Britta Daubersmith gets in the swim of things

Randal C. Hill

50plus Magazine

 

Oregon City athlete Britta Daubersmith grew up in Ketchikan, Alaska. At age eight, she followed her three older brothers into swimming in the local pool. “In our small town, it was one of the few sports available year-round, and something my brothers

and I could all do together,” she explains.

Traveling to neighboring towns for swim meets required taking a ferry as no roads or bridges reached them. “It might take our team two days to get to a weekend meet. Once we got there, we were housed with other swimmers’ families for the week. Our coaches held school onboard the ferries.”

 

Britta swam throughout high school and in her first year at Lewis and Clark College in Portland. After that, she quit for many years, as work (teaching elementary school) and family demanded her time and attention. When she was 43, her daughter was born. Daubersmith’s back  kept going out because her child “was one of those lovely chunky babies who liked to be carried around.” Then, Britta’s father conquered a potentially fatal illness. His doctors credited his survival to always staying in top physical shape.

 

“Those two things were a sign that it was time to do something about my own aging body,” says Britta. “I began going to the Oregon City pool in the mornings to swim with the Tankers, a small master’s team made up in almost equal parts triathletes, fitness swimmers and those training to swim in meets.”

 

Now, at most meets, she swims backstroke and individual-medley events. “My favorite is the 200 back, which I think is the perfect combination of grueling and interesting: too much kick at the beginning and you lose your legs; too little and your splits [intermediate times] are uneven. I’m constantly trying to find the balance.”

 

Britta will participate in this summer’s Oregon Senior Games for the third time, along with some of her Tankers teammates. Her best memory from last year was having her 14-year-old daughter working as a games volunteer.

 

Britta’s parting message?

 

“Put the Oregon Senior Games on your calendar now, register to participate, and commit to working toward that goal. It can be difficult to try new things, especially as we age and get set in our ways.

 

“Sometimes, when I try something new, it scares me, and I think of all the reasons I shouldn’t do it. If this happens to you, ignore that voice. You’ll have fun if you do.”

 

 

Randal C. Hill, fulfilling a dream of living on the Oregon coast, writes about old rock ‘n’ roll hits and little-known ’60s trivia.