100-year-old Canadian swimmer Betty Brussel continues to defy odds and break records
New Westminster, B.C., native is a reminder you're never too old to try something new
After an incredible summer of Canadian success in the pool at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, there is another swimmer who continues to defeat the odds and break records: New Westminster, B.C.'s Betty Brussel.
Brussel turned 100 years old in July and has been a source of inspiration and delight for people all around the world. Her story has been featured in media in the United States, Europe, and of course, here at home.
She is also the subject of a documentary by two Canadian filmmakers, Hannah Walsh and Emma Puchniak, who began a Kickstarter campaign to fund the film.
I had the pleasure of finding out about Brussel and wrote of her briefly January in Joy Drop after she broke three world records in the pool. She was 99 at the time.
I have loved swimming since I can remember. But for someone who is more than twice my age to be winning swimming meets and creating a perfect storm of delight in the swimming world, is truly spectacular.
WATCH | Brussel breaks trio of swimming records at 99 years old:
I wanted to know from Brussel whether she had that deep connection, too, and what kept her going in and out of the pool. For the purposes of this column, I reached out to Brussel through her coach, Dr. Linda Stanley Wilson.
Stanley Wilson advised me that Brussel could certainly chat on the phone but was proficient in email. I sent my questions ahead of time and then called Brussel.
Between subpar cellphone service and my tendency to speak too quickly, I realized it might be easier to email. I asked her if that was okay and she quickly replied, "Yes, I'm at home."
I emailed Brussel not really knowing whether she would reply that day or that week. About an hour later I got a wonderful response from her answering all my queries. That she navigated email that fast at a century old shouldn't have surprised me considering she is a phenom in the pool.
Brussel enjoys being part of the swimming community at the White Rock Wave Swim Club and told me that the 400-metre freestyle is her favourite. She also suggested I try it.
Brussel's journey to competitive swimming isn't traditional. She learned to swim in canals near her childhood home of Zaandam, just north of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. She explained how she and her siblings ventured into the placid waters when she was a kid.
"They were building a new bridge over the canal and bumped sand on the bottom and we just taught each other to swim," she said.
'Those were not easy years'
Brussel was the second born in a family with twelve children. In an interview, Brussel described how her parents took her out of school during World War II so she could help care for her younger siblings.
"Those were not easy years," she said. "We had to make sure we had enough food. That was our life and we didn't know any better."
She and her husband moved to Canada in 1959 and she found work as a seamstress. She and her husband raised three children, who are now 69, 72 and 74.
Brussel is also close to her siblings, nine of whom are still alive. Jan, her 92-year-old brother, lives in Salmon Arm, B.C., where Brussel went for a swimming meet in September at the 55+ BC Games hosted by the BC Senior Games Society.
Stanley Wilson told me that in addition to being a very coachable and dedicated athlete, Brussel also has a tradition of kissing dignitaries every time she wins a medal. "Kiss count for Salmon Arm: 9," Stanley Wilson told me.
Very impressive for someone who started swimming competitively at the age of 68, after she retired and her husband died.
She was always active but needed a new hobby. When I asked Brussel if there was an athlete who inspired her, she told me it was legendary B.C. swimmer Joan Parnell, who was four years younger than her and died in 2019.
"She [Parnell] gave me some advice and that really improved my freestyle stroke," Brussel said. "I was in a relay with her in Torino, Italy for the Masters World Games and we got the gold.
Weightless in the pool
"It is a relaxing feeling to have no weight. When I swim I feel happy and relaxed. I always feel better after a swim," she added.
I asked my dear friend and CBC Sports colleague Brittany MacLean (recently inducted into the Ontario Aquatic Hall of Fame) about the impact Brussel has on her. MacLean, now retired, won a bronze medal in the 4x200m relay in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"I have an extra soft spot for her story as well as a distance swimmer," MacLean told me. "She is breaking barriers in events like the 400 and 800 freestyle; events that many teenagers would say are too hard and yet she has absolutely no excuses and is showing us all what's possible."
Brussel told me she is enjoying the newly opened pool in təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre, and that doing what she loves keeps her invigorated.
"It should be a pleasure, never a chore," she said.
Brussel's words of wisdom about loving what you do are wise beyond our years. I can only hope that I have her amount of gusto and love of life when I'm 100 years old.
Brussel is easily a Canadian treasure and a perfect reminder that you are never too old to try something new.
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