EVEN after taking an extended break from the pool, Pam Munday likens swimming skills to being “a bit like riding a bike”.
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“I was well-coached when I was young, and you've got muscle memory and brain memory, they just come back,” the Kiama Downs resident said.
“I just had to get the fitness in.”
The 64-year-old learnt to swim at age eight, and by nine was competing at state level.
“I picked it up pretty quickly,” she said.
“I gave up when I was 15, but I swam at national level as a teenager.
“Even though I always liked the water, I didn't swim competitively for another 42-43 years.”
During the downtime she would only rarely visit the pool to do a few laps, or attend the beach, but essentially didn't train at all.
“When I retired in 2006, I started thinking about it and then I actually joined a club in late 2008.
“But swimming is something that's very time- consuming... It was in the back of my mind to go to Masters when I was working and had a family.
“But it's really only once I retired I felt I could really get back into it.”
Munday then began competing in late 2009.
She took part in the World Masters event in Sydney that year, taking home medals in two events.
More recently, she won three golds and three silvers at last weekend's Masters Swimming Australia National Championships in Melbourne.
While there, she set a national record in the 200m butterfly for the 65-69 years' age group, and also broke her own state record for the 200m breaststroke.
This followed success at the recent NSW titles, whereby Munday brought home seven gold medals. This included five individual gold medals in the 65-70 age group, one of which was for a then new state record in the 200m breaststroke.
The other two gold medals were for relay events.
In 2015, Munday was ranked 10th in the world in her age group for the 200m butterfly by FINA .
An avid snow skier, Munday is aiming to maintain her fitness for the ski season.
After that finishes, she plans to start serious training again for the NSW State Age Short Course Championships in October.
“I love swimming, and for me, I'm a physical person, so I like staying active,” she said.
“But swimming's my first love.
“I love the water, I love the pool, I'm just lucky that I got the hang of it fairly readily.”
