of high school kids would work out there, pumping gas or waiting on tables. I had applied for a summer job but didn’t hear back. Then, I received a call from Maude Wilson Swimming Pool manager, Buck Billings.

“Buck was the man who first taught me how to swim when I was a little kid, and he called me and explained how they were hiring one male and one female junior lifeguard,” continued Armstrong. “He asked if I would be interested in being the male junior lifeguard, and I said I was. The next day, I received a call from Voyager telling me I had the job with them, but even though they were offering more money, I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve already accepted another job.’”

This job offer proved to be a pivotal moment in his life, with Armstrong stating it “kept me in swimming.”

“If it hadn't been for the decision and I had gone to the Voyager restaurant to work, I don't know where I'd be today. I probably wouldn’t be swimming, so that one day made all the difference in my life. And through swimming, I met my wife, Marilyn, as she was a lifeguard at the St. Marys Quarry.”

Armstrong swam at the YMCA under coach Rick Coad for a couple of years. While finishing high school, he then trained under Bob Eynon at Western University before moving to Kalamazoo, Mich., to attend junior college. He was a five-time All-American swimming champion in college.

This led to a swimming scholarship at the University of Hawaii, where Armstrong spent one year. A disharmony between Armstrong and his swimming coach in Hawaii led to Armstrong leaving the school and moving to Trois-Rivières, Que., to work for Reynolds Aluminum.

“Swimming got me my first job out of university. I swam and lifeguarded in Ingersoll at the swimming pool with Wendy Connell. Wendy’s father worked for Reynolds Aluminum, and he had known me through Wendy and asked if I might be interested in interviewing for a sales job like his when I decided I wasn’t going back to the University of Hawaii.”

Armstrong spent a year and a half in Trois-Rivières before being transferred back to Toronto by Reynolds Aluminum, leading to a chance encounter in Armstrong’s apartment building that set the stage for one of the great passions of Armstrong’s life to resurface.

“I was living in an apartment building in Etobicoke that had a swimming pool, and I was just doing some laps, and there was a Toronto firefighter named Bob Tilley there,” Armstrong said. “Being a firefighter, they were allowed to come into different facilities and swim. I hadn’t swum in a couple of years at that point, and Bob suggested I come out and swim with the Etobicoke Masters’ Swim Club. And I’ve been swimming with them now for almost 50 years.”

As a member of the Etobicoke Olympium club, Armstrong travelled the world and added numerous medals and Canadian records to his swimming résumé, with his first appearance on the global stage ending with an upset victory for Armstrong.

“My first Masters World Championships was in 2006 at Stanford University,” noted Armstrong. “I was training hard. I got in very good shape. I won the 400-metre individual medley, which was a total shock to me. I wasn’t the favourite going into the race, but I swam very well and won. I beat the current record holder of the event. I was off the wall excited.”

Most recently, Armstrong set a combined eight new Canadian records in the 75-79-year-old men’s division at the Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic on Jan. 31-Feb. 2 in Orlando and the Ontario Masters Swimming Championship on Apr. 25-27 in Markham.

In Orlando, Armstrong set Canadian records in the 50-metre freestyle, 100-metre freestyle, 400-metre freestyle, and 100-metre individual medley.

Meanwhile, at the provincial championship, Armstrong’s Canadian records came in the 50-metre backstroke, 50-metre butterfly, 200-metre medley, and 400-metre individual medley.

The highlight was Armstrong’s 400-metre individual medley. His final time of 6:20.44 at the Ontario Masters Championship not only set a national benchmark but also set a new World Record for men aged 75-79. It is the first global best set by Armstrong, and was recently certified by the Lusanne, Switzerland-based World Aquatics as an official World Record.

“I was ecstatic about the world record,” Armstrong said, recounting his reactions as he finished the 400-metre individual medley. “I’ve never done that before. What was so exciting was that everybody knew I was after that record, and I happened to be in the outside lane, right beside where all my teammates were cheering me on. It’s not very often that you can hear cheering while you’re in the pool, but I could hear them cheering me on. When I touched the wall, it was elation, and I was just so ecstatic.”